The document summarizes women's fashion trends in the 1940s. During this period, styles were influenced by fabric rationing during World War II. Silhouettes featured broad, padded shoulders with a trim waist and hips. Christian Dior launched the "New Look" in 1947, characterized by a below-mid-calf length skirt, small waist, and rounded shoulders. Other trends included knee-length skirts, fitted bodices, and subdued colors like blue grey and bottle green. Major designers of the 1940s included Christian Dior, Anne Klein, and Vera Maxwell.

1. 1940s
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Silhouette
Broad padded square
shoulders, trim waist and
hips, with shoulder length
curled hair.
The 1940's silhouette from a
1940 issue of
Woman, suggests that
women take into account
their 'real' body shapes.

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Silhouette developed during first
half of the 1940's.

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Bodice
Fitted with drapery, ruching or gathers; padded shoulder.
Neckline
High round, sweetheart, small collars.
Shoes

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Sleeves
Inset, short or long, puff.
Skirt
Knee-length, flared, straight, single pleat plaid skirts.

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Fabric
Wool, cotton, linen, easy-care synthetics.
Trimmings
Limited buttons, contrast color collars
and cuffs, patch pockets.
Accessories
Tiny hats, large bags, shoes with high
thick heels and some wooden soles.

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Color
Subdued, blue grey, bottle green, donkey brown.

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The New Look
On February 12, 1947, Christian Dior
launched the first collection of the House of Dior. The
new collection went down in fashion history as the
"New Look".
The signature shape was characterized by a
below-mid-calf length, full-skirt, pointed bust, small
waist, and rounded shoulder line. Resisted at
first, especially in America, where fashion magazines
showed padded shoulders until 1950, the radical new
silhouette soon became immensely
popular, influencing fashion and other designers for
many years to come.
The "softness" of the New Look was
deceptive; the curved jacket peplum shaped over a
high, rounded, curved shoulders, and full skirt of Dior's
clothes relied on an inner construction of new
interlining materials to shape the silhouette.

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Continued…
Throughout the post-war period, a tailored, feminine look was
prized and accessories such as gloves and pearls were popular.
Tailored suits had fitted jackets with peplums, usually worn
with a long, narrow pencil skirt.
Day dresses had fitted bodices and full skirts, with jewel or
low-cut necklines or Peter Pan collars.
Shirtdresses, with a shirt-like bodice, were popular, as were
halter-top sundresses.
Skirts were narrow or very full, held out with petticoats;
poodle skirts were a brief fad.
Evening gowns were often the same length as day dresses
(called "ballerina length"), with full, frothy skirts. Cocktail dresses,
were worn for early-evening parties.
Short shrugs and bolero jackets, often made to match low-
cut dresses, were worn.

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The Impact of World War II on Fashion
One might say that women’s fashion of the 1940's were dictated
by Adolph Hitler. The German invasion of Poland in September 1939
set the tone for everything that happened in the next decade. And
as fashion follows social trends and the events of the world
economy, World War II necessitated changes in clothing styles and
fashion design.
Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941 by which time
Germany had invaded
Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, and
Greece. The world was at war and haute couture took a back seat to
the privations of global conflict.

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Continued…
In order to supply the war effort, fabric was rationed. Nylon
and wool were both needed by the military and Japanese silk was
banned in the USA after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rayon, the new
synthetic fabric developed in the 1930's became the material most
often used for the creation of ladies' clothing during the War.
By June 1941, with Britain under attack by the Nazis, cloth
rationing resulted in a coupon system. Adults in Britain received 66
clothing coupons per year, reduced to 36 coupons by 1945. Supplies
were limited and prices were high. Many governments placed
restrictions on the use of fabrics and other materials used to make
clothing as they were needed by the military.

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Both Britain and the United States put
official restrictions on the use of the materials used
in the production of garments. The L-85 Order
specified the amount of fabric that could be used
to create a garment. Hems rose with fabric
restrictions. The order also restricted the number of
pleats and trimmings as well as jacket and trouser
lengths. The metal used for zippers was needed by
the military and buttons were limited - useful only,
not for ornamentation.
Women brought up during the austerity of
the Great depression made do by recycling,
making coats and jackets out of old blankets.
Winter wear moved away from the use of wool and
incorporated velveteen and corduroy for cold
weather suits and dresses.
Less fabric meant lean styles, with narrow
hip lines and a trim over all appearance. Short and
boxy was the fashion style of the day, out of
necessity.

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Other Fashion Aspects of the 1940's
1. Hair was worn long and curled at the ends for a soft, feminine
look. Beauty salons can be expensive and women saved money by
having their hair cut less often. As so many women enlisted in the
military or took factory jobs, it was easy to tie long hair back for safety.
Then, the long hair could be worn down for casual or dress occasions.
Women often knit or crocheted snoods which were an attractive
combination of a hair net and a veil.
2. Girdles were out as the rubber was needed for the war effort.
Skirts and dresses were often fitted with adjustable waistlines. But it
wasn't hard to be thin when food was rationed.
3. The fabric used in the manufacturer of swim suits was also
reduced causing the disappearance of the little skirt flap so popular on
one piece suits. Fabric reduction was responsible for bare midriffs and
the introduction of the 2 piece swim suit. The bikini made its debut in
1946.

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Continued…
4. Shoe heels were lower and shoe designers thought to add
interest with the introduction of the wedge shoe. Many women wore
flat heeled shoes for safety and comfort in the workplace. T-straps and
open toed shoes looked lovely and saved on shoe leather.
5. Pants became a staple of women who worked in factories and
soon gained widespread acceptance for casual wear and for work at
home in the garden. The actress Katherine Hepburn helped make
trousers a popular garment for women as she appeared in several
movies wearing elegant, wide legged trousers.
6. Stockings formerly made of silk were made out of nylon but when
the military began to use nylon, many women used tan make up on
their legs and drew a line up the back to simulate seams. Bobby socks
became popular among the younger set.
7. Shoulder pads became popular to highlight the
masculine, military look. They also added an interest to the shape of
the slim silhouette.

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1940's Clothing Ad

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Fashion Designers
during 1940’s

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Christian Dior
Christian Dior (21 January 1905 - 23
October 1957) was a French fashion
designer, best known as the founder of one
of the world's top fashion houses, also
called Christian Dior.
Christian's family had hopes he would
become a diplomat, but Dior was artistic
and wished to be involved in fashion. To
make money, he sold his fashion sketches
outside his house for about 10 cents each.
In 1928 after leaving school he received
money from his father to finance a small art
gallery, where he and a friend sold art by
the likes of Pablo Picasso.

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The Dior fashion house
On 16 December 1946 Dior founded his fashion house, backed by
Marcel Boussac, a cotton-fabric magnate. The actual name of the
line of his first collection, presented in early 1947, was Corolle, but the
phrase New Look was coined for it by Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief
of Harper's Bazaar. Dior's designs were more voluptuous than the
boxy, fabric-conserving shapes of the recent World War II
styles, influenced by the rations on fabric. He was a master at creating
shapes and silhouettes; Dior is quoted as saying "I have designed
flower women." His look employed fabrics lined predominantly with
percale, boned, bustier-style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted
corsets and petticoats that made his dresses flare out from the
waist, giving his models a very curvaceous form.

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Anne Klien
Anne Klein (August 3, 1923 - March 19,
1974) was an American fashion designer
who founded her own women's sportswear
and apparel label.
She married her first husband, Ben
Klein, in the early 1940s, and together they
founded Junior Sophisticates – a clothing
company which completely transformed
the clothing styles, choices, and attitudes
of young American women. The company
revolutionized the junior market, doing
away with the traditional "little-girl" clothing
that featured button-and-bow detailing,
and addressing the primary need of this
important group—the desire to look more
stylish, more polished, and, above all, more
grown up.

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Vera Maxwell
Vera Huppe Maxwell (April 22, 1901–
January 15, 1995) was a legendary
sportswear and fashion designer.
She was the first American designer
to make clothes with Ultrasuede material.
She won the Coty American Fashion
Critics' Award in 1953, the Neiman Marcus
Award in 1955 and was honored in 1970
with a retrospective exhibition at the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
Maxwell became known as a
designer in the 1930s and became
famous for her innovative designs. After
years of designing for other
manufacturers, she founded her own
company, Vera Maxwell Originals, in 1947.

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Women's Dress Code in the War Years

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