fashion

1. 1939-1945 (WWII)
War broke out in Europe in
1939, the same year the first
true artificial fiber, Nylon, was
introduced at the World's Fair in
New York.

2. • For the duration (1939-1945), fashion veered
between exiting innovations like this, and the
shortages, price controls and rationing created
by war. Often, shortages directly created the
innovations: Men's suits bought before the war
typically came with jacket, vest and two pairs of
matching trousers. During the war this dropped
to just a jacket and one pair of trousers, where it
has stayed ever since. Leather and rubber
shortages caused shoe makers to experiment
with wood and cork soled, stylishly elevated,
Platform shoes.

3. • Women's clothing went through the greatest
changes in this era, both due to shortages, and
due to large numbers of women engaging in
work outside the home during the war. Bias
cutting was promptly dropped as a waste of
fabric, and "Make Do And Mend", wartime
advice centered on sewing old clothes in to new
ones. Men's suits were re-cut into women's
suits, complete with the tailored details and
shoulder padding previously found in the
garments. Shoulder pads quickly became stylish
in all women's garments, not only suits, and
stayed in fashion until 1949.

4. • Most governments issued either construction
guidelines, or rationing to curtail fabric use, yet
even in Europe men and women managed ways
to stay fashionable during the conflict. "The
Little Black Dress" was a popular method
suggested by style magazines: Having a simple,
short (knee length) black dress, which one
varied each day and evening with sets of color-
matched accessories. Fashion that was not
rationed, like hats, and hairstyles, grew
creatively elaborate. Women and girls were
actively encouraged to wear pants, both for war
work and warmth.

5. • As a result of the war there were severe
fabric shortages, which lasted until the end
of the decade.

6. • Clothes were made with a minimum of
fabric, few pleats and no trimmings. Skirts
were a little below the knee and straight,
worn with boxy jackets and broad, padded
shoulders. Many men and women wore
uniforms.

7. • From 1942 onwards some clothes were
made under the government Utility
Scheme that rationed materials. They are
identifiable by a 'CC41' stamp, which is an
abbreviation of the 'Civilian Clothing Act of
1941'. During the war, accessories were
important because of their relative
affordability; tall platform shoes or sandals,
and tall flowery hats were fashionable.

8. • Hair was worn long, with stylised waves
and rolls on top of the head. In 1947,
Christian Dior introduced his 'New Look',
which revolutionised 1940s fashion. Skirts
became longer and fuller, and boxy
shoulders were softened to become
sloping. Waists were cinched and hats
grew wide and saucer shaped.

9. • Men
• During the war, most men wore military uniform
of some kind. Hair was short at the back and
sides, and most men were clean shaven. Men in
civilian clothing were often dressed in lounge
suits with broad shoulders, with wide trousers
belted high at the abdomen. After 1945 many
men leaving the armed forces were issued with
a 'de-mob' suit, consisting of shirt, tie, double-
breasted jacket and loose fitting trousers.

10. The lounge suit
dominated men's dress
from the 1920s
onwards. It was worn
at events and in places
where in previous
decades more formal
attire would have been
required. By 1940s
men were wearing
lounge suits with a
pullover in place of a
waistcoat. Pullovers
were previously worn
for informal and
sporting occasions but
they gradually became
integrated into
mainstream fashion.

11. Christian Dior (1905-57) launched
his couture house on 12 February
1947 and became an overnight
sensation. His voluptuous first
collection featured hand-span
waists above enormous skirts. It
was christened on the spot by
Carmel Snow, editor of American
Harper's Bazaar, as the 'New
Look', and was the antithesis of
masculine wartime fashions.
This jacket demonstrates the
exaggerated New Look silhouette.
The jacket is moulded into an
hourglass shape, which is helped
by wads of padding and horsehair
around the front of the hips. The
shoulders are rounded, the bust
full, and the waist tiny.

12. The Utility scheme was
devised to share and
conserve scarce resources,
whilst creating practical and
stylistically appealing
clothing. With its double-
breasted cut, peaked lapels
and wide straight-legged
trousers, this suit is typical of
the period. The breast
pocket is stay stitched rather
than interlined to economise
on fabric. The pocket bags
and waistband facings are
made in cheap quality
cotton. The suit bears the
CC41 label, which stands for
the Civilian Clothing Act of
1941.

13. The spring 1947
collection of
Christian Dior (1905-
1957) caused a
sensation and was
christened 'The New
Look' by Carmel
Snow of Harper's
Bazaar. Dior offered
the glamour and
romance of full skirts
and nipped-in waists
to women who were
tired of utilitarian
clothes with boxy
silhouettes

14. This day dress is from the
Utility Collection by the
Incorporated Society of
London Fashion Designers
for the Board of Trade. It may
have been designed by
Edward Molyneux. The
simplification and economy of
material match the conditions
laid down by the Board in
relation to the manufacture of
civilian clothing during the
Second World War of 1939-
1945.

15. This suit is typical of the
1940s post-war 'New
Look'. The skirt is
straight and slightly
below the knee in length,
while the jacket features
a nipped in waist,
padded hips, and sloping
shoulders inspired by
Christian Dior's 'New
Look' collection of 1947,
which moved fashion
away from the boxy,
military look of the war
years.

16. In 1942, the British Government
established the Utility Scheme to
ration materials and regulate the
production of civilian clothing
during the war. Utility Scheme
clothes bear a printed stamp
reading 'CC41', an abbreviation
of the Civilian Clothing Act of
1941.
This overall, or housedress, was
designed to Utility standards. It
has no more than two pockets,
five buttons, six seams, 160
inches of stitching and no
superfluous decoration. It is
made of a floral printed fabric, an
area of textile production in which
Britain has long excelled. It is
typical of the 1940s, when
shoulder pads and full puffed
sleeves were fashionable. Skirts
were typically narrow, giving
dresses a rather top-heavy look.

17. This is a good example of a Utility
Suit. It is from the Utility Collection by
the Incorporated Society of London
Fashion Designers for the Board of
Trade. It may have been designed by
Victor Stiebel. The simplification and
economy of material match the
conditions laid down by the Board in
relation to the manufacture of civilian
clothing during the Second World War
of 1939-1945.

18. A black afternoon dress
with a good label was
both a chic choice and a
sensible one. Edward
Molyneux (1891-1974)
could be relied on to
provide streamlined
distinction. This dress has
a schoolmistress-like
authority and propriety; its
covered-up look features
a demure high neck, long
sleeves and a safe, calf-
length skirt.

19. This is a good example of a
Utility Suit. It is from the Utility
Collection by the Incorporated
Society of London Fashion
Designers for the Board of
Trade. The simplification and
economy of material match
the conditions laid down by
the Board in relation to the
manufacture of civilian
clothing during the Second
World War of 1939-1945.
Then, both hand-crafted and
mass-produced tailoring was
as important as it is today.

20. This is a pair of men's
brogue shoes, made of
leather. The traditional
brogue employs circles and
dots born along the lines of
the shoe's construction,
emphasising the stitching,
and as a prominent field
pattern on the toecap.

21. This pair of shoes
is typical of the mid
1940s, during
which time it was
fashionable to wear
tall platform
shoes. Because of
war-time shortages,
the platform soles
were often made
out of cork. In
keeping with the
fashion for height,
hair was worn piled
high on top of the
head, and clothing
was narrow with
exaggerated
padded shoulder

22. This curvaceous suit
has the small waist
and wide, padded
hips inspired by
Christian Dior's
instantly popular
1947 'New Look'
collection.

23. Smart yet practical, this
shirtwaister - a kind of
tailored shirt-dress -
was the only black
garment in the designer
Utility collection.

24. Elsa Schiaparelli
(1890-1973) enjoyed
the enormous
publicity that her more
bizarre creations
generated, but her
less provocative
designs rarely caused
a furore and have
been somewhat
neglected. She often
referred to her simple
black dresses and
their versatility, and
regularly wore black
herself. Schiaparelli
gave this dress to the
V&A after her
retirement.

26. The buttons on this tailored
ensemble bear a wartime
message. They are stamped
with the Utility symbol CC41,
which stands for Civilian
Clothing and 1941. The Utility
Scheme was introduced in
1941 to ensure that consumer
goods were produced to the
highest possible standards at
'reasonable' prices. These
standards complied with
restrictions and rationing of raw
materials. Reginald Schipp
designed the symbol. He was
asked to disguise the 'CC' so
that the public would not
recognise the letters as such.
This stylised motif became
known as 'the cheeses' and
was also printed on to clothing
labels.

37. • Christian Dior was an impoverished 36-year-old
unemployed design assistant when he returned home
from WWII. When Boussac, the wealthy French fabric
giant, approached him to revive an ailing fashion house,
Dior said that he was "not meant by nature to raise
corpses from the dead". And that's not all. He then
presented to the company a business plan outlining the
creation of his own couture house and successfully
convinced them to back him. And with his first legendary
1947 collection, coined the "New Look" by an American
journalist, Dior almost overnight became a household
name. (And he bid a final adieu to poverty!)
•
The femininity of the padded hip, cinched waist, longer
hemline and soft gathers of this new silhouette was a
welcome relief for women in the wake of the restraint
and deprivation of wartime. Dior's look became so
popular worldwide that his peers had to recreate similar
proportions in their own designs. It was as if Christian
Dior had hit some sort of fashion reset button that sent
ripples of influence through the industry.

66. Elisa Schiaparelli
Design 1940's