Fashion in early and mid- 1940s
Casual 1940s women’s fashion With wide shoulders and a small waist, the military-inspired and pragmatic early 40s shape suited women.
Emphasizing material preservation, a thin figure with garments draped tight to the torso surfaced.
The US intended to reduce its dependency on Japan, who at time imported 90 percent of its silk from Japan, hence nylon stockings replaced silk stockings.
Women started going bare legged and even drew a seam up the back of their legs using makeup to seem as though they were wearing stockings when nylon became ranked as being produced into weapons for the war.
Common in women’s clothing to get the broad shouldered appearance were shoulder pads.
Popular were skirt suits with the thin profile.
Because it saved on cloth, men’s and women’s outfits were single rather than double breasted.
As more women entered the labor alongside males gone at war, women’s pants became very fashionable.
Early to mid-40s dresses also featured a thin shape with a small waist due to fabric restrictions.
Dresses dropped to the knee, shorter than in earlier decades.
Fashion in the late 1940s
With the launch of Christian Dior’s new style in the late 40s, the emphasis shifted from fabric preservation and a slender figure to a voluptuous hourglass shape with a nipped in waist and long skirts attained with petticoats.
With the profusion of fabric now accessible, dresses grew longer and dropped to mid calf.
