Overview
During the early part of this decade, most western nations were still involved in World War II, which means that clothing manufacturers and home sewers both were operating under the severe sumptuary laws restricting dress of the time. For men, this meant a two-piece suit with contrasting vest or even a sweater vest was common. For women, it meant that most hems were about 19” from the floor, skirts were simple A-lines, and the most often used fiber was rayon in a crepe weave. (Rayon is a manufactured fiber made from wood pulp and so did not use up the supplies of cottons, silks, and wools that were needed to support the war effort.) The styles were generally simple and restrained. Decorations on women’s clothing were mostly of sequins (or other celluloid types) or glass beads, because metal was also essential to the war effort. Men’s suits are essentially the same as the previous decade, and, in fact, 3 pc suits are holdovers from the Depression era, and many women’s dresses were altered from dresses of the previous decade.
By 1946, the war was over. Rationing was done away with in the United States, although it continued in Great Britain for some time longer. In response to the celebratory mood of victory, the silhouette for women’s fashions changed radically to the full skirted, pinched waist, highly structured “New Look” and by contrast, men’s wear became looser, more comfortable, and casual “sportswear” finally gained popularity among all classes of men, rather than just with the upper class for leisure activities. One of the most important contributions to men’s clothing was the addition of the “T” shirt. Because of its use in military clothing during the war, the T-shirt, now in white rather than military issue khaki, became the standard undershirt for men, supplanting the sleeveless tank T.
Links
In addition to the photos provided, check out movies made in the Forties about the Forties:
I Was A Male War Bride
Casablanca
Mrs. Miniver
The Maltese Falcon
Key Largo
Arsenic and Old Lace
Woman of the Year
State of the Union
Adam's Rib
The Philadelphia Story
The Lady Eve
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Also look on fashion-era.com, glamourdaze.blogspot.com, vintagedressup.blogspot.com, and flickr.com
Or Google images for:
MEN: Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stuart, Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Humphrey Bogart, Henry Fonda
WOMEN: Greer Garson, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Lamour, Katherine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Betty Hutton, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Ingrid Bergman.
Written content courtesy of
Cathie McClellan, Costume Designer
Associate Professor, Chair
Theatre Arts Department
University of the Pacific