Transcript The 40’s - Beaver Dam Elementary

The 40’s
1940 - 1949
Introduction
WWII – 1939 – 1945
 1940 – Paris fell to Germany= controls
haute couture
 1941 – US enters War
 1943 – Nylon stocking gone
 1946 – 7 – French Fashion Houses
reopen
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Influences
Social trends dictate fashion
 WWII – changed the world of fashion
forever
 NY designers cut off from Paris during
the war
- Concentrated on sportswear for
Americans
- Ready to Wear Clothing
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War goods manufacturing = most important
 McCalls – produced patterns for transforming
men’s suits into ladies suits and women’s
dresses into children’s clothing
 Hollywood - Movies
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Silhouette
Early – Inverted Triangle – broad
shoulders, narrow hips
 Mid- Late – more natural/gentle =
natural shoulders & bust, small waist
& tailored skirts
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Designers

Christian Dior
- The “New Look”
- Longer lengths & fuller skirts
- Nipped waist
- Soft, feminine & romantic image
- Corset used again
Women’s Styles
Early
 New style of suits
- Skirts – short & straight topped by
short jackets
 Cardigans matched skirts
 Sheath evening gown replaced 30’s
glamour gown
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War Time
Rosie the Riveter – Working class icon
- Women took over jobs & kept things going
at home
- class barriers fall – people dressed down
- Women wore trousers
- Strict rations on fabric, food, etc = utility
clothes – military influenced

American Designers
- Introduced concepts of separates &
coordinating outfits
- Create illusion of more outfits
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After War
Ruffles – skirt hems, necklines & waistlines
Peplums – fabric that extends a jacket at
the waist – fitted at waist – flounce –
butterfly, bustle & gathered
A-line skirts, gored & gathered skirts with
soft feminine blouses with bows and
puffed/full sleeves
2 piece swimsuits
Sweaters = too sexy
Shoes/Hats/Hair
Wooden Wedge Shoe
 “Pump”
 Handkerchiefs, scarves & turbans
popular during war time
 Snoods – knitted or crocheted – hold
long hair back
 Pompadour hair style
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Men
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Broad shoulders
Jacket tapered to fit hips
Duffle Coats – navy influence
Zoot Suit – knee length draped jacket with
shoulder pads, eye catching tie, long
dangling key chain, high waisted pants, fully
and deeply pleated & pegged at the bottom
- popular with black and Hispanic teenagers