1940s Fashion: Top Styles, Designers And Clothing Trends

Rationing, make do and mend, then Dior's New Look turns everything round in 1947.

Below: the clothes, the hairstyles and the accessories of the 1940s, then the fastest way to put together a costume if you are going to a themed night.

Useful for a decade party, a school project, a reminiscence session or working out what someone wore when they were young.

Years covered in the 1940s

• 1940 - Rationing, Dunkirk, Churchill and the Blitz - the year everything changed. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1940
• 1941 - The Blitz continued, clothes went on the ration and America entered the war. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1941
• 1942 - The Beveridge Report, soap on the ration and the first American troops arriving. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1942
• 1943 - The tide turned, the Dambusters flew and the country got used to going without. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1943
• 1944 - D-Day, the V-1s and the Education Act that changed school for everyone. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1944
• 1945 - VE Day, VJ Day, a landslide election and street parties on bomb-damaged roads. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1945
• 1946 - Television came back, bread went on the ration and the family allowance started. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1946
• 1947 - The worst winter in memory, a royal wedding and Indian independence. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1947
• 1948 - The NHS began, the Olympics came to London and the Windrush docked at Tilbury. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1948
• 1949 - Clothes rationing ended, the pound was devalued and the decade closed on austerity. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1949
• That is every 1940s year we have written up so far: 1940 to 1949.

What people wore in the 1940s

• Utility clothing from 1941 - fabric limits meant short jackets, narrow skirts, no turn-ups.
• Square padded shoulders and knee-length A-line skirts.
• Tea dresses in small floral prints, worn out for years and remade.
• Siren suits and land girl dungarees for war work.
• Dior's New Look (1947): tiny waists and enormous full skirts, criticised for using so much fabric.

Hairstyles

• Victory rolls, rolled up and pinned away from the face.
• Headscarves tied at the front, practical in factories.
• Pageboy rolls curled under at the shoulder.
• Men: short, neat, service haircuts.

Accessories and finishing touches

• Gravy browning or leg paint instead of stockings, with an eyebrow-pencil seam drawn up the back.
• Hand-knitted gloves, scarves and snoods.
• Chunky wooden-soled shoes when leather ran short.
• Brooches, often the only jewellery anyone bought new.
• Red lipstick - the one cosmetic that stayed on sale through the war.

Designers and labels of the 1940s

• Christian Dior's New Look, February 1947 - the single biggest fashion moment of the century.
• Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, founders of the London couture group.
• The Utility scheme (CC41), with couturiers designing to government restrictions.
• Claire McCardell in America inventing modern separates and the popover dress.
• Cristobal Balenciaga, quietly the most respected cutter in Paris.
• Jacques Fath, dressing post-war Paris with a lighter hand.

Dressing up as the 1940s

• Tea dress, victory rolls and red lipstick.
• A headscarf tied at the front is the quickest 1940s signal there is.
• For men: shirt, braces, high-waisted trousers.

Where to find the clothes

• Charity shops first - the later decades turn up constantly and cost almost nothing.
• Your own loft or a relative's wardrobe beats any fancy dress shop for authenticity.
• Buy the accessories new and the clothes second-hand; the accessories are what people recognise.
• Fancy dress versions of an era are usually a cartoon of it - one real garment looks better than a whole costume.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Photographs date an outfit faster than anything - look at family albums from the era before you shop.
• Hair and accessories carry a decade better than the clothes do.
• Pair this with the 1940s playlist for a themed night that hangs together.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1940
• Look back to 1941
• Look back to 1942
• Look back to 1943
• Look back to 1944
• Look back to 1945
• Look back to 1946
• Look back to 1947
• Look back to 1948
• Look back to 1949
• 1940s books, films and TV
• 1940s calendar: year by year
• 1940s trivia: fun facts
• The 1940s: the whole decade
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Traditional British party games
• Pen and paper games
• Card games your nan taught you
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Decade-themed birthday parties
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What did people wear in the 1940s?

Utility clothing from 1941 - fabric limits meant short jackets, narrow skirts, no turn-ups. The full list above covers the everyday clothes as well as the going-out ones, because the two were rarely the same.

What was the 1940s hairstyle?

Victory rolls, rolled up and pinned away from the face. The other styles above ran alongside it - no decade had only one haircut.

Who were the big fashion designers of the 1940s?

Christian Dior's New Look, February 1947 - the single biggest fashion moment of the century. The designers section above lists the rest of the names and labels that set the decade's styles.

How do I dress up as the 1940s for a party?

Pick one silhouette and one accessory that everyone recognises, and stop there. The dressing-up section above gives the shortcuts for this era.

Do you sell clothes?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read and free to copy.