Tag Archives: 1940’s

Remembering British Fashion

It’s that time of year when the days become shorter, the chill in the air begins to bite, pumpkins are carved, fireworks brighten up the night sky and we Brits buy and wear Poppies to remember and honour the service men and women who have fought for our green little island.

During the Remembrance Sunday service and parade, World War I and II veterans stand proud in beautifully presented suits displaying their array of medals. Despite the hardships faced in the 1940’s, men always appeared smart and respectful while women, classy and glamorous.

Fashion is dictated by social trends and the economy in the 1940’s was certainly no exception. With worldwide suffering, poverty and hardship, fashion had to be approached in a different way. Fabrics were rationed in order to supply the men on the frontline with uniforms and blankets. Official material restrictions were put in place meaning hem lines became shorter and skirts became more fitted to save fabric. In contrast to the 20’s and 30’s where women hid beneath lose fitting flapper girl dresses and full clave length skirts, those womanly curves had no choice but to be on display.

British Fashion 1940's       British Fashion 1940's

With the majority of men enlisted in the army, women took to the factories to produce weaponry, artillery and aircrafts. Women began to wear jeans and, because trips to the hairdressers were an unnecessary luxury, women began to tie their long hair back or up in a turban for safety. Service women had to wear their hair above their collar while on duty and would also add victory curls to create a more feminine look.

British Fashion 1940's

1940’s make up was all about the natural look with dark eyelashes, a little eyeliner on the top lid, long eyebrows and striking red lips. Make up was so important because it was one of the only ways working factory women could reclaim their femininity.

British Fashion 1940's   British Fashion 1940's

With women taking on a more masculine role in society, shoulder pads became fashionable and proved striking when paired against the figure hugging skirts.

British Fashion 1940's   British Fashion 1940's

The material restrictions and need for practically meant that women also started to wear shorts.

British Fashion 1940's

With the end of the war and rationing Christian Dior brought out his New Look in 1947. This was an outrageous contrast to the short hem and figure hugging silhouette of the war. This New Look was full bodied and long, using loads of material which many women still could not afford. This radical New Look paved the way for the rebellious fashion of the 1950’s.

Fashion 1950's  Fashion 1950's

To get the perfect 1940’s look you need to think- pencil skirts, peplums, red lipstick, victory rolls and anything high waisted topped off with the November’s most important accessory – a red poppy with all donations going to the British Legion.

Peplum Perfection

By Leyla Keskin

Anyone who knows me will know that I am obsessed with any and everything 1940’s.  Women during this time seemed to look effortlessly classy and glamorous despite the difficulties of living in wartime Britain (or anywhere else for that matter).

Advert in Vogue circa 1947

 

My obsession started when, as a little girl, I realised that my Grandparents where alive during the war. I would ask them all sorts of questions about their experiences and loved hearing everything they could share with me, from how my Grandfather helped his Grandfather build their air raid shelter to how my Grandmother would watch her Mother draw a line on her calves instead of wearing stockings. My Grandmother would and still does tell me stories about her childhood and she always seems to remember exactly what she was wearing. She describes her outfits in great detail, creating a vivid image in my head and always ends her description with ‘Oh, I thought it was marvellous’.

Given my obsession with 40’s fashion you can understand how pleased I was when celebrities started posing on the red carpet wearing PEPLUMS!!!

The 40’s were all about curves. Clothes were made for women with curves or to create the illusion of the perfect hourglass and the gathered, flared material around the waist of a peplum does exactly this.

So you know what a peplum is but how do you wear it? I read somewhere that because the peplum is already a statement piece then you should not colour clash or team it with any patterns! Rubbish! As far as I am concerned there are no rules when it comes to colour or patterns.

One thing you do need to remember when rocking a peplum is that it is designed to show off those womanly curves. If you are wearing a peplum top then team it with a pencil skirt or a pair of skinny jeans to avoid it looking too fussy and loosing that hourglass shape. When wearing a peplum skirt you can team it with a strapless bodycon top for a glam evening look or dress it down with a jersey top for a daytime look. As with any look, remember to have fun and experiment – the peplum is both quirky and glam, vintage and modern and can be worn day or night.

I asked my grandmother the other day whether she ever wore peplums as a young girl, partly hoping she still had one or two pieces stashed away in her wardrobe.

‘A what?’

‘A peplum, nana’

‘You’ll have to show me what a pep….peplum is’.

I ran up to the small bedroom I stay in when visiting my grandparents and grabbed my purple peplum top.

‘Oh, a frill! I had a coat with a frill going around my waist as a girl. Oh, I thought it was marvellous’.