Women's 1940s Fashion Trends

“Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” This quote by Bill Cunningham relates to the 1940s because of the importance clothing had and the effects that it had on people. The life in society during war was tragic and the different design fashion had sparked happier thoughts. Many new advancements in innovation were created and provided the best for the people. Since the country was about to head into a war, many materials were limited and people had to make the best for what they had. World War II impacted men and women’s fashion, hairstyles, and the accessories people wore because of restrictions of material.

Men’s fashion was impacted greatly because of World War II and the amount of materials and fabrics were restricted.

For women film stars influenced many of the looks women had, which is almost exact to today’s time all our celebrities influence hairstyles and different styles. At work women had to put their hair up to prevent it from getting caught in machines (“Women's 1940s Hairstyles: An Overview.” ). In the UK women war this piece of clothing called scarves which protected your hair from being covered in dirt (“Women's 1940s Hairstyles: An Overview.” ). Typical hairstyles were cut so the back would curve upward towards the ears, and hair was always off the face (“Women's 1940s Hairstyles: An Overview.” ). Waves and rolls were the most common look for women because they had to put their hair up. Men’s hair length started to become longer but most kept it short still. Short hair was the look and men used lots of oil to hold it in place (“1940s Hairstyles for Men.”). They only allowed a small part of their hair to be visible considering most wore the slicked back, and parted to the side look. Curls with men were rarely seen, and if men had them they were matted down (“1940s Hairstyles for Men.”). If men had a receding hairline they had to keep their hair thin, or go completely bald (“1940s Hairstyles for Men.”). The beret was a flat french hat angled off to the side, and was he common type for women. For

The conditions in the workplace also affected the way people wore clothing, hairstyles, and jewelry. Since they had a lack of fabrics they had to find other ways to be unique with what they wore. The tragic impacts that the war left on people is unbearable, but it helped influence the new era of fashion and