1930–1945 in Western fashion

Actress Mary Pickford with President Herbert Hoover, 1931.

Fashion from the 1930s to 1945 is overshadowed by two great events of the period, the Great Depression and World War II. The most characteristic fashion trend of the period is attention at the shoulder, with butterfly sleeves and banjo sleeves, and exaggerated shoulder pads for both men and women by the 1940s.

Overview

1930s

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Fashions from March 1930 are virtually unchanged from that of 1929.

The lighthearted, forward-looking attitude and fashions of the 1920s in fashion to halt. The trend continued for most of 1930, but by the end of that year when the effects of the Great Depression began to affect the public, a more conservative approach to fashion displaced that of the 1920s. For women, skirts became longer and the waist-line was returned up to its normal position in an attempt to bring back the traditional "feminine" look. Other aspects of fashion from the 1920s took longer to phase out. Cloche hats remained popular until about 1933 while short hair remained popular for many women until the late in the 1930s.

For men, the only noticeable change was that the range of colors became more subdued. By 1933, knickers (commonly worn as sports-clothes) became obsolete. By 1935, the close form fitting style of suit jackets and vest, that had been popular with men in the 1920s, was replaced with a loose look. The straight leg wide-trousers (the standard size was 23 inches at the cuff) that men had worn in the 1920s also became tapered at the bottom for the first time around 1935. Sleeves for suit jackets also began to be worn tapered around 1935.

The war years

Restrictions on fabric led to short skirts and short sleeves. Popular magazines advised women on how to remake men's suits into smart outfits, since the men were in uniform and the cloth would otherwise sit unused.

Womenswear

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Fashions from December of 1930.

Paris fashion

Main article: History of fashion design

Elsa Schiaparelli's lighthearted styles and Madeleine Vionnet's classically-inspired bias-cut evening dresses were primary influences throughout the 1930s. The simple but elegant designs of Mainbocher, an American designer working in Paris, were also influential. His wedding suit and other clothing for the Duchess of Windsor were widely photographed and copied.

Germany invaded France in June, 1940. Many fashion houses closed during the occupation of Paris, including the Maison Vionnet and the Maison Chanel, and some designers, including Mainbocher, permanently relocated to New York.

Style gallery 1940-45

• 
  1 - 1941
• 
  2 - 1941

1. Sportswear of 1941 featured square shoulders and flared shorts.
2. Actress Lana Turner examines cotton stockings, wearing a smart knee-length suit with square shoulders, in this Farm Security Administration photo of 1941

Menswear

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Writer Erich Maria Remarque weara wide-lapelled, double-breasted overcoat and a fedora hat, 1939.

Style gallery 1940-45

• 
  c. 1940
• 
  1945

1. Photo of Charles Spurgeon Johnson wearing a wide-lapelled suit with a striped necktie, c. 1940.

1. Conductor Leonard Bernstein in sportswear of 1945: open-collared shirt, striped blazer, and wide-legged pleated slacks.

Working clothes

Both men and women working on war service wore practical trousers or overalls. Women bundled their hair up in caps or scarves.

• 
  Shepherd, Montana, 1942
• 
  Woman working in the Richmond shipyards, 1943

References and further reading

• Arnold, Janet: Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen's Dresses and Their Construction C.1860-1940, Wace 1966, Macmillan 1972. Revised metric edition, Drama Books 1977. ISBN 0-89676-027-8

• Black, J. Anderson, and Madge Garland, A History of Fashion, New York, Morrow, 1975

• Boucher, François: 20,000 Years of Fashion, Harry Abrams, 1966.

• Laver, James: The Concise History of Costume and Fashion, Abrams, 1979.

• Nunn, Joan: Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000, 2nd edition, A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd; Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 2000. (Excerpts online at The Victorian Web)

• Steele, Valerie: Paris Fashion: A Cultural History, Oxford University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-1950-4465-7

• Steele, Valerie: The Corset, Yale University Press, 2001