FASHION DURING WW2 By: Victoria Anderson and Madi Thomas
DESIGNERS
Coco Chanel was one of the prominent fashion designers during WW2. Though most Americans and some French and English women didn't like her at the time because they considered her "working for the enemy" because she made clothes for Nazi wives without any thought of consequences. The most influential fashion designer of the late 1940s and 1950s, Christain Dior dominated fashion after World war II with the hourglass silhouette of his voluptuous New Look. He also defined a new business model in the post-war fashion industry by establishing Dior as a global brand across a wide range of products
Dior
Dior Chanel
The basic Army field or combat uniform for cool climates consisted of the basic wool uniform, without tie, along with a field jacket or wool overcoat, leggings, helmet and web gear. MILITARY UNIFORMS
The United States Army during the inter-war period followed the previous model of having a standard uniform that combined elements of both the basic dress uniform and the basic field uniform. By combining the uniforms, it was thought that time and money could be saved.
ACCESSORIES To the right you will see a snood that was either used for fashion or to keep the hair away from machinery. They kept the hair from being trapped and saved many nasty accidents. Knitted in many different yarns with beads attached, they made women feel and look a little more glamorous in those austere days.
Hair was worn short and curled with the New Look, and hats were essential for all but the most casual occasions. Wide-brimmed saucer hats were shown with the earliest New Look suits, but smaller hats soon predominated. Very short cropped hairstyles were fashionable in the early '50s. By mid-decade hats were worn less frequently, especially as fuller hairstyles like the short, curly poodle cut and later bouffant and beehive became fashionable
Shoulder pads became popular to highlight the masculine, military look. They also added an interest to the shape of the slim silhouette.
Face make up was in short supply and news of a fresh stock of well known branded lipsticks at the local chemist meant that the shop sold out within an hour. Munitions workers were encouraged to wear make up as a protective barrier to the grit and chemicals they worked amidst.
There was never enough stock of anything, but women still did their best to look good and their hair was important to them. By day it was kept out of sight in a turban or knitted snood which stopped it getting caught in machinery. Generally hair still had some length as women could wash and dress their hair in ways which made them feel more feminine.
Fashion items that became popular were the wedge sole shoe, the turban, the siren suit and the kangaroo cloak (as seen above). The turban equalized people of all sorts. It began as a simple safety device to prevent the wearer's hair entangling in factory machinery. It doubled as a disguise for unkept hair which women had less time to attend to being so busy running homes, jobs and giving extra help wherever they could.