Fashion in 1945

U.S. fashion designers displayed remarkable creativity when using the limited amount of textiles allotted to them by the government. The rounded line replaced angles, which was the primary means of avoiding boring designs.

The Canadienne

At the beginning of 1945, the roundness was first achieved by pulling the waist tight, emphasizing fullness above and below the waistline. Eventually the round look took every costume. Often the only tight parts of an outfits were at the neck, waist and wrists.

Suit jackets had round collars and round-cut hemlines, while suit skirts belled out in front. The Canadienne, a French twist on the coat of a Canadian soldier, was one of the year’s biggest fashion hits.

Evening dresses often came with farthingales to make hips seem larger and the waist thinner.

The cholo was hugely popular on beaches in 1945. It was worn over top of the swimsuit.

The trend of wearing “separates” continued to grow. Shirts were ready to wear, came in a wide variety of styles and mixed well with skirts.

A few horseblanket skirts appeared among the younger crowd. These unique skirts were made of plaid wool horseblankets, bound with black braid and fastened with horseblanket buckles.

Gold neckbands, African-inspired metal rings and gold chains were wrapped around the neck and wrists.Buttons were brassy and belt buckles shined like a cowboy’s saddle.

Due to the absolute necessity of belts in the wardrobe, manufactures began producing more inventive belt styles than had even been seen before. Some were wide burnished bands of leather and others were cut to fit the waistline.

Women were particularly fond of ballet slippers in 1945. They came in all colors: plaid, black, pink — you name it — and were worn with everything from skirts to dresses to dancing tights.

It’s hard to deny that as 1945 progressed, the fashion world took on a much more relaxed and peaceful tone. Like a huge sigh of relief. Colors lightened and fancy fabrics slowly came back. European designers didn’t have the worry of a war in their backyard and, with the end of World War II, people felt like it was OK to care about something as trivial as fashion again. It certainly had been a while.

1942-43-44

Fashion in 1943 began to show momentum of its own, an honest freedom from the great tradition of Paris on which it had leaned so heavily, for so long. Clothes were at once less cautious and less tricky. Still marked by the simplicity that wartime fabric shortages and the wartime work and psychology of women demanded, the simplicity was tempered by inventiveness of cut, a genuine suppleness of line.

Two very distinct silhouettes emerged over the year. One was tubular, slim, reedy, exemplified in straight chemise dresses cinched in at the waist by belt, not fit; in knitted dresses that pulled on over the figure like knee-length sweaters.

The other silhouette was chunky, bulky, giving the effect of fullness without gathers robust boxcoats in wool or fur, or wool lined in fur; wool dresses cut with the generosity of officers’ greatcoats, then decisively belted in.

With either silhouette, the look of the head was decidedly neat and small, the hair folded up off the ears and moored on top of the head, netted neatly at the back of the neck, or twisted in tight neat braids.

Hats fitted close to the skull were hot. Little felt caps, coifs bound tight around the hairline, wide bands of material (called “curvettes”) worn over the top of the head and tied under the hair in back with strings of felt or velvet ribbon. This curvette was the most popular headpiece (it could scarcely be called a hat) of the young. It was seen in every material: felt, fur, crocheted wool flecked with colored sequins for the evening. Many secured their hair in simple snoods of veiling anchored on the head by a band of ribbon.

Suits were still the most popular single fashion.

The straight, spare skirt was broken across the front by soft trouser pleats, and a new hike-back skirt appeared still straight in front, but hiked up slightly in back to make it swing out gracefully behind. The suit jacket grew shorter and niftier.

Three jackets in particular marked a development:

1.) the short, fitted jacket, nipped in snugly at the waist, slightly flared out over the hipbones;
2.) the bolero, fitted close to the lines of the figure after the authentic Spanish fashion;
3.) the box jacket, extremely young and casual, its squared-off lines accentuating the slimness of the skirt.

Long coats adapted from officers’ greatcoats, and short coats adapted from seamen’s jackets, were seen everywhere practical, dashing, adaptable; but it was the fur-lined coat, launched in the autumn, that became the big news of winter. Simple tweed reefers, loose box coats, slim mid-length tuxedo coats all wore fur linings.

Even the raincoat made a welcome fur-lined appearance, giving women an opportunity to be warm in any weather.

The younger generation made almost a uniform of the pinafore or jumper dress, perfect in cottons for summer; and in gray flannel, checked tweed, or bright wool jersey a wonderful campus costume worn with any of many shirts and blouses.

A few of the more daring began to couple the pinafore with an adaptation of the ballet dancer’s leotard: waist-length tights and a separate crew-neck shirt of striped or figured wool jersey. This basic outfit dispensed with stockings and most underclothing, and over it a pinafore or simple wrap-on skirt completed a whole costume.

After several years of covered-up necklines for both day and evening, decolletage came back in fashion. It was first seen during the summer in gingham beach dresses with shoulder-strap tops, and in printed silk town dresses with matching jackets to cover their backless, sleeveless nakedness on the street.

By winter, 1943, the covered-up, short-skirted dinner dress of 1942 had become a full-fledged, decollete evening dress: short black slipper satin dresses with ribbons of satin over bare shoulders; halter tops of white satin and sequins barbarically strapping naked backs above simple short black crepe skirts; short black crepe dresses with deep oval decolletage and tiny cap sleeves dangerously edged in black lace.

The deep oval decolletage with its little cap sleeves proved so becoming to so many women, and such a relief from high-neck, long-sleeve fashions that it spread to clothes of every description.

Both the oval and the halter neckline were uppermost also in a new genre of play dress for the south. A casual, feminine type of dress, made in coarse colorful cottons from Mexico and Guatemala, that threatened to supplant the shirtwaist dress, to banish the ubiquitous slacks from the beach forever.

1941.

For her easy hours she wanted a really beautiful gown — one that made her feel like Lynn Fontanne. A gown in star sapphire blue, purple or black, with swirls of gilt and coral at the deep slashed throat is a perfect example of something a woman would relax in in 1941.

If she breakfasted in bed, she wanted a bed-jacket to match her gown. Or she would wear a cozy quilted robe with a matching gown. Nosegay print in rayon crepe; white or blue with red ric-rac, maize with green — or pink with blue.

Women’s Outfit in 194 (Harper’s Bazaar)

When she plays cards in the evening she wears a pure cashmere cardigan in maize, gray, blue, natural or purple.

If she likes jewelry she might wear a pin with an exquisite basketweave bowknot in glod plate with rhinestones. She would like earrings with golden swirls with ruby and rhinestone bands. He favorite bracelet is a rhinestone bracelet in a sunburst-and-knot design.

She will also need some Edelweiss doe-skin gloves, a smart umbrella and a handbag — soft one. One that is black suede or claf, gathered on a frame and for extra dash — she’ll want her name in golden script. And for her tweeds, nothing could be better than crocodile skins from the Argentine.

At ease, at home, the man relaxes with his pipe and the paper in a chevron-weave smoking jacket. It’s made of spun rayon and wool in darker, more subdued colors. At his feet his wore “Freelancers” — bootmaker finish moccasins.

In 1941 they called scarfs “mufflers” and everyone wore one. They were usually in soft Scotch cashmere with a plaid pattern. Garters were a hot items as well — keeping those wide-ribbed brushed wool socks up.

And speaking of keeping things up, he needed black trimmed rayon moire suspenders complete with monogram.

When he’s out he wears a capeskin jacket, or a pure cashmere pullover with crew or V-neck. Over the sweater he wore a “Huntsman” jacket with Indian Tan soft suede leather and a comfortable bi-swing back.

Back to the lady. When she goes out she wants to wear a honey-smooth dinner jacket, with it lapels and cuffs encrusted with glittering “jewels.”

But what did she smell like? She had all kinds of perfumes to choose from: Charbert’s Amber, Houbigant’s Chantilly, D-Orsay’s Le Dandy, Corday’s Jet, Bourjois’ Mais Oui, Suzanne’s Tout de Suite and Arden’s Blue Grass were just some of the popular perfumes at the time.

But if he’s in the mood to get really fancy, he would wear an opera hat, white chamois gloves, silk scarf (white and black with black fringe or all-white) that’s, of course, monogrammed.

How about a trip to the big game? It’s gonna be cold! He needs a waterproofed cotton gabardine coat, lined and collared in lamb. Waterproofed boots with a lining of warm electrified sheepskin.

For all-weather clothes, he wants a lightweight raincoat in high-count cotton broadcloth, treated with DuPont water repellent Zelan process.

For black tie nights, he wore a shirt with attached collar and French cuffs, with gold plated cufflinks, matched to its pique pleated bosom.

An eighteen year-old guy thinks his poplin jacket is pretty special. The pure wool alpaca lining zips out and makes a separate sleeveless vest. He also loved his ulster, complete with wombat fur lined collar and the sleeves are leather lined.

An eighteen year-old girl loved her figure cutting outfit with its bright red and green plaid skirt and matching stocking cap. And for her trim little sweater in jacquard knit, all pure wool.

The college girl wore a stocking cap made of hand-knit virgin wool with a roll-neck jerkin. She loved those goofy elbow mittens, to echo her knee-high hand-loomed socks. All cable-stitched in fireman red or white.

She wore those frisky boots called “Mounties” for her rustic roadwork and general campus traffic. Complete with a knapsack muff in safari or beaver brown mouton lamb. With purse space inside, the muff is a perfect spice for her off-campus visit.

Practically required equipment for the gal on the move was an imported Shetland wool sweater in pink, blue, yellow or white. And she has a HUGE collection of Argyle socks.