History Lesson: 1930s & 40s Fashion

Many of my vintage fashion purchases from the past year have been from the 1930s and 1940s. From my perspective as a vintage clothing seller on Etsy, I’d like to share what draws me to this particular era.

                   

Hats

Magenta tilt hat, Concetta's Closet

I don’t regularly wear hats (I’m self-conscious and am never sure if I should be adding extra height to my already 6-foot tall frame). But if I did wear hats, I would definitely be wearing fashions from the 1930s & 1940s. Fruit, flowers, unique shapes, felted wool in unique patterns adorned these beauties; hats from this era are wearable art.

Wide brim straw hat, Poppycock Vintage

              Jewelry

Celluloid necklace, The Collected Collage

I love everything about jewelry from this era - the shapes, colors and materials. Jewelry styles carried over from the earlier decades of the 20^th century, specifically art deco and art nouveau. In the 1930s, celluloid jewelry was popular; chain link necklaces with celluloid charms shaped like leaves, flowers and fruit were especially popular. In the 1940s, many of the necklaces were made of stone, glass beads, and Bakelite.

Bakelite brooches, like this one from
Reverse Chronology, were popular in the 1940s

Glass beaded choker, Blue Fennel Vintage

Handbags

Corde evening purse, Callooh Callay

My Fair Lady lucite purse, DOTTO

Similar to jewelry, antique handbags were constructed out of a variety of unique materials. Lucite and corde were commonplace, along with the perennial favorites of tapestry and beading. (My personal favorite are definitely the unique telephone cord purses!)

Telephone cord purse, Ginny & Harriot

Shoes

When I think of shoes from the 1940s, I think of big band music and swing dancing. Many shoes from this time period were perfect for dancing with their beautiful lines and large, solid heels.

Leather Mary Jane heels, Honey Talk Vintage

Black & white spectator heels, 4 birdsvintage

 Dresses

Rayon print dress, Petrune

Wool skirt & sweater set, Miss Farfalla

There is way too much to say about dresses from the 30s and 40s in one post, so I’ll keep it to my favorite trends. The 1930s-1940s produced a variety of beautiful knit dresses. They come in both manmade and natural fibers, and they are comfortable, flattering, and easy to wear.

My other favorite trend was novelty prints (yes, I love colors and patterns). Many of these prints look as fashionable today as they did 70-80 years ago.

Jackets and Suits 

Finally, you can’t talk about the 1940s without mentioning jackets and suits. 1940s suits were the precursor to the 80s power suit, but in my opinion, so much more stylish. Not only did they have strong shoulders, they were made to fit the figure closely, and were constructed out of beautiful, sturdy fabrics, most typically wools and linens.

Linen suit, Hollie Point Vintage

Sreen siren suit, Wildfell Hall Vintage