Body Outline was straight, no curves at all. Sleeveless wispy dresses with little if no visable waistline. Lots of beads were the rage. Close fitting hats, low over the forehead,almost cupping the face - the Cloche or Bell Hat being the most popular. Flared Skirts raised up to the knee, though by the early 1930's they went back down again to echo the depression atmosphere. Popular colours were browns and blues for daywear and pastels for eveningwear. Rolled Stockings became a must for any style consious flapper. Popular hairstyles were the Bob. 1920's Makeup took off with the innovations of Max Factor.
The instructions for putting on Fully Fashioned Stockings !!
That expensive kind which come apart after one night out.
Vintage fully Fashioned Stockings [ with seams ] should be rolled right down to the toe before putting on. They should be rolled on gently and eased over the heel. They should then be rolled slowly up the leg and the seam should be checked for straightness as this is done. Stockings should always be put on while the wearer is seated and with the legs lightly bent. The suspender should be fastened while the knee is bent and never too tightly, nor more than half-way down the welt. The side suspender should be at the side, and if the position of the suspender on the garment to which it appears to fall too far behind the line of the hip, it should be moved slightly forward, for the sake of the life of the stocking. [ and I love this bit ] Never smoke while putting on nylon stockings, as the minute particles of hot tobacco ash will melt through the nylon yarn and holes and ladders are bound to result. This accounts for many customers’ complaints that their stockings have given way, despite the fact that they had never been snagged or damaged in wear.
The principle design factor of was to be figure flattering - often incorporating the new stretch fabrics to offer tummy support and hourglass shape to a womans figure.This marked a major departure in the history of vintage swimwear
In 1946, the shocking introduction of the bikini threw the swimsuit fashion world into a new generation of swimsuit design. The original bikinis were quite modest and offered full coverage. Vintage Swimwear -available now over at Amazon - chronicles the whole history of vintage swimsuits. Beautifully illustrated with fashion photos and designs - it's a must if you're a vintage fashion nut. The book covers the impact of Hollywood on advertising swimwear fashion - most notably through the Esther Williams film Bathing Beauty.
With the summer months coming for the northern hemisphere - it may well help you decide on what vintage bathing costume you want. Right now over at Pandoras Choice - there's a beautiful range of retro style swimwear from the 1940's and 1950's by What Katie Did. This sporty nautical theme costume is our favourite.
Vintage swimsuits in the 1940's and 1950's had far a greater variety of swimwear fabrics, like lined cotton, stretch latex and nylon. The new bathing suit of that period was tailored to flatter a womans figure with tummy control panels,support cups for the bust and boning to create an hourglass figure. This charming film from 1948 gives us a good idea of what was popular in the early post war years
1940's makeup Tutorial - Face contouring / Lipstick and Hairstyles.
The classic Vintage Makeup Guide to the 1940's from Miss Ratherly Stern. Transcribed with illustrations.!! The ideal facial contour is supposed to be the oval. But some of us have round faces,square faces or long faces. What can we do to make our faces appear more oval?
Don't wear too high a neck line. It shortens the neck and increases the effect of roundness! Hair well off the forehead and flat against the temple ! Thin lipsticks, correctly applied to follow the natural mouthline ! A V neck completes the picture and gives the impression of a little more neck length to give the impression of an oval face!
Round Faces - The Right Look
Round Faces - The Wrong Look
2.Square Faces: Keep away from haircuts that hang in vertical lines near the side of the face and jawline in.This over empasisies the squareness of the jaw.Avoid straight horizontal lines near the face - like thin lips / round or high horizontal necks. Fill out the lower lip with your lipstick. Hair should fall in curves around the jawline. Wear a V neck line to pull the attention down from jaw. Pure logic when you think about it.
Square Faces - The right look
Square Faces - The Wrong look
3.The Long / Narrow Face. Don't wear V necks - This adds to the impression of length. Avoid Piled up high hair on top of head as this also adds to the length of the face. Hair should be off the top if the head and fluffed out at the sides to give the thin face added width.Finally a high neck line or choke distracts from the long neck ! Voila !
Long/ Narrow faces - The right look
Long / Narrow Faces - The wrong look
copyright-April2010 Glamourdaze
Have another look at the video on our YouTube site.
Finally - if you're really keen to know what women in the 1940s actually learned when it comes to make-up and beauty, then The Complete 1940's Make-up and Beauty Guide might just be a pleasant gift to your sweet vintage heart.
1940's fashion - Keeping Well Dressed Another vintage film clip of 1940's Fashion instruction. How to be well dressed on a tight budget! Some of Miss Ratherly Sterns advice for the 1940's dresser 1.A sagging hem or a gaping seam is a sure way to kill glamour ! 2.It's not the size of the wardrobe that counts -it's the shape ! 3.See that the hemline is even, the slip where it belongs ! 4.Make sure the stocking seams are straight.
Original archive footage comes courtesy of Rick Prelinger. Copyright Glamourdaze 2010
Vintage 1940's Hairstyles - Womens Hair Safety in the Second World War.
As women took to the factory and to the plough and tractor during the war years - hairstyles - by necessity were tied up in scarves or Turbans, cut to shorter lengths or pinned up in the many and various rolls known as Victory Hairstyles .What became known as the Rosie the Riveter look, was daily wear for both Factory girls and the famous Land Girls.
Whilst Dresses and Femininity were still emphasised in the fashion magazines , every womans wardrobe had trousers and a good stout pair of boots. 'Rosies' still wore makeup though,and kept those eyebrows manicured,and went nowhere without some emergency Lippy!
The following safety consious ' Victory' Hairstyles were hugely popular.
1.The Vingle - [ consisting of four partings, forming V shapes ]. 2.The Victory Roll -A woman parted her hair to suit her face shape the best [ either a centre part, side part or extreme side part !]. Then she rolled her hair up over foam Hair Rats - which were made from rolled up shed hair [ yes it sounds yickh but it worked ! ]. Then she positioned to her taste and secured with Bobby Pins. Et Voila ! 3.The Turban equalised people of all means and social backgrounds. Starting as a simple safety precaution to prevent hair entangling in machinery at the factory or in the farm, the usual resourcefulness of the female sex quickly turned it into a fashion accessory, in much the same way that Turbans and Headscarves do for women who undergo chemotherapy these days.
These Hairstyles are becoming popular again thanks to the growing vintage fashion and hairstyle enthusiasts like Lisa Freemont.She really is amazing. Also the aforementioned Bobby Pin Blog author Lauren Rennell [ who also penned the well known Vintage Hairstyling- see below at Amazon] .
Finally - kick off the shoes and enjoy both of these vintage hairstyle films from the archive featuring Women's Victory ! Hairstyles from the Second World War !
-available now over at Amazon - chronicles the whole history of vintage swimsuits.
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- see below at Amazon] .