Forties Fashion: From Siren Suits to the New Look
The definitive book on 1940s fashion in America, Europe, Australasia, and Japan.
From French style under the Occupation and the “make do and mend” approach to wartime clothing shortages through issues of dress, patriotism, and propaganda to the rise of American fashion houses in the postwar period: here is a comprehensive look at the fashions and styles that emerged around the world during the 1940s.
During the Second World War, between air raids and ration lines, fashion managed t
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(out of 3 reviews)
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Review by N. D. Meikle for Forties Fashion: From Siren Suits to the New Look
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While not being a particular fan of lots of clothes being `displayed’ via the medium of the mannequin – no matter the period appropriateness of such – the broad use of mannequins in this book works particularly well. While viewing the contemporary fashion scene in the likes of Britain and America during WWII in publications of this nature is nothing new, the research that has gone into material for the book has certainly gone a great deal further than that of the `extra mile’. I particularly like the perspectives taken from Germany, Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Canada and even New Zealand, Australia and Japan. The even today revelation that Paris `ignored the war’, and to a certain extent continued to move forward fashion’s representational mode, is surprising in itself. But perhaps, the actual meaning of this is given little meaning – in terms of what physical clothing of the time looked like – in hitherto publications of this nature, in this book it is well-exampled.
Given the part title of the book, and putting aside arguments as to whether what Christian Dior established with his `New Look’ was a good or bad thing for women, the chapter dedicated to the post-war years is certainly not simply `a trotting-out’ of the same tired old images heavily featured in other publications. As has been achieved throughout the book, fashion representation, and therefore to a large extent, women’s self-defined representation of themselves at the time, is given a broader slant.
A number of the material in the book comes immediately before the 1940s, emphasising the relevancies of the 1930s – and what had gone before – to what was going on in fashion – and within the world as a whole in the 1940s itself. As you would expect, and is obviously furthermore befitting, given the momentous nature of WWII, the period features heavily in this publication. Again, international aspects of wartime fashion – and how this was represented in print media of the time are particularly interesting – emphasising the international nature of the research that has gone in to the book.
In essence, the goal of the book – to show women’s fashion of the 1940s period from international perspectives – has been particularly well rationalised and executed in the drawing together of images and text that make this book an essential purchase to anyone interested in what fashions of the 1940s period were actually like. Rather than, for example merely being another gathering of relative glamour and well-to-do people’s clothing taken from publications such as international versions of Vogue magazine. Perhaps the only criticism of the book would be the sparse representation given to men’s clothing. Given what Anne Hollander suggests as a need to acknowledge developments to both men’s and women’s clothing, to more accurately understand either – the momentous changes happening to women’s social position throughout most of `the developed world’ in the first-half of the twentieth century naturally befits that fashion, image and meaning is given the rightful position as a representation of women’s self-expression through clothing.
Review by H. Rosenau for Forties Fashion: From Siren Suits to the New Look
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I wear late 30s and early 40s clothing 7 days a week, and have been so sorry till now not to have a modern, extenstive text on the subject. This amazing volume is a fantastic addition to my library of period magazines and department store catalogues as it fleshes out the story brilliantly and has given me a much greater sense of the ramifications of war and rationing on the industry not just in America but in Germany, France, and England. Daywear and accessories are included too…advertisiments, photos. I highly recommend this book, which is terrific means for better understanding this fascinating period’s fashions.
Review by Paul Langley for Forties Fashion: From Siren Suits to the New Look
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I thoroughly enjoyed Walford’s fresh new look at the 40s! It’s filled with interesting facts as well as fab fashions – you’ll enjoy this trip into a fascinating part of our past.