Now To Find a Dress….. the hard part. A 1940’s evening  dress  OR  even a Tea dress  are hard to come-by , they are highly sought after and not surprising  really as they are gorgeous.

So What Do They Look Like? The war influenced everything including fashion , rationing, paring down and the militarian look was in.  The “Utility Scheme” emphasised  functional clothing with minimum decoration yet this period was very elegant and Upon examination you can see how this was achieved.

It was all about  Square Shoulders with light padding with ruched stitching across the shoulder bone and tucked sleeves , all this emphasised and gave the illusion of  a tiny waist.  Collars and Cuffs allowed  designers  to showcase  exact cutting and precision tailoring. The skilled work of Pattern Cutters, Seamstresses and machinists now were highly valued and became involved in life or death jobs of making “Our Boys” parachutes.  Knee length skirts with pleats  or simple panels of material that  would move andc change in appearance with the wearers movements were creative methods employed to compensate for material rationing . Materials were simple and pure, local and accessible like wools, linens  & gaberdines. Colours were muted and suits became the order of the day for the new work force of women  allowing them to look elegant yet be functional. Coats became more of an nessessity given the change  in womens roles and activities.  Hats became fashionable as they were indulgent yet maintained the traditional elegance and conservation of the period.  Hats were worn with suits , dresses and coats , they were small but statement pieces completing an Demure but strong Feminine silhouette.

Here is a  typical look of the 40’s……..

Gingham cotton Tea-Dress  with full Gaberdine coat  with wide and cuffed sleeves and finished with a small round black pill-box type hat with hat pin.