Forties Fashion

The story of a decade of dress – national costume, uniforms, work clothes, home-made elegance, couture – from zoot suits to the New Look

Focuses on fashion in the 1940s, offering coverage ranging from French style under the Occupation and the make do and mend mentality, through issues of dress, patriotism and propaganda and the development of faux fabrics and rationing, to the rise of American fashion houses and the creation of Christian Diors New Look.This is the definitive book on fashion in the 1940s, covering everything from French style under the Occupation and the ‘make do and mend’ mentality, through issues of dress, patriotism and propaganda and the development of faux fabrics and rationing, to the rise of American fashion houses and the creation of Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’. International attitudes emerge from some 250 illustrations, including period advertisements, images of real clothes, and first-hand accounts from contemporary publications.