Fashion

The Hats of 1947 (Collier’s Magazine, 1947)

With the exception of the broad-brimmed sun hat pictured in the attached fashion editorial, you will find that women’s hats were growing smaller throughout the course of the Forties and they tended to sit farther back on the cranium, requiring hairdos that would accommodate and complement these creations.


The Sally Victor hat composed of red cherries took its inspiration directly from the bizarre, comical costumes worn by the actress Carmen Miranda. This fruit theme was typical of many post-war milliners. The six other hats in the piece were by two American designers: Lilly Dache and John-Frederics.

Click here to see what men’s summer hats were like during this period.

The Hats of 1947 (Collier’s Magazine, 1947) Read More »

Fashion Modeling in the 1940s (Coronet Magazine, 1944)

Inasmuch as this 1944 article sums up the bygone world of the New York fashion model, the terms heroin chic and bulimia are not found on any of it’s five pages (an over site, no doubt). The Forties were a time when a model would be just as likely to get a booking from a commercial artist as she would a photographer, and, unlike the Twenties and the earliest days of the Thirties, it was a time when a standardized image of beauty was well-established.

– five feet nine inches in height, weight 110 pounds, bust 33, waist 24, hips 34, blonde or a light shade of brown hair. She will have quick, clever eyes and a very expressive face.
Many of the models are bitter, unhappy girls inside. They soon grow disillusioned with their dream of modeling as a gateway to theatrical glory; they learn that their height is against them.


Read about the attack of the actress/models!

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The Plot to Restore the Corset (The New Republic, 1922)

A shewed observer of fashion, Mary Alden Hopkins (1856 – 1930) noted how the Victorian dinosaurs who lorded-over the male-dominated, pro-corset fashion industry had attempted (unsuccessfully) to manipulate and coerce the shoppers of the early Twenties to reject the Chanel-inspired revolt that the young flappers were currently enjoying.

How can I sell these styles?…the flappers won’t buy them.

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1940s Makeup and W.W. II (Click Magazine, 1942)

Illustrated with thirteen pictures of the most popular U.S. makeup products used throughout the Forties, this article provides a fascinating look at how World War II effected the American cosmetic industry and how that same industry benefited the American war effort.


The U.S. cosmetics industry was effected in many ways, read the article and find out.


Click here to read a 1954 article about Marilyn Monroe.

1940s Makeup and W.W. II (Click Magazine, 1942) Read More »

The Strong Economy and its Effect on Fashion (Quick Magazine, 1951)

The antidote to the austere fashion deprivations of the 1930s and the wartime fabric restrictions that characterized the Forties arrived in the immediate post-war period when designers were at last permitted to make manifest their restrained cleverness and create an aesthetic style in a mode that was overindulgent in its use of fabric. This fashion revolt commenced in Paris, when Christian Dior showed his first collection in 1947 – couturiers in every style capitol in the West willingly kowtowed and a new era in fashion was born.

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Top Model Jinks Falkenburg (Click Magazine, 1940)

In the Sixties the most popular fashion model was Twiggy (né Lesley Hornby, b. 1949), and in the Fifties the top model was Suzy Parker (1932 – 2003: truly the first Super Model). But in the 1940s the honor went to Jinx Falkenburg (1919 – 2003).
The 1940’s was the decade in which the advertising world began to gaze more favorably upon photographers rather than illustrators, who had long held the prominent place since printers ink was first invented. During the earliest days of her career Falkenburg’s likeness was often painted until the her bookings with photographers quickly picked up. She was the firstMiss Rheingold (appointed, not elected), she appeared in movies, entertained the troops and when she stood before the cameras she was paid all of $25.00 an hour (the term super Model wouldn’t come about until the Seventies).

The attached photo essay will give you some more information.


From Amazon:

JINX by Jinx Falkenburgstyle=border:none

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The Depiction of Mothers in Silent Film (Pathfinder, 1926

This one is from the more things change, the more they stay the same department; it was penned by an outraged woman who was plenty peeved that nascent Hollywood chose to cast geezers to play the rolls of mothers in their movies. In light of the fact that women had babies at far, far younger ages one hundred years ago, she illustrated her point with an anecdote pulled from the annals of the Chicago Police Department.

The Depiction of Mothers in Silent Film (Pathfinder, 1926 Read More »

The Birth of the Slip Dress (Quick Magazine, 1949)

One Autumn evening in 1949, New York fashion model Anna-Lee Daniels and her gay boyfriend, Henry, took it upon themselves to demonstrate just how chic ladies’ undergarments were becoming. Recognizing that the latest slips were so minimal in their design – appearing much like the dresses flappers were often seen wearing back in the day It was soon decided that the two should step out for a night on the town – with young Anna-Lee sporting the slip – just to see if anyone caught on.

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Leopard and Zebra Prints Become the Thing, Again (Quick Magazine, 1954)

Two years before this article went to press, some Delphian at Quick Magazine scribbled these words:

Expect fashion designers to jump on the African trend in literature and entertainment. Examples: four new African [themed] films (Cry the Beloved Countrystyle=border:none, The Magic Gardenstyle=border:none, Latuko and The African Queenstyle=border:none) to be followed by a Walt Disney African wildlife film.


– next thing you know, down fashion’s runways sashay the teen waifs – all clad as if they were the striped and spotted beasts who prance upon the Serengeti Plain.

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The Common Sense of the Flappers (Flapper Magazine, 1922)

Originally writing for the Forrest Park Review, Flapper advocate Myrtle Heilman (1895 – 1973) opined that the Flapper was the one and only topic of the day worth thinking about:

Analyze her dress. It’s the most sensible thing since Eve. She wears rolled socks and why shouldn’t she? They are extremely cool and comfortable. Her toddle pumps are fairly low-heeled and she doesn’t try to squeeze into a Cinderella. Her skirts are short because it’s the fashion. Her bobbed hair is cool, sensible and sanitary. There is a twinkle in her eye and she has a saucy cock-sureness. And why shouldn’t she?

She does respect her parents and she obeys them, just as well as her grandmother did hers, but she has common sense and she knows when it’s time to use her own judgment and exercise her own authority.

The Common Sense of the Flappers (Flapper Magazine, 1922) Read More »