1940s leisurewear

[jessicarabbit]

I promise I've done searches but unfortunately haven't been too successful.

I want to know what kind of clothes women wore to be more casual in the mid-late 40s. the only things I can really find are wide leg pants. is this period-correct?

 

[Joie DeVive]

It depends on the season, where you were, and what you were doing.
Dresses, albeit casual ones, were largely the order of the day. Casual separates such as skirts and sweaters were also common, especially in the younger set. Pants weren't as common for social gatherings, but were often seen in rural settings and for rustic activities. Another favorite of the time period for the summer was the playsuit.

Have you seen the fashion books that are made up of pages from Sears catalogs from the period? I can't recall the exact titles. They have them for early, mid, and late decade for at least the 1940s-1960s. I found them in my local library. They've been mentioned on here, and they probably wouldn't be hard to find on Amazon. They have great illustrations and give you a good sense of what was worn.

 

[KittyT]

Everyday Fashions of the Forties as Pictured in Sears Catalogs (Paperback)
by JoAnne Olian

 

[LelaViavonie]

That looks like a good book!

 

[Joie DeVive]

Thanks KittyT! That's a good set, but actually, I was thinking of these:

Early 1940s http://www.amazon.com/Fashionable-C...r_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221583240&sr=1-10
Mid 1940s http://www.amazon.com/Fashionable-C...r_1_21?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221583436&sr=1-21
Late 1940s http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Fash...=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221583240&sr=1-6

This set starts at least in the 1930s, and seems to go up through the 1980s!

 

[Snookie]

It depends on the season, where you were, and what you were doing.

To continue this idea, I want to point out that clothing used to be MUCH more task-specific than it is today. Aside from the rare prom or wedding, jeans and t-shirts are considered appropriate for the majority of activities (especially here in California...) Ladies used to wear certain clothes for morning housework, wear to nicer dresses/suits for afternoon social activities or to jobs outside the home, and loungewear and eveningwear were entirely different categories. The amount of variety differed due to personal economics, of course, but everyone adhered to it to a degree - for kids, wornout Sunday clothes because school clothes, and wornout school clothes became afterschool playclothes.

So, 1940's Leisurewear - do you mean clothes worn at home on the couch, clothes worn while on vacation, or or just anything besides evening gowns?

 

[jessicarabbit]

So, 1940's Leisurewear - do you mean clothes worn at home on the couch, clothes worn while on vacation, or or just anything besides evening gowns?

sort of more clothes worn at home on the weekends and while on holiday.

thankyou all so much for your help

 

[Bluebird]

One of my fave places to go to figure out "what was the average Jane wearing", is the www.wishbookweb.com site. (I'm not sure how to get this to go directly there, sorry! I'll do research.) It has wishbooks starting from 1940 (not all, mind). Of course, its all winter stuff but it gives a good idea of what gramma wore, and had in her house. I'm a bit of a nut for Christmas anyway, so this is a fave site!

I haven't seen this anywhere on the FL so I'm not sure if everybody knows about this site. Enjoy anyway! Christmas isn't that far away (unfortunately...now I'm starting to panic! )

^_^bluebird

 

[Bluebird]

Thanks Lady Day! I'm such a techno-peasant!! lol