40s Inspiration

The combination of university and a stomach bug that flattened me for a few days has meant that I haven't been crafting for a few days, so I thought I'd share a little bit of inspiration I've been getting from my google searches.

This looks like a pretty normal blouse/skirt combination in a lot of ways, but I really love the wide, rectangular collar with a bow on the middle dress. It's a little bit sailor, a little bit Japanese school girl, but it looks really stylish to me.

I'm also a fan of the bust lines on model number 2 (on the right) that turn the shoulders into these little caps over a very tight sleeve. I wouldn't wear it myself because it doesn't suit my body but I imagine it would look really sweet on someone who was thinner or less well muscled.

I really wish I knew what movie/magazine this picture comes from because it looks like something that would move beautifully. A skirt cut on the bias in parts and twirling from the waist is something I love to see and to wear. I'm not a fan of shoulder pads in dresses but I can see how it helps the general shape. I'm 90% sure that most people achieved that silhouette with some kind of waist cinching that we don't tend to do today, but I definitely wouldn't be against giving it a try. I'm a girl who likes her corsets and waspies.

This dress shows you a few other things I love about 40s dresses. The pattern is so busy and vaguely ridiculous that you couldn't wear it without feeling happy and silly (or embarrassed, but that's another story). I've already said I love the skirt flaring out at the waist but I'm also a fan of the shirt style collar and front. This is a style of dress that I would love to try making for myself.

It also looks like this dress has sleeves that carry on from the main body of the dress with no seams. I don't have any strong opinions on this type of sleeve but I'd like to give it a try at least once.

I think most people will agree that this jacket is pretty fabulous. From what I've seen, 40s jackets were highly tailored and stylish with that thin waist to mach the dresses and most of them seem to have some quite lovely details. I really like the fur on the jacket above and the beading below because they make your clothes look that bit fancier and more well thought out.

I'm really loving what I'm seeing in my research, but I might find something I love in every style I look into.