Forties Fashions - Everyday Women's Clothing in 1940s USA [COLORIZED]

[@mark-xx1lt]

This was the era of my parents dating age. My mother's first marriage was in the late 40s. I remember seeing pictures of family members being dressed exactly like these people. Very pleasant photos.

[@James_Ford4815]

that pointing out societal decay opening ... absolute legend

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Ha, hah! Thanks - (sometimes it just has to be said!)

[@philwatson6659]

40's and 50's America had the, lot, stylish and sophisticated girls, the music and the cars

[@Yellow-Rose]

I really wish they would make clothes like this again. Absolutely breathtaking.

[@buttarain27]

They do, I've seen them, just shop online.

[@Yellow-Rose]

@@buttarain27 Retro Stage is one.

[@manchesterexplorer8519]

Tailor made clothing would cost a fortune these days. People also didn't own 20 pairs of pants , 15 pairs of shoes etc.. back then . I'm a contractor that works on pre war homes as bedroom closets used to be very small.

[@Yellow-Rose]

@@manchesterexplorer8519 yes interesting point about closet size. Nowadays people have walk-in closets as big as another room.

[@davidelmore1668]

Back when we were half way civilized! Thanks for the memories.

[@fluffy1931]

Your talking about a era that included WW2 & holocaust, the US was divided by strict segregation & Jim Crow laws etc. pls gtfoh

[@junebug7363]

Beautiful styles and ladies were ladies. Today is extremely shocking may God forgive us. No modesty, no sense of style just a flash for the moment.

[@MaryIannacone]

I’m 70 years old and I remember a time when we all had to dress up to go out. I still do. I never go out in sweat pants without my hair and makeup done. Loved this video!

[@verenamaharajah6082]

I was born in 1957. I recall my mother never looked sloppy, she had an hourglass figure and although poor, she made a lot of the family’s clothes and also received good quality clothes from her parents in Germany, she always looked clean, well groomed and made sure we did too.

[@ir-312]

I was also born in 1957. My mom 1930 was very fashionable. She sewed dresses, skirts, coats. Even fashionable bikini in 1946-47, since there was nothing in stores in the USSR at that time.

[@RichardSmith-st3uw]

Ditto

[@tahjhebert5167]

@@verenamaharajah6082 very weird to point out you're mother's figure lol

[@elmoomle4565]

Absolutely LOVE the tailored/fitted look of '40s fashion...the women looked so elegant and feminine. Wonderful.

[@preciousg558]

This is the reason why im learning how to sew. Back then almost all know how to sew their own clothes. Lots of vintage sewing tutorials/youtubers nowadays.

[@tmc1373]

Same! And the clothing style was much more beautiful!

[@andreacannon1263]

I agree with you, I learned how to sew thanks to my mother and I love making my own clothes and feel connected to my femininity ❤

[@jessejohnson6799]

Everything looked so clean and everyone dressed so beautifully

[@fluffy1931]

You mean clean like lead pipes, lead tin cans for food and yummy asbestos in housing material for homes and heating. How about a healthy smoke and forget about second hand smoke the tobacco industry loves you.

[@manchesterexplorer8519]

Meanwhile many people still smoke tobacco, 70% of Americans are simply fat lazy slobs and many are morbidly obese cows.@@fluffy1931

[@c.s.7266]

Hats and gloves were so classy and beautiful. I wish they would come back.

There is nothing stopping you to wear gloves and hats and just a simple nice dress, skirt and blouse, and nice pair of shoes on a daily bases today. I do it and I can’t care less what those wearing sweat pants and sneakers to go everywhere think. If many of us start wearing a dress everyday perhaps others will take the cue. Fashion is dictated by some regular people wearing something and making it a habit. I would not dare to go to the grocery store in my pyjamas or sports clothes. Those are for sleeping and fitness activities only. But then again, some would wear my pjs as a summer dress for what they call “special occasion.” 😂 I simply find the way most people dress today horrendous and unflattering.

[@stevem491]

Wow! Class, elegance, beauty...and all in good shape.

[@JC-jk3kl]

Not anymore! Western women have become insufferable, impenitent, hypergamous, boss babes with high body counts!

[@lablackzed]

​@@JC-jk3klYep their called SLAGS .👊💥

[@beverlywilliams7278]

So feminine and classy! My mother was a young woman in the 40's and I love looking at pictures of her in that Era. She made her own clothes and they were beautiful as was she!! I miss her so much!

[@emilyjohnstone2060]

Absolutely love it, amazing, these women are classy, elegant, and saasy with a Godly finish 🙌

[@jayleeds2006]

They look so clean, fresh and classy........my grandmother has a lot of photos with her dressed like this.

[@liisabjork76]

My mom was born in 1942. I see a lot of my grandmother's styles in these photos. My mom's mother. Love

[@patmosrevelation5250]

So clean and neat. They looked lovely.

[@carolinegoss856]

Loved what the narrator said:” When people had respect for themselves and everyone else to care how they presented themselves to the world”.

[@Volynyanka]

Well, nowadays the celebrities are dressed a little bit more then slaves at the slave market (when sold naked for better viewing of the "merchandise").

[@sarah37452]

​@Volynyanka If the previous generations saw Kim Kardashian they'd think she's a prostitute with the way she dresses and behaves

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thanks!

[@daphne0422]

I appreciate that the way they wore were so elegant and refined

[@Bellagio551]

Stunning! When personal pride in appearance was a staple... and when women were women and men were men.

[@tracymcreations]

I adore the 40's. The fashion, the music was the best

[@brandywineblue]

History Lounge, you nailed it: ENOUGH RESPECT FOR THEMSELVES & OTHERS TO CARE ABOUT HOW THEY PRESENTED THEMSELVES TO THE WORLD

[@Freepeter-ui2vf]

This is how my grandparents dressed. I love looking at old pictures of them and their classy styles. I love how classy, feminine and elegant the ladies looked. So glad that I sew and can find some retro patterns featuring these styles for me to make for myself.

[@MargauxMachek]

The 40s are definitely forgotten and thank you for reminding us how cool it was!

[@lmusima3275]

Wow the people were so well dressed. I love the 1940s women’s fashion. I’m using this as a style guide when I go out looking for clothes

[@DominiqueFrancon]

This is such a lovely presentation. My mother was a young woman in the 1940s and she continued to be beautifully presented every day of her life.

[@DigbyOdel-et3xx]

My mom was such as a 50's woman and like yours dressed well up to her passing. My father always dressed appropriately and with care to look good as well up to his passing as well.

[@paulbroderick8438]

The ladies, the clothing and the autos back then, what a trio!!

[@carlosspiceyweiner3305]

My mother and her parents came to Southern California in 1938 from Munich, she was amazed at all the cars and wide roads.

[@leslieperkins2722]

I was born in 1957 and I remember my parents, grandma, aunts and uncles all looked very well dressed and classy.

[@ericlindenmuth7517]

I love these old photo's!!!

[@Babygirl80572]

I am 43, and I dress up every day. I am the owner and founder of my private therapy practice. I live in my world; my office looks like a 1958 living room, and my patients live there. My son is 21 and my daughter is 20. They are both in college, and they always say they're surprised how their roommates leave the dorm room, looking like they haven’t showered. My husband always dressed dapper and supported my decision to require our kids to look polished and well-groomed when leaving the house.

[@fulvias.8463]

I can totally feel you, I am thinking that someday I will have an apartment that is a time capsule of the 60s/70s. I can have enough modernity outside my home, but then wehn I need to recharge and feel comfortable I can go back to my "retro" place, with no social medias, no tv, just records and old movies on the projector.

[@patriotares]

The introduction was very well said. Sign of the times.

[@annabellegardner2273]

Thank you for including women of color too and love vintage fashion. Great video

[@dt90210]

Beautiful❤. Best era for fashion, wholesome beauty and elegance.

[@billyski6798]

Excellent as always, just beautiful, I want to go back ASAP, a wonderful time. Thank you. 🙏🌹❤️👍

[@sandrasmith5994]

Thanks for the lovely video. I have photos of my mother and aunt dressed like those beautiful women. It was surely a time when people cared what they looked like.

[@1984BodeaMauO]

Beautiful times!!!

[@fluffy1931]

WW2 & holocaust was beautiful !

[@1984BodeaMauO]

@@fluffy1931 surely no!!!

[@donaldculp3759]

No high fructose corn syrup yet. No fast food super size. Personal pride was paramount no matter your income level.

[@siison1390]

Oh Wow. My favorite time in history. I watch every movie from the 40s.😍 Makes you wonder where all our ladies went to.🥹Thanks for sharing.🙏

[@CarolStJohn-ev9ry]

Everyone is so neat and clean and no one is obese. That young lady in pink towards the end was gorgeous.

[@anatoliy3323]

Beautiful times, beautiful America 👍💯

[@fluffy1931]

Jim Crow was not beautiful ftard.

[@melodypatrick3707]

This was my grandparents’ era, and there are clothes in this collection that I would definitely wear if I had them today!

[@2Hearts3]

Reminds me if a great line from the movie "It's a Wonderful Life." George asks Violet Bick, "Where'd you get that dress?" Violet: "This old thing? Why, I only wear this when i don't care HOW i look." 😏

[@rigom926]

Had to come here and share with my daughter the styles. Love this era of fashion

[@ChatwithKat555]

I love this era, especially the makeup

[@tia904]

I think it is because less is more...

[@herrunsinn774]

07:21Wow! What timeless beauty.

[@pinkprincesswhee]

Wow :O Im more impressed how every lady has her hair DONE!!! Even when outside in the snow!!!

[@V.E.R.O.]

Wow, even their snow outfits were glamorous!

[@NthePast]

The key point to this is that people had respect for themselves AND those around them.

[@ghadeeralkhamees8752]

Beautiful natural beauty everything is stunning 🥰❤️

[@hoatuongdung17]

They’re so elegant ❤❤❤

[@Tucsontex]

Wonderful! thank you, what a beautiful era. i wish i could be transported to a parallel universe like this!!!!!!!!!

[@sueanderson-gb8zw]

My grandmother ALWAYS wore a dress, closed- toed shoes, nylons. Very classy times.

[@madelinesanchez6609]

I love these fashions! And most of them would not be out of place today. They are timeless.

[@judyalvarez203]

I absolutely loved this, classy dressing.

[@ruthgunneson-poling1571]

What a beautiful elegant black woman @ 3:29! Thank you for including her. Her clothing is perfect.

[@jamesmonahan9408]

The women looked so classy and beautiful. The men looked handsome and classy. My parents were 18-ish in the mid 40's and always dressed well. Not expensive but classy. Love this era.

[@LOVECATO1]

Lovely!! Sad to think almost all of these ladies are gone or very very old!

[@tomw4678]

Classy! A time when people took pride in themselves. And then you go to a Walmart today and watch a carnival sideshow

[@fluffy1931]

On feb 20 1939' NYC more than 20,000 followers of the German American Bund celebrated with pride the awesomeness that was Hitler in Madison Square Garden.

[@davidrauch7896]

Awwww! Peace, love and food stamps!! The moment that schools allowed the aclu to get a foothold. 1964.. long hair, drugs, disrespect for parents, sexual freedom, clap, aids, ghonnrea, all the fun stuff! Awwww, the good ol, days!! 😊

[@RestoRidez]

Exactly! You no longer have to go to a circus to see a Freak Show just go out shopping....😆

[@skeletor9121]

Love the music along with the pics. 👍🏻

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Cool - glad you liked it!

[@AmyLSchulte]

My Mom (graduated HS in 45, married in 46) always said they “dressed” to go anywhere. She lived her life like this into her 90s.

[@lindatohara6438]

I know a lady 104 years old she still looks good in shorts and a nice polo shirt. She is beyond FABULOUS!!Her secret, she owned a ski lodge thats exercising daily and it paid off!!

[@mariakettlehut7399]

Loved this and the way they dressed

[@stischer47]

While it was the 50s, I remember my mother and all women of the neighborhood never leaving the house unless they were dressed to the nines, even to the grocery store. And she made sure my two brothers and I were dressed for downtown.

[@Seething1]

I have always loved the fashion style of the 40’s and the music, so I really enjoyed this video! Thank you!😊

[@Lynda-oo7ey]

I love the fact that you showed people of many ethnicities.😊😊

[@tmc1373]

ALL AMERICANS

[@Rohoactr]

I wish we can go back in time. Class and self respect

[@fluffy1931]

WW2 & holocaust, Jim Crow laws & segregation and Ku Klux Klan keep wishing.

[@ghadeeralkhamees8752]

Absolutely stunning elegant and beautiful what’s happening with fashion today terrible bring back the beautiful elegant style ❤️

[@scotnick59]

colorization is super excellent!

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thank you!

[@Jose-dw4ho]

Nice, Nice photos and good music. I'm 74 year old

[@louislamonte334]

Everybody cared about how they looked and had decency, class, dignity and self-respect!

[@ellylovely205]

We can always bring it back. It all starts with ourselves. 🤗🥰

[@keithbrown8814]

​@@ellylovely205it would have to start with way, way better parenting from infancy onward....especially strong fathers...

[@ellylovely205]

@@keithbrown8814 Let's assume the father or the mother are both/each drunken parent/s. But, when the child grew up became the most respectful and trustworthy person, which made everybody think of is he/she the child of that father/mother. So, it all depends on that individual, not the family/relative...etc. I have heard/seen children from a well family, happened to be the opposite. Or, vice versa, the children were from a drunken family, who were known to be one of the best in their community. So, it all depends on the individual. 🤞🥰

[@fluffy1931]

@@ellylovely205 Why would you bring back Jim Crow & segregation ffs.

[@ellylovely205]

@@fluffy1931 All I care to bring back, is to have integrity. 🤞✌️🥰

[@m.e.holley7613]

My favorite era of fashion! Thanks!

[@boomer7485]

Seeing my Grandparents and my wife's Grandparents pictures they were so handsome and beautiful. In their Military uniforms and civilian clothes they were all so clean and dignified.

[@lizzapaolia959]

Thanks for sharing your comment. God bless you and your family 🙏

[@boomer7485]

@@lizzapaolia959 And also to you.

[@WilliamCooper-l6f]

I was born when my dad was 40 years old. So, even though I wasn't a part of this generation, I was familiar with it. My mom had a foot pedal sewing machine. She had tons of patterns and she did make them from start to finish. She cooked and taught my sisters to cook. The still shot of the woman for this video looks incredibly like my mother. She could easily pass as her sister. Women had lots of beautiful clothes designs and they were all tasteful and quite appealing. Men pretty much all looked the same. Every man wanted to look like Cary Grant and talk big, like John Wayne. My uncle Dub was the spitting image of Lee Marvin - you could not tell the two apart and he even had the same voice. This was the best time to be alive in the world. The nation was reeling with pride and united as one large tribe. Politeness, respect and manners were signature characteristics of the day. How horribly far we have fallen. We are not a better people or more enlightened. I like how George Washington and others of his day used to say, "If we educate our children apart from the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we will have done nothing more, than created clever devils". And that is exactly what has happened. Thank you for the good memories.

[@JHRIRS2010]

And a lot of common sense which is so badly needed.

[@fluffy1931]

Jim Crow laws & segregation ring a bell ftard. You might have forgotten american fascist movement of that time was sweeping the US along german centric german american bund. On Feb 20 1939' NYC Madison Square Garden hosted more than 20,000 marching americans celebrating promoted Nazi propaganda.

[@fluffy1931]

@@Diana-yn2ho keep sniffing wood glue.

[@jamesvoigt7275]

Virginia here, age 82. In the 1940s, our country had just been through a couple decades of the great depression and World War 2. My parents were teenagers during the depression, and many people did not have enough to eat. My mother's family sometimes went to bed hungry for that reason. There were serious food, clothing, and commodity shortages with rationing during the war. During and after all that, it wasn't hard to be "slim." The government encouraged young women to take care of their appearance during the war for the morale of the troops. My mother and her sisters looked just like those young women you show. Many people sewed their own clothing at that time, and my mother sewed for us all. When you make your own clothes, you will naturally find many variations that you don't when purchasing them. Almost nobody could afford a new car during the depression and domestic vehicles were not even made during the war, so there was naturally pride of automobile ownership when the opportunity arose. You see it here.

[@Over60sowhat]

"A time when people had enough respect for themselves and those around to care about how they presented themselves to the world." - Exactly!

[@fluffy1931]

A time when the US was under Jim Crow & segregation & strict race laws. Anti-semitism & fascist pro-nazi movements like the german american bund celebrated on Feb 20, 1939' in NYC with over 20,000 americans complete with swatzikas & flags in Madison Square Garden. Plus for sh*t & giggles and respect the forced internment of japanese american citizens.

[@MrSupernova111]

Wow! Beautiful decade! Cheers!

[@alexandrasmith7682]

I am in my 50's now, but remember that my mother and grandmother dressed this way. My Grandmother was 5' 1" and weighed 110lbs .... She dieted everyday and brought my mother and I up with the adage ..... "Men don't go for chunks of chocolate unless it is on a cake". She also never wore trousers as they were for men .... Even today, I wear denim skirts rather than jeans. You never left the house without perfume, earrings, mascara, and lipstick. Handbags and shoes matched. You wore stockings and heels (still do). Femininity was important.

[@carmaela2689]

Look at the effort people made for each other ❤

[@darrelllang4076]

It was called CLASS !!!!!!!

[@catherinelee3298]

Beautiful clothes and hairstyles.

[@joanofarcxxi]

I wish people still dressed like this. It's so classy. Those ladies were gorgeous, and the gentlemen were so stylish too. I think the biggest difference is the men nowadays all looking the same, with jeans and t shirts. Back in the dya, they wore amazing suits and hats, and combed their hair, wow.

[@mariamart_0]

The men were kinda attractive back then. They were so fine…god I could be swooning over…Errol Flynn or Clarke Gable…even though he was a closeted homosexual and homophobic at the same time lmao. 🌈🌈🌈

[@edwarddorsheimer2055]

A fantastic presentation of history gone by. Thanks 🥰…

[@grechelestrada4846]

This was a beautiful video .. i been looking for more like these .. please make more .. women looked so classy and wore clothes and not sweat pants .. or jeans to go out ..

[@BabsLongfellow]

I still own some of my grandma's clothes from this era, the quality and attention to detail is beautiful, even on a "day dress". I even have a pair of her heels, they are beautiful. I treasure them all.

[@charliebronson1274]

Classy and elegant. Curvy and vivacious. True women.

[@Antonia-yr8dp]

Oh how I miss that time. I loved getting dressed to meet the day. Everyone looked so nice. Respect for themselves and others

[@NealSchultz]

7:23 is the absolute stunner of them all!!! Wow!

[@PlasmaCoolantLeak]

I can just imagine her grandkids looking at that picture today: "Grandma! You were HOT!"

[@josephstevens9888]

@@PlasmaCoolantLeak I was thinking the exact same thing!

[@josephstevens9888]

I agree!

[@torza2]

Great pictures and music. And last but not least, great woman

[@larryjenkinson5525]

🇦🇺 The girl at 7.22 is just gorgeous!

[@Hiding_in_the_Light]

Absolutely stunning ❤

[@leanneneville2431]

Less processed food and smaller portions. Rationing due to the war years would keep one slim and walking more and dancing would help with the waistline as well. Not the snack food and all the sugar of today.🌸

[@liamfarnell6638]

Tell me you don't know shit without telling me you don't know shit

[@mariegarside8830]

Food rationing was a reality during the war years. Folks planted "victory gardens" in order to supplement their diets. Gas rationing resulted in more walking. FYI - I gathered information when I was collecting oral histories from people who lived through the great depression and World War 2.

[@rcjdeanna5282]

I was a war boomer and grew up near a large black neighborhood in Dallas. The women dressed so beautifully I still remember them.

[@miriambucholtz9315]

Thank you!! That was, to say the least, refreshing. I remember looking forward as I grew up through the 40s and 50s to getting old enough to dress like a lady. Then the later 60s happened...

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Hi, Miriam! That's cool that you grew up back in these times. I'm glad to hear that you liked this video!

[@Bond.girl.007]

So very beautiful and well put together. This is fantastic, thank you!!!!! ❤😊

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thank you so much for your kind words - it's very much appreciated!

[@edanderson9938]

No tattoos or metal sticking out of their heads!

[@fluffy1931]

No race mixing either. Segregation was awesome and Jim Crow laws the best. Internment camps for Japanese americans was kino!

[@edanderson9938]

@@fluffy1931 give me a break!

[@fluffy1931]

@@edanderson9938 On Feb 20, 1939, a Nazi rally took place at Madison Square Garden, organized by the German American Bund. More than 20,000 people attended celebrating pro Hitler & pro-"Americanism" rally; the stage at the event featured a huge Washington portrait with swastikas .

[@Rafael-tj6ve]

​@@fluffy1931The same year Sovjet union and Hitler side by side occupated Polen and hade parades and festivities together.

[@SFGal9]

As I get older, it’s harder to “put myself together,” but I absolutely love this style. It’s 2023, this quiet sophistication still works. It is timeless.

[@Go4Corvette]

Nowadays they say they want to be comfortable so I guess having half your ass hanging out the back of your pants is comfortable along with a hoody so they can't see your face while stealing from Walmart.

[@gloriamontgomery6900]

I love these clothes. You can still find those circle skirts and similar dresses.

[@deniswauchope3788]

How wonderful it was, to see Americans who had an American culture. Black, White, Asian- they were all Americans, and took pride in being so. Now we're all racially divided, and America has splintered into different ethnic cultures, to the detriment of us all. What beautiful women, and how proudly they carried themselves!

[@jackriggs1108]

You can blame the media/press for all this division.

[@christinebutler7630]

Jim Crow was in full force and Asians were in internment camps during the war, but dream on.

[@fluffy1931]

@@jackriggs1108 How many stupid pills did you swallow. The era your celebrating US was under strict race laws & segregation, Jim Crow & Ku Klux Klan along with voter suppression thru poll tax was common. Ever heard of WW2 or the holocaust all from same wunderwaffen times.

[@fluffy1931]

You forgot Jim Crow laws & race laws & segregation and forced internment of 'Asian' japanese americans. pls gtfoh

[@Volynyanka]

These kind of videos generate such interesting comments that sometimes more interesting then the video itself.

[@MOstix13]

What a beautiful period.

[@stephanietorres5679]

These are so nice!!