OOTD Five Decades Five Days 1940's Tuesday

1940's Tuesday

This style of outfit is much more my usual style. I love attending 1940's events and although most of the items in this post are modern it is still possible to achieve a vintage style.

This dress is actually from Tu at Sainsbury's which I got at a charity shop. The red cardigan is from Dorothy Perkins, also a charity shop find.

When looking for dresses I generally look for natural materials in traditional prints or colours and classic cuts.  Most dresses, even contemporary ones, are cut from a handful of basic shapes and details are what change them along the way. If I want to buy something modern to be vintage appropriate I look for things that are the closest to their original.

You could also look at the rationing regulations if you were so inclined which would tell you a lot about how many buttons or pleats were allowed.

I wore my embroidered brooch with it's cute little flower details to add some more colour to the look. Women of the 40's loved accessories and found very inventive ways to make their own things out of left over items, it must have also given them another task to do if they ever had a moment to ponder.

1940's women were nothing if not practical and these hotter shoe boots are great for hopping on your bike for your duties at the WVS or to queue for rations, I usually reserve these for vintage events but they are so comfy I can wear them all day and they give a more authentic 1940's British feel.

I used my brown Kelly bag to tie in with the shoes, the wartime wardrobe was not like today and you couldn't have scores of handbags to choose from and these things had to last.

Hair:

I'm now pretty experienced with 1940's hair. I wet set my hair the evening before using pillow rollers. I decided to keep if very British and less novelty for this challenge so no victory rolls for me today!I just brushed it through lightly so it's not so sculpted as the Hollywood depictions might have us believe. I just twisted the sides and pinned them behind my ears so there was not so much falling in front of my face.

Make up: 

I kept my make up as close as possible to the actual time for this 1940's look, as women were making do with what little they had. I used brown eyeshadow and a little eyeliner but no heavy flicks, those will be for the 50's look tomorrow. Some lipstick was available in the wartime although in short supply but the government felt it would keep up moral "Beauty is Duty"

This is not an unusual look for me to wear to the office on any day so it was right in my comfort zone. I would have felt very strange wearing seamed stockings to the office but many women wouldn't have had them anyway and there was no way I was going to do pencil in lines only to get it all over my office chair!

I hope you enjoyed todays look, see you tomorrow in the 1950's!

Until Next Time
Love
Lucy
xx