Wedding Dresses of the 1940s
1940s bridal fashion was conservative compared to modern standards. Long sleeves, modest bust-lines and full, long skirts were common design elements in '40s bridal fashion. World War II forced families to accept rationing, which meant wedding dresses needed to be more useful and less elaborate. After June 1941, a bride needed to use clothing coupons to purchase her wedding gown. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Sleeves
-
Wedding gowns featured full-length sleeves, crafted out of the same fabric as the rest of the gown. The most common sleeve used was a refined version of the Gibson sleeve or mutton sleeve. Gibson sleeves were full at the shoulder and narrowed toward the wrist. Fullness was created in the shoulder using excess fabric and shoulder gathers. Some wedding gown sleeves featured a wrist point at the end of the sleeve; at the wrist, the sleeve would come to a V-point, covering part of the hand.
Neckline
-
1940s gowns featured modest necklines, typically with a high collared, slight sweetheart or non-plunging V-shaped cut. Unlike modern V-neck gowns, the cut would stop before exposing cleavage; most necklines ended at approximately the collarbone. Gowns with a sweetheart or V-cut typically had a sheer panel of fabric over the exposed chest so that little bare skin was actually visible. Collared gowns ended at mid-neck with either a button or clasp closure in back or a brooch closure front.
-
Fabric
-
Money being tight restricted fabric choices for wedding gowns. Rayon was the popular fabric choice for affordable gowns. However, satins and occasionally silks were also used in gowns. Many skirts were A-line or straight-shaped to reduce the amount of fabric needed. For a ball gown or more full gowns, tulle was a cost-effective way to make a skirt appear full without having to use excess amounts of more expensive fabrics. Lace was added to some gowns as an accent, but due to cost, full lace dresses were not typical.
Late '40s
-
After World War II ended in 1945, designers started creating more elaborate and expensive gowns. Gowns could also be created from excess war parachutes that were made from cream-colored silk fabric. Brides could finally afford to treat themselves to the luxurious silk fabric without breaking the bank by purchasing a war parachute and sewing the gown themselves.
-
References
- Photo Credit hands nail dress gown ring band button back hand image by Paul Retherford from Fotolia.com
