Verity Vintage Studio

Talking about 1940s Hairstyles...

Let's talk about 1940s hairstyles for a bit!

We're all familiar with the face-framing, often elaborate hairstyles of the 1940s, especially during WWII. Perhaps the most iconic form is the victory rolls. But while victory rolls are lovely and often one of the easiest to re-create for someone into vintage styles, we may forget the wide variety of hairstyles that were all part of the fashion of the day.

A lovely example of one of the most iconic hairstyles of this era - victory rolls, here done asymmetrically.

They could also be centered on the forehead and vary in size from small to enormous.

 

It's amusing to me that sometimes the simpler hairstyles are actually harder to do correctly, since the hair has to be cut and curled properly - while victory rolls and a snood, for instance, can be worn by ladies with more modern or longer hair styles - which is good news for anyone who needs it!

Not everyone wore elaborate styles. Many ladies parted their hair on the side and simply had it brushed out for a simple look. This is true of many movie stars of that era, like Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, and Hedy Lamarr, who wore their hair almost always the same simple style throughout their various roles. However, for many women hairstyles varied according to what flattered her face, and according to the day's events. Fancier styles were often worn for an outing, dance, or party. 

Anyway, here is a roundup of vintage photos of ladies from the 1940s sporting their lovely 'dos, for your personal inspiration.

 

Long Hair in the 1940s 

Starting with some long-hair styles (believe it or not, there were some quite lengthy styles worn). Here Ginger Rogers has her front and side hair in large rolls, and the rest of it smoothly brushed, with the ends cut in a U shape and curled under. A rare style with almost straight back hair.

 

This lady has a little more of the curled layer look, only long instead of shoulder length, and her top hair is probably shorter. 

This lady has a much simpler style - a side part and headband. Her hair is still cut in the layered U shape, but the curls are loose.

Rita Hayworth here shows what is probably the closest to a "tousled" 1940s look. Longer hair, more ringletty at the ends than the one above, brushed across her forehead and held with pins - a sort of faux bang style, though her hair is shorter at the top.

 

A Bevy of Up-dos

Updos are also great for ladies with long hair. The lady with the daisies has her hair center parted (probably also center parted down the back) and in braids across the top. This might look like Sound of Music costume-ish, but if you pair it with hair flowers like hers, you definitely have a 1940s vibe. 

 

Here's a rolled up-do with bumper or faux bangs. You can make these with long hair if you section off the top front of your hair and roll it around a rat. The side rolls hide the ends of the bang. And those handy little flowers sure help when it comes to adding the finishing touch while disguising an otherwise unsightly roll end!  

 

It probably looks similar to this in the back. I could never keep mine smooth, when I had longer hair, so kudos to you if you manage it!

 

Another way to do bangs, or faux bangs if your hair isn't too long.

 

Lucille Ball wears a gorgeous puffy upswept hairstyle here, with many small rolls. This would have been more of a formal hairdo, and might be sprinkled with rhinestone combs or pins.

 

 

Another rolled up-do, this time rolled all the way around over hair rats with the ends becomingly curled over her forehead. This time instead of flowers or a headband, you can see a taffeta bow.

 

This one is more of a piled look than the tight rolls of Lucille Ball's hairdo above, and it holds one giant rose.

 

Side and front of an elaborate hairdo, for shorter hair.

 

And one more from Lucille Ball, this time with "fuzzy" combed out light bangs and the rest pinned in curls to the back of her head instead of the top. More flowers...I love this placement. 

 

Elaborateness

You can also do a structured half-up hairdo, like this lady with 4 rolls on the top and sides, and her back hair gathered with a ribbon.

 

Back view of a similar hairstyle, with victory rolls and ringlets. This looks like it was done with at least medium length hair.

 

A formal, almost up, hairdo. The pompadour is higher here, and the jewels comb holds the side hair in a puff. The back is probably brushed curl under and held in a net.

 

This one is cute, because it shows you what to do with the ends of your top hair when you brush it back like this lady in a small pompadour.

 

Deceptively Simple

But as I already said, elaborateness was not always the order of the day. Here are a few short, well brushed bobs. The top one has a side part and the hair is brushed away from the face but with no visible pins or rolls. The bottom one also has a side part, with the hair brushed to the side and down for a flatter top. These are the kinds of hairstyles that you simply have to have the right cut for in order to be convincingly accurate - no fudging here.

 

Simple and short, with a center part and headband that keeps the hair away from the face, as opposed to the previous 2 photos.

 

The simple, brushed out style could also be worn long, though perhaps it was more common worn short.

 

More lovely flowers, a side part, with the heavier section held back by a comb. The curls are brushed down and under, more like a pageboy.

 

A more tightly curled short version of a simple look, worn by one of my favorite actresses - Myrna Loy.

 

Katherine Hepburn wears a style that is not so round-the-face and takes less layers. More of a straight bob instead of the usual U shape cut. Side part, the long front hair is brushed back and held by a clip or small barrette.

 

Wrapping it Up

Hopefully these images have given you an idea of the variety out there when it comes to 1940s hairstyles. You'll never need to feel in a rut again. You can wear your hair long or short or very short, up or down, in tighter or looser curls. The top can be built up (brushed over a rat), rolled in various ways, brushed forward over the forehead, made into bangs, or worn in a simpler "flatter" style from a center or side part. Brush all the curls out into waves, save some as ringlets to arrange as pin curls. Lots of accessories can be used, from flowers to ribbons to clips and combs. And for a bad hair day, there are always snoods and turbans that can be paired with every dress code from house dresses to street wear to formal. If are happy with your back hair but not the front, wear a tilt hat which will cover the front. If you like the front but want to camouflage the back, wear a hat that sits on the back of your head. 

The nice thing about these hairstyles is some of them can do double duty and be borrowed for other eras. The shorter, tight-curled styles, or the up-dos with plenty of pin curls, can also work for the 1930s - especially late '30s. The simpler bobs, minus the hair flowers, can look very 1950s too. The more elaborate, high hairstyles are pretty strictly WWII era fashion, however...they went out of fashion within a year or two after the war's end, to be replaced by a non-face-framing, simpler side or center parted hairstyle worn longer and with looser waves over the shoulders - which in turn evolved into the short, sculpted waves of the 1950s.

 

I'll leave you with a photo of one of my own attempts at replicating one style in this fascinating era of hairstyles.

 

Come to think of it, digging up these images has inspired me. Time to do some experimenting and get out of my own rut. :-)

 

Please note all vintage images are not my own and believed to be in the public domain.

Item of the Week - 1950s Skirt Sewing Kit

This vintage sewing kit is complete with everything you need to make your very own 1950s skirt. It is Item of the Week in my Etsy shop, half price for one week only - slashed from $20.

Plaid 1950s Slender Dress

I often make a dress without a trial version first, but when the skirt is narrow, I like to do a trial dress before cutting into an expensive fabric to make sure it isn't too tight and I like the fit. With a final version in mind for Easter, I made a "wearable muslin" of such a dress, figuring I could wear it for everyday.

 

It turns out to be my new favorite slender 1950s pattern, surprisingly quick to make (just a few hours) and quite comfortable to wear since the special element of the design is that back detail...pleats in the back waist and the skirt insert which is both decorative and allows for ease in walking.

 

The pleats in the back allow for plenty of arm movement, without the restriction common in vintage styles - ideal for wearing around the house.

 

There are collar and sleeve options. For this one I did what was styled an "Italian collar" and did short sleeves, which I edged with bias trim, just for fun. The dolman sleeves and almost princess lines make for a very easy assembly.

 

It is unusual since the front piece is all one, without a waist seam, and shaped by two darts. The back is put together separately and does have a waist seam. It can be worn with or without a belt. The beltless option has an added band in the back where the pleats are.

 

The plaid fabric is a nice summer wear...and not blue, for once! All my past projects seem to be blue ones (I do gravitate toward it as one of my favorite colors!), so this is a real change. 

 

This version could be a house dress or a street dress. Here I styled it a little more like a summer-shopping-in-town outfit. In another fabric it could be dressier (wait for the Easter version), or in satin or taffeta I could even see it as a cocktail dress - one of those classic "little black dresses" considered a staple in every well dressed woman's wardrobe.

 

Because of the more casual styling, I wore my vintage wedge sandals with it. They are a little the worse for wear, with stains and stiff straps, but they are cute, light, and comfortable, and I love the little sombrero embellishment.

 

I think I may have found my go-to slender 1950s dress pattern!

1930s Gingham Dress

Springtime! Away go the wools and out comes the cottons. I'll still be using rayon and probably making some long sleeved things yet, but it is good to match the newness of green grass and flowers and sunshine by wearing light colors! 

 

Yet another 1930s pattern has joined my "done" list in 2016. This one I bought a while ago and when I opened it to make this dress, I found the instructions were missing. Oh, dear! Thankfully I've done enough sewing that, along with the pattern illustrations, I had no trouble putting this dress together minus the instructions. A first for me!

 

The sleeves were one element I wasn't sure I could do on my own just from the pictures, so I substituted with sleeves from another pattern. Cute, huh?

 

This dress is more fitted through the hips than the other 1930s things I've made so far...I wouldn't want it any tighter. It has lovely gore detail in the front, and each gore flares out at the bottom to make a pretty flared skirt.

(I apologize for the poor outdoor photos...it was so windy and sunny I had a hard time finding a spot to take photos!)

 

I intended this to be a house dress because of the fabric choice, so I added the white rickrack and flower buttons. (The neck is nicely filled in by my modesty slip - but it will be easy to cut higher on the next make.)

 

However, I realized that paired with other accessories, it could also be dressed up to be a pretty summer tea dress! The 1940s hat I made last spring (find the pattern here) was a perfect match, and I always love a chance to sport these gorgeous gauntlets. Gingham was not just used for kitchen curtains and aprons, and looking at some of the ways this print was featured in the 1930s makes me confident that this dress can bridge the gap between a house dress and a dressier outfit.

 

I had some difficulty with the fit. The waist was too large for me. I took it in but even once I had adjusted it enough that it began to feel too tight at the bust, the waist was still inches too loose while as I mentioned, the hips are snug. I wonder if that is purposeful in the design since it has absolutely no gathers or darts at the waist front or back. It's kind of odd. Have any of you come across similar fit issues in a pattern like this?

 

I didn't like the childishness of a big gingham bow in the back. Besides, I can't tie one on myself that looks nice. So I wrapped the girdle twice and pinned the ends in front and like how that looks so much more! Besides, the overlapping pointy ends add another Art Deco element.

 

Since the day was sunny, the lighting indoors was nice enough that I had to try taking a few photos featuring my vintage hand painted vanity, which I use every single day and love, despite the streaky and spotted mirror.

 

This dress was enjoyable to make and pretty easy, despite having no instructions. I love the versatility of the pattern and the neck options (though I don't know how soon I'll tackle that yoke with no instructions); how it is such a classic style of that era and can be worn for many occasions depending on fabric choice and trimming. 

Item of the Week - Cuddly Chenille Baby Bolero

This soft crocheted baby bolero is Item of the Week in my Etsy shop, half price for one week only - slashed from $14.

Early 1950s Classic Blue Dress

This month's tutorial was a pleated belt I created for a dress I made. You could see a bit of the dress in the belt photos, but here is the finished product.

 

It's one of those classic, simple dresses. I thought afterwards perhaps I had "wasted" a solid color on it, but it does have some subtle detail, especially in the back where the slim skirt blossoms with the unexpected fulness of pleats.

 

The fabric was described as a "steel blue" rayon with an ottoman weave, and it is such a pretty color. It was fine to work with; not so fun to press. Also hard to control on a windy day, trying to snatch photos with a storm blowing up! (Any dark spots are rain drops. :-)

 

This was one of the earlier patterns I collected, and finally got around to making it when I wanted something subtle but classy to wear to a wedding. The style of dress and the graphics make me think it's probably from 1950 or 1951.

 

The belt adds another special touch, and I like being able to coordinate different flower clips with it. For these photos I went with ivory accents and pearls, but it goes well with silver flowers and rhinestones too!

And incidentally...I love covered buttons.

 

The sleeves have shaping darts at the elbow and a turned up cuff to mirror the turned down collar. 

 

Come to think of it, this pattern reminds me a lot of the one pictured in the magazine picture I admired in this post. It would be a good candidate for a re-creation, don't you think?

Talking About 1940s Sweaters...

One of my favorite ways to dress up in vintage style for everyday is to incorporate sweaters during the cooler months. Sweaters with 1940s styling are easily found in thrift stores and are generally very comfortable to wear for everyday since they have no motion restriction.

 

I've written before about wearing sweaters as a collegiate style, but sweaters were actually worn by women of all ages and occupations, so they can be quite suitable for anyone to incorporate into their wardrobe.

There are many different pictures available of women in the 1940s wearing sweaters which can give us a wide range of options when we are sweater shopping. As a 1940s sweater buying guide, you should look for two different styles. One comes just to the waist, or just past it. This type of sweater was generally worn as a blouse. It could be button down or pullover. This kind of sweater might not have shoulder pads; it could have gently puffed sleeves of any length (short sleeves were common) and usually was fitted at the waist while it could remain a little more blousy or be fitted on the top.

This cardigan has cute front detail, shoulder pads, and a collar.

 

Loretta Young wears a more casual style here - a fitted pullover with a novelty design, and a rare turtleneck.

 

The other style you can look for is a longer cardigan, which would have been worn as a jacket, sometimes even instead of a suit jacket. This type of sweater, always button-down (or even closing with a front zipper), usually has shoulder pads and is generally in more of a jacket style. Close the top button on these and button them all the way as long as the sweater is hip length.

Here's a sweater that is a jacket replica. Notice the crossed scarf to fill in the neck - a great idea!

 

This color block knitted sweater zips up the front and has a plain high neckline.

 

The cardigan I'm wearing falls in the 2nd category. It has patch pockets and cute sleeve detail. It did not originally have shoulder pads, but the nice thing about shoulder pads are they are super easy to add to a finished garment like I did here. 

 

I paired it with a vintage dickey and one of my new finds at an antique store - a dangling heart 1940s brooch.

 

Another style you can look for would be a long pullover to be worn with a belt, or if you want a sloppier teenage look, a slightly too-big sweater can be paired with a simple skirt and bobby socks. No belt.

Here are some less fitted schoolgirl style sweaters. Notice the initials at the neck of the one on the left.

 

Things to Look For

Sweaters in the 1940s often were solid colors, sometimes with shoulder detail. If they were unadorned, a lady would often wear a brooch or some sort of decoration on the shoulder. Novelty designs in sweaters were very common (hearts, arrows, animals, etc), and fair isle was popular especially for ski sweaters. Sweaters of some style or other could be worn for almost every dress code, including evening wear, though that was less common. 

Fair isle pullover, a little longer than some. A ski type of sweater but since it's short sleeve, probably not worn for skiing!

 

Sweaters often were blouse style, worn as blouses, and would have collars. This is not so common today, but don't worry - many sweaters were without collars back then as well. A plain round close neck was common, but if you have a sweater with a V, wear it with an undershirt or dickey that sports a collar - preferably white. The rule of thumb is if you have a sweater or jacket with a lapel or collar, wear a plain round neck dickey (maybe with a bow for a fussier style). If the sweater or jacket has a plain neck, wear it with a dickey with a collar.

V neck simple cardigans, worn with white collared blouses or dickeys.

 

If you are crafty, you can make 1940s sweaters yourself! Many vintage knitting patterns for lovely sweaters are available online and you can make the real thing.

 

Most of these guidelines apply to other eras of sweaters as well. 1930s sweaters might have more neck and shoulder detail, worn belted, and often sported raglan sleeves and button embellishments. 1950s sweaters were usually plain and snug, always without shoulder pads, and sweater sets were in vogue. So if you know what to look for and what to pair it with, these can be some of the easiest modern pieces to incorporate into your costumes or vintage-themed wear of any decade.

 

With these guidelines, just keep the options in mind when sweater shopping. A plain cardigan when worn with a white collared blouse and an A line skirt is a great, easy to find, everyday style for comfort for us vintage dressing gals, and still can be worn as a period correct costume if paired with the right accessories.

 

(All pictures not of me were found in the public domain.)

Item of the Week - Vintage 1940s Dress Sewing Pattern

This vintage sewing pattern for a 1940s dress, rare large size 18, is Item of the Week in my Etsy shop, half price for one week only - slashed from $9.

March Tutorial - Sew A Cummerbund Style Belt

I've always loved the pleated, wide cummerbund belts so common on formal wear and little girls' dresses. Recently when sewing a dress for a special occasion (check back next week for photos!) I was wishing to spice up the normal matching belt a little just for an extra elegant touch, and had the idea to make a narrow, easy version of a pleated cummerbund. Enter the Pleated Belt.

 

It's easy! And quick!

To make it, cut out 2 pieces of fabric 3 in. wide and about 3 in. longer than your waist measurement. There is lots of leeway here for your own creativity. If you want a wider belt or one with a wider pleat, you can easily just cut the belt wider.

 

Because of its construction, you won't want to use interfacing unless you're using a sheer fabric. Then you can cut out an interfacing of muslin. For my belt I used just the 2 pieces of rayon.

 

Sew down one long side, across a short end, and up the other long side, using a 3/8 in. seam (presser foot width). This way you shouldn't need to trim the seam allowance. Clip the corners; leave the other narrow end open.

 

 

Turn and press the belt.

 

Turn in the open end and top stitch it shut. At this point it's reversible and so far it's been like any other belt.

Now to make the pleat you fold it in half horizontally, with the long sides together, and stitch the fold at 3/8 in. seam allowance. Keep the edges even, and make sure both piece of folded fabric are smooth under the sewing machine foot.

 

Next you can open up the belt. The fold will stick up in the middle. You can flatten the fold you just stitched by pushing it down on the top so the fold's seam is in the center bottom of the fold, and press it flat. You may need to press with some care to keep it even and flatten it sufficiently. This forms the pleat, and gives enough sturdiness to the belt that it should retain its shape without interfacing. It will end up about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 in. wide.

 

Sew a skirt hook and eye or a large snap to the ends, with the top-stitched end underneath. You can try it on and adjust the overlap for the perfect fit. Then hide the ends under a flower clip for a perfect vintage-y touch! (I wear it here as vintage appropriate but of course you can wear it with modern outfits too.)

 

Flowers were often worn at the waist, especially for formal or dressier gowns. Wear the closure and flower in the center, or off to the side, depending on what looks best. And presto! A quick and easy pleated belt to add just the right special touch to a special outfit.

 

Thanks for stopping by this month!

Till next time,

~Kristen - Verity Vintage Studio

 

Look for my new tutorials posted sometime during the first full week of every month. Hairstyles, crafts, repurposing, project journals, do-it-yourself vintage or alterations, etc.

 

Item of the Week - Crochet Pattern for Art Deco Dresser Scarf

With a diamond pattern that is perfect for Art Deco or vintage decor, make your own dresser scarf or table runner. This crochet pattern pdf is half price in my Etsy shop for one week - slashed from $3.