Saturday 20 February 2016

Why I Love The 40's Style

If someone had asked me a year ago to describe the 40's, I would probable have launched into a lecture on WW2 and its repercussions. For I never really thought of the 40's as anything more than "the decade with the war" back then.

But how quickly that all changed!!

                            Kitty cat hat and a beautiful 40s dress.:

It started out innocently enough with me starting to like 40's music. Then I watched Anchors Aweigh and fell in love with 40's hairstyles. That was followed by watching a lot of Youtube tutorials on how to do that style yourself, and watching Agent Carter twice (once for the plot, once for the costumes).
And before I really knew what had happened, I had cut my hair to a more fitting length for 50's styles, and decided to switch my entire wardrobe out with one in the 40' and 50's style.

What can I say? When I like something I REALLY like it (and tend to make it take over my life).

But what is it about the 40's style in particular that makes me want to imitate it in my own life? Here are a couple of reasons:

  • You dressed up every day. 
As opposed to today where dressing casual is deemed fitting for almost any occasion, I find it really refreshing that people actually cared for their appearance back then. If you left the house you would wear a pretty dress, styled curls and lipstick at the least. And doing so today, really works wonders for my self worth and makes me feel more confident. And isn't it nice to catch a glimpse of yourself in a reflective surface and inwardly think: I'm looking good?

                                  An elegant 1940s ruffle front blouse and slim pencil skirt look. #vintage #1940s #fashion:

                               
  • The style was very feminine and flattering, yet simple and modest.
Again I think it's the contrast between how fashion for women is today compared to back then. In the 40's women were expected to be feminine and elegant and to be honest - I like dressing and acting like a lady. Today society is so focused on gender equality that I think they sometimes forget that men and women fundamentally are different. And I don't think it lessens my worth in any way to underline those differences.
Furthermore, I just love that the dress fashion of the time looked good on anyone, no matter what size you were.

                                    Short puffed sleeves and simple a-line skirts. 1940s fashion:

  • When you spent time styling your hair, it made a visible change
I have seen my fair share of hairstyle tutorials on Youtube (it's a weakness, I know), and a lot of them involves filling your hair with products and styling it for half an hour in order to look like you just rolled out of bed. No one would even notice the difference between that and a regular bedhead.
On the other hand, if I use 15 minutes in the evening to set my hair in pin curls and 15 minutes in the morning to brush it out and style it, everybody can see that I made an effort. And I like that!

                                      1940s Pin up curls + Victory wave hairstyles:

Those are 3 of the main reasons that I make the effort to dress in 40's/50's style almost every day. 
When I decided to do so last year I never imagined that I would actually persist. My grand projects normally only lasts about a month, but this one I'm still following and I have no intention of stopping.

What are some of the things you like about the 40's style?

                    LIFE Magazine, 1940's, photo by Nina Leen. these ladies have such style! - Vintage Street style:

As this week is drawing to an end, I just wanted to remind you that if you have written any 40's related posts this week to be sure to leave me a comment with the link. 
I'll do a grand link up tomorrow and I wouldn't want to miss any posts!  

13 comments:

  1. I've posted the list of my top 10 favorite movies set in the 1940s :-) It's here.

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  2. I like what you said about the 40s styles being feminine and flattering, while still being simple and modest. I think that's what I like about the 40s styles, too. There really isn't enough emphasis on being feminine in today's society. It's a shame, really.

    It's neat that you've started wearing the old styles and have actually stuck with it. I wouldn't mind doing that myself except I'm not much of a shopper. My wardrobe tends to be a bit of a mishmash. :)

    Sorry I never got a 40s related post written. I was considering doing a movie review, but it wasn't coming together for me, and I kind of ran out of time. (A week go by so fast.) Anyway, I really enjoyed reading all your posts! This was a splendid idea for a blog party!! :)

    ~Miss March

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    Replies
    1. My thoughts exactly! It's a thing that's been bothering me lately, and I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks so:)

      It was quite a daunting project changing my wardrobe. I'm not usually the shopping kind either, but once I got started, buying new dresse became quite addicting;)

      I'm so glad you liked the party! I certainly had a lot of fun.

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  3. Those are some good lessons we can learn from that era.

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  4. Loved this!!!!!! Yes, I love it how they always looked nice and done up and presentable. Now it's totally ok if you walk out in pajamas and such. ( I mean , REALLY?? Why is our society so lazy!!)

    And yes, women dressed WELL and were expected to act like ladies. I really like what you wrote about our society being so focused on gender equality that they forget that men and women are
    fundamentally different. So true! I often wish people would just WAKE UP. :)

    Pin curls!! Puhlleeeze show me how!! :) Do you know of a good tutorial?

    ~Rilla Blythe

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much!! It means so much to me to find others are thinking the same:)
      If women are supposed to sacrifice their femininity in order to be treated as equals, where is the equality anyway?

      I know of several good pin curl tutorials! The ones that taught me the technique are these 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PBwSXHWvA8&index=12&list=PLLBngI7tR9HGQcUFy16BHsXbXWhEW43VH
      and
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byJAWLlkTr0&index=11&list=PLLBngI7tR9HGQcUFy16BHsXbXWhEW43VH

      If you try it out, do tell me all about it:)

      Delete
  5. This was so cool! And I agree with you entirely! It took me a while as well to realize that the 40's had more to offer than just World War 2. Thankfully Molly McIntire, the American Girl helped me discover that!

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    1. Yes, it's like a whole new world just opened up!

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  6. I agree with all three of your points! It's very sad that society generally takes little to no care in their appearance nowadays. :( I love dressing up nicely. As you said, it certainly adds to your self confidence and I think other people respect you for it. Of course, we should never spend so much time on our appearance that we are neglecting more important duties, or becoming vain, but a nice outfit, a cute hairstyle, and maybe even a little makeup goes a long way. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Natalie!
      I think dressing nicely is quite important; it makes you feel good about yourself but I also think of it a a way to show the people you meet respect.
      And yes, of course keeping a good balance is neccesary:)

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  7. I am so glad I found your blog! I am a lover of anything retro and feminine, and I especially love the fashions of the 40's and 50's, but never really felt confidant enough to wear them everyday.
    It's refreshing to find someone who shares my interests!

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    Replies
    1. Nice to meet you LaKaysha E! It's so great to meet a fellow 40's and 50's lover:)

      Delete

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