Hair Styles of the 1940s

Hair styles in this decade saw tresses curled and rolled longer than shoulder-length. Gone were the easy days and plannings that came with prom hair dos and standard weddings. A few rare big nights out, meant putting your hair up into compact elegant up-dos. But just think of the long curling styles demonstrated by the movie stars of the time from Veronica Lake to Lauren Bacall. The battle of Britain started in 1940, the same year nylons were sold to the public. That turned out to be a great way for soldiers overseas to meet local young ladies even when they could not speak the language. In 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the jeep was invented. The next year was the battle of Midway and the battle of Stalingrad, but it was the same year the T-shirt was introduced to the public. (The wet T-shirt craze would not appear for some time, as fashions were conservative and modest.) Weddings and wedding dresses were often an economy affair because of a lack of materials. Often, the blushing bride wore a suited outfit with little more than a veil for tradition.

Italy joined the allies in 1943 but by now the government had confiscated all stock of natural fabrics, forcing industries to start into rayon production. By 1943 nylon stockings had disappeared. Ballpoint pens went on sale in 1944, and the war raged on, culminating in D-Day. In 1945 the Germans surrendered, the first computer was built, Franklin Roosevelt and Adolph Hitler died, the microwave oven was invented, the United Nations was established, and the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1946, the first bikinis appeared and Doctor Spock published his book on child care. The next year saw the invention of the Polaroid camera and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 1948 was the year of the Berlin airlift, Ghandhi was assassinated and Israel was founded. The last year of the decade saw the first non-stop flight around the world. Although the war was over, by 1949 the Soviet Union had the atomic bomb and China had become Communist, leading to a new decade of uncertainty. In the fashion world, the look was a trim waist and hips with a broad chest and shoulder pads.

1940	1940	1940 Ann Rutherford

1940 fashion	1940 Loretta Young	1940 Mary Anderson pinup

1941	1941	1941 Ann Todd

1941 Norma Jean (Monroe)	1941 Veronica Lake

1942	1942	1942 Cobina Wright

1942 Ginger Rogers	1942 Laraine Day	1942 Veronica Lake

1943	1943 Jane Rhodes	1943 Joan Crawford

1944	1944 Laraine Day

1945	1945 Bess Myerson	1945 Norma Jean	1945 Peggy Jones

1946	1946 Martha O'Driscoll	1946 Patricia Medina

1947	1947 Linda Darnell	1947 Maria Montez	1947 Virginia Mayo

1948	1948 Rita Hayworth

1949	1949 Dinah Shore	1949 Gene Tierney

        

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