One would think there was no fashion during the war, but although there was low quality, French women were the best-dressed women in Europe. They saved the extravagant line and were still independent. German women however dressed themselves deantly and prettily.
French women took red lipstick, coloured cloth, preferably in the combination of blue, white and red.
They made country style skirts from coloured silk scarves. Turbans were not only fashionable but were also used to hide uncared hair. The shoes and hats became higher and higher. Plateau shoes made of wood and cork were often handmade .
French women gave room to their imagination and were provocative.

The Nazis wanted to move the Haute Couture to Berlin or Vienna, in order to give German women a bit of the Parisian chic lost since Hitler had taken over the power. But Lucien Lelong showed them that this was impossible, so the luxury stayed in Paris.

In the 1940s, German women were supposed to look neat but also modest. They didn`t have any jewelry or fur, no lace and of course, no make-up. In 1941, in England the rations had exact rules the consumption of fabrics, and people got clothes only for coupons.
The maximum lenght and the width of a skirt, the maximum number of folds, buttons and other accesories were lay down, like bags, cuffs and turn-ups .The same was true for pockets and pleats, in order to save on fabric.
Silk was a fabric, which was a taboo for the civilian population, because silk was used for parachutes. Sometimes underwear was made of silk from fallen parachutists. This underwear rustled and chafed.
The English Queen wanted Norman Hartnell to make used-clothes, which were perfect for the "Utility Clothing Scheme". They hoped that people would accept these poor-looking clothes more easily if they were designed and propagated by England`s most popular Coutur.

In America the government made sure that the fabric fabrication sank to about 15%, so that the development of fashion was stopped. So there were very few changes in fashion between 1941 and 1945.
The square costumes became a little bit more military, skirts shorter and hats became more unusual.
The first time that many people got a feeling for high-quality fabric was during World War II. When they began to cherish fabrics which were durable and felt nice on the skin.

Women´s magazines wanted women to make new clothes from old ones. They gave instructions and knitting patterns. Women became inventive and made clothes and even wedding dresses from curtains, or babyclothes from bed linen.
During the long hours women spent in air raid shelter they made new pullover from old ones.
Their favourits were pullovers, with V-neck standing for Victory.
After the war people got interested in theatre, film and music again.
During the few opportunities to go out , they wore the discreet " Robe d`Ambressode " with long sleeves and a little square decolleté.
Because there was only few material available they couldn`t do fashion shows and so they developed 200 little dolls which were very successful .
The Americans weren`t very creative, but they developed good sports- wear.
Finally Christian Dior represented his first collection. He showed beautiful with soft curves and frail waist again and decorated themselves with wide skirts.
During the war, most women didn´t have enough money for thights so they took eyeliner to paint a seam on the back of their legs. This way it seemed like they wore thights under their skirts which became shorter.
Sometimes they took teabags to colour the legs.
Later the important Neylon came from America.

Words
air raid shelter = Luftschutzkeller
available = erhältlich
inventive = erfinderisch
chafe = scheuern
frail = zierlich
neat = ordentlich
modest = bescheiden
parachute = Fallschirm
pattern = Strickmuster
pleats = Falten / Bundfalten
pockets = Taschen

By Annika Engels and Sara Frentz

Sources

Seeling, Charlotte: Mode - das Jahrhundert der Designer. Köln: Könemann, 1999.
Lehnert, Gertrud: Schnellkurs Mode. Köln: Dumont, 1998.

Timeline Fashion

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