World War II had a huge effect on the fashion of the 40's.  The War Production Board limited yardage use.  Conserving materials became a significant issue.  McCalls produced patterns that transformed men's suits into women's suits because women had to work.  Women's dresses were changed into children's dresses with such patterns.  For the first time skirts were at the knees to save materials.  The skirts were straight and plain.  Jackets were twenty-five inches or less in length, and nylon stockings were taken off the market.  Introduced into fashion were co-ordinating separates.  They served as an illusion that one had more outfits then what one really had.

 

After WWII, fashion was deemed the "New Look."  They used as much fabric as they pleased, and used plenty of it.  Skirts became a lot fuller and a lot longer in length.  This brought the soft, feminine, romantic image to the 40's.  Vogue introduced Peplums in many varieties.  There was lots of lace, ruffles, puffy sleeves, and buttons down the center.  Corsets became outdated.  Now there was two separate pieces- the bra and girdle.  "Bra" became a new and widely used term.  Bras  had wire introduced to them once metal wasn't so scarce.  Nylon stockings came back.  There were leather platform shoes and handbags with nail heads and sportswear became a sensation.

 

Men wore zoot suits during the war days, but after the war came full-cut trousers, full-cut clothing, long coats, and hand painted ties with images of skyscrapers, exotic foliage, ect.  Introduced to fashion were casual shirts- Hawaiian/ Corisca shirts.  These shirts were bright in colors and depicted with fruit, flowers, flames, women, and marine flora.  Men stopped tucking in their shirts and stopped wearing jackets with everything.  For those that wore jackets, they were loose fitting with pronounced shoulders or single breasted with three buttons.  Sportswear was also very popular for men.

 

Before the war, on an average, each woman had five pairs of shoes.  During the war they weren't that important. 

Here are a few 1940 shoe Styles!