scostumista: 40's FLOWERS

Most of the women's fashions during the 1940s were designed with the same squared shoulders, small waist, and skirt above the knee. Despite the hardships of WWII clothes in the 1940s fabrics with floral prints were very popular. Brown and green dyes were heavily rationed for use in military uniforms. In response, deep maroon, gray, or undyed white or beige fabrics were available for popular use. Less fabric became the way to go. Less buttons, pleats and zippers were used. Women's hemlines were lifted to save on fabric, and their garments kept to a slim cut with little embellishment. By 1947, after WWII was over, the "New Look" began to replace the wartime utility fashions. This new style embraced femininity, with rounded shoulders, shapely bust lines, closely-defined waistlines, slightly padded skirts, and full, billowing skirts that hung just below the calves.