Ode to the 1940s

What I Wore:

Dress: Made by me

Sweater: Walmart

Belt: Reitmans

Tights: Ardenes

Shoes: Blowfish

Necklace: Zellers

I made this dress for my university honours thesis project. I was researching the effect of WWII on women's dress, and I draped this dress based off of an image I found to go along with my paper. This is what the original looked like (the one in the middle):

Source: Forties Fashion and the New Look

I ended up removing the shoulder pads in order to wear this dress as a regular piece of clothing because they made me look like a linebacker, but that is the only thing I altered.This project made me fall in love with the fashion of that time period. Before I did the research I kind of lumped the 40s and 50s together in my head, but I learned so much and am able to differentiate the two really well now. The look was practical, yet still elegant. It really is a fascinating period in women's fashion, with such a marked change in style from the 30s to the 40s. If you couldn't tell already, I am a bit of a fashion history nerd. Looking at this picture makes me want to make the green dress too, I love the pleats and collar. Ahh the 40s, how I love you so.