Hello! Ready for our next installment of twentieth century ladies’ fashion? Glen Eira have asked me to talk about ’40s fashion next week, online and free for you.

From their site:

Join popular fashion historian and author Nicole Jenkins for this session on ladies’ fashions of this most interesting of decades, the 1940s.

Sartorially, the ‘40s were more challenging and creative than most decades: World War 2 brought clothing restrictions and took the menfolk away to fight. It brought ‘Siren Suits’ and utilitarian fashion. Separates and trousers became every-day items for women who tied their long hair up in scarves and snoods. ‘Make do and mend’ was all the rage, as women innovated what they could find into the latest fashions, repurposing war materials like parachutes and maps into wedding trousseaus.

Excess and extravagance were frowned upon but glamour was still a necessity, to give ‘our boys’ something to return home to, and to inspire the women working the stations in their absence. Wearing red lipstick was even framed as your ‘patriot duty’.

…and that was just during the war. After that we get to meet Christian Dior and his glamorous ‘New Look’, a style that sets the pace for the next seventeen years, with hourglass figures and full skirts. It will be fun, I promise.

Details:
What: Ladies fashions of the 1940s, a presentation by Nicole Jenkins.
When: Wednesday, April 21st 7pm-8pm
Where: Zoom and your computer
Cost: free!
Bookings and more information – click here.

If you’d like a sneak peek – or perhaps you can’t make it – Brian Nankervis interviewed me on ABC Radio last week about it, listen in here between 41 and 54 minutes.

Hope to see you there!

•