March 22, 2022 Meeting by Joyce Ogden
Fashion of the 1940s: Fabulous Divas and Film Sirens
Dr. David Chandross gave a multi-media presentation on the Fashion of the 1940s: Fabulous Divas and Film Sirens at our meeting on March 22, 2022. Below is a photo of David.
David’s presentation started with indicating that the 1940’s period of fashions began with the very famous Coco Chanel.
Her most notable fashions were mannish tailored suits, peplum jackets, padded shoulders, and the ” little black dress”. It is said that she was a spy for the Germans while living in the Ritz Hotel in Paris during WWII. The film industry inherited the legacy of Chanel which was elegance and an explosion of creativity. To the left, a Coco Chanel display in a department store window.
In 1939, Hitler crushed people’s spirits, but the U.S.A. was away from it all. The American movie industry thrived. Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian-American actress who left her mark not only on acting, also invented the technology that would one day form the basis for to-day’s Wifi, GPS, and Bluetooth.
Adrian Greenberg was an American designer who transformed the likes of Katharine Hepburn and Hedy Lamarr into glamorous movie stars. The photo of Hedy Lamarr is from the 1944 movie “The Heavenly Body”.
Haute Couture which is demonstrated on a designer’s runway is shown for what is possible, and then wearable clothes emanate from these Haute Couture shows. To the left is an example of a Haute Couture design.
Cristóbal Balenciaga was a Spanish designer who moved to Paris because of the Spanish Civil War. He was the designer for Spanish Royalty and the aristocracy. Two of his signatures, were broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. To the left is a draped pink taffeta evening dress with black lace scarf by Balenciaga, from 1947.
Norman Norell designed for Lauren Bacall’s movies; designs included polka dots, hilarity and lightness for escapism from the war.
Pauline Trigère, a Franco-American, designed clothes you could make at home and many women did, using paper patterns, such as Butterick and Vogue.
Christian Dior, in 1947 invented the New Look, with longer dresses, long voluminous skirts and cinched waists. He was criticized for using so much material after the austerity of war. This Romanian stamp pictures Christian Dior.
Dr. Chandross’ comments during the talk were you have to be born to be a fashion designer, and you have to be very intelligent and well educated. He laments the way people dress today with the cheap materials and lack of design; he also values quality over quantity in clothes.
After the talk and the meeting was finished, Tim entertained us with videos from the 1940’s featuring such artists as Nat King Cole, the Andrew Sisters, and the Ink Spots. To replay all of the videos, click on the playlist below.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 