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PHOTO
ESSAY MAKEOVERS
Beautiful Women of the 1940s
Definitely
one of the most glamorous eras for women was the 1940s. The
clothing styles were both tailored and romantic. Satin and silk
lounge wear became a fashion in the evening, while suits and
dresses were worn during the day. More and more women were entering
the work force, some working in factories making supplies for
World War II, while others had office-type jobs. Hats were a
common sight, many displaying a thin netting covering part of
the face. A crocheted net called a “snood” was often
worn in the back of the head containing long tresses.
I
interviewed my mother, Jean McKee Allen, since she was in her
early 20s during this time. She told me that women would go
to the department store called Woolworths to purchase all their
beauty needs. One of the most important hair accessories was
a long stuffing type material that you could buy by the yard.
You placed it in your hair and rolled your hair over it to give
volume and width to your style. They didn’t have hair spray
or many styling aids so the hair was quite soft in appearance.
The hair was set in flat pin curls with metal bobbie pins and
either dried with a hand held dryer or left all day or night
to dry on it’s own. Women usually washed their hair once
a week and hardly anyone had a shower in their home, only bathtubs.
You would wash your hair in the kitchen sink. Unlike today,
there were only a handful of shampoo companies to choose from.
A lot of women just used Ivory Soap.
Permanent
waves were popular and took all day. The cold wave was not
yet invented. Women would spend all day in the beauty salon
with their hair wound around rods that were plugged into an
electric machine. Their hair would often get too hot and break
off. The cost of a perm was around $2.98. A haircut was 50
cents!
Prior
to 1950, only 7% of women dyed their hair. Beauty salons often
had a private room for women to sit in while their hair was
being colored. Today the percent of women coloring their hair
is well over 80%.
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Betty Grable
Lili St. Cry
Betty Field |
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My mother
and her friends use to copy the hairstyles of the models in
the Sears and Roebuck catalog. They would always turn to the
corset models since they didn’t sport a hat and the hairstyles
were visible.
Movie stars were the trendsetters of fashion. Modern Screen
Magazine was a favorite to read about the stars and see the
latest trends. Movie legends such as Joan Crawford, Betty
Grable, Loretta Young, and Rita Hayworth were favorites.
My
model below is Victoria. She is a hairstylist, wife, mother,
and last but not least, a belly dancer. I knew that because
of this, she probably had enough “ham” in her to
pose as a 40s diva.
My model Victoria, at a typical day at work. |
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Victoria’s
hair was set in hot rollers for about fifteen minutes. Since
Woolworths is not around and even if it was, I am sure they
do not carry stuffing. I used synthetic hair wefts for fillers.
She did her own makeup which was beautiful, and added false
eyelashes for drama.
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Victoria touches up her makeup
while waiting for the hot rollers to cool. |
After
an hour it is all starting to take shape. |
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We both
had a collection of 1940s clothes and hats and we played
dress up for the better part of the morning. The outcome
is truly wonderful.
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The women of the 40s paved the way for the women of today!
Hair
and Photos by Kathie Rothkop
Makeup by Victoria
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