What were the fashion icons of the 1940s?

Answer 1

Through the early 1940s, in order to escape the reality of total war (rationing, the draft, etc), people went to the movies. Actresses such as Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Greer Garson, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, or Rita Hayworth set the standards for beauty and style.

Hair was usually worn Veronica Lake's iconic eye-covering curl was copied by so may young women that factories began forbidding girls from wearing their hair down at all, since their bouncy locks would get caught in the factory machines. Veronica Lake was eventually urged to change her hair in order to prevent more hair accidents, and she conceded, for the sake of the war.

Other celebrities known for their styles include: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck, Lana Turner, Lena Horne, Ingrid Bergman, Vivien Leigh, and Carmen Miranda.

Men known for their snappy dressing included Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, and Humphrey Bogart.

After the war, Christian Dior became a sensation with his 1947 spring collection "Corolle" (a French word for flower petals). This was the famous "New Look" that would be very popular well into the next decade.