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Fabulous Fashions of the 1940s
In the 1940s, World War II affected just about every aspect of life, including the fashion. While the men were off fighting, women had to take over their factory jobs. Liberty cuts and victory rolls kept hair from being caught in machines. Most resources went to the war effort, so both women and men wore basic and practical clothing, but the end of the war in 1945 brought color and fun back into everyday life. Students read about the fashions, fads, pop culture icons, and world events of the 1940s.
* Reviews *
Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. With half the decade consumed by a war, that was the motto of the 1940s. Since just about anything you can think of was in short supply, women had to be very creative if they wanted to be fashionable. Everything about this decade is fascinating from the point of view of ingenuity: from leg makeup to replace stockings to hairstyles that did not need extras like pins or hats. Post-war fashions are also covered but to a lesser extent. Readers may also be interested to learn about things that are still popular today which were invented or started during the 1940s such as Tupperware and Seventeen magazine. Although many photographs are included to illustrate the text, the reader may find herself wishing for more. A picture of a milk bottle top purse would have been worth all the words spent on the topic. Part of the Fabulous Fashions of the Decades series. Contains a timeline, glossary, books and websites for further reading and an index., Children's Literature
RL
Grades
5-6 IL
Grades
5-12+ GRL
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