Global or Regional style?

[Alpine Glamour]

As I have slowly but surely converted to an all-the-time vintage dresser, I am also starting to seriously ponder on some points regarding fashion in the early 40's. Perhaps some of you have an input here: Did the style in the USA differ much from German fashion?

Because of WWII and the push to return to the good-old german traditions, it seems that during that time the style reflects more of that country / dirndl look for women and the lets-go-hiking or soldier-on-holiday outfit for men. Or would you say that the style was pretty much the same for both continents?

Any thoughts on this one?

 

[Naama]

Ok, I'm not from germany but from austria and I also thought about that recently. When I look through the Steamer Trunk and see the family pictures from the american posters, sure there is a difference between them and my own family pictures. They much more have that Hollywood Glam thing going on what I can't see in any of my own family pictures. Also some pictures are rather un-periode like. I don't know, it's hard to describe... I have a picture of my grandma and her brother together with their mother, it's mid to late 30's but you can't tell that by her hairstyle or makeup (she's wearing none). I also have a foto from my granduncles school, class photograph(?) (I don't know how you call those pictures in english..., sorry) and all guys are dressed in lederhosen, even in my mom's class photograph (oh help me!) (what's from the 50's) all children are dressed in dirndel and lederhosen.

So yes, I think there was for sure a difference.

Naama

 

[whistlebait]

Elena, I would say that you are probably correct in your assumptions.

 

[whistlebait]

class photograph(?) (I don't know how you call those pictures in english..., sorry)

Naama, don't be sorry, and yes that would be the correct word to use. Your avatar is beautiful. What is it of?

 

[Naama]

Really? Thank's
It's Marlene Dietrich, shot by Cecil Beaton.

Naama

 

[Alpine Glamour]

Thanks for the replies, ladies. My Omi in Germany did not wear make up either, (die gute deutsche Frau bleibt nat?ɬºrlich, jedoch immer mit Hut..), but always a hat and matching gloves. The Swiss are an entire different species.. Hey, us Europeans in this forum should start posting family photos to see the difference. I'll bring some in.

 

[Naama]

Hey, us Europeans in this forum should start posting family photos to see the difference. I'll bring some in.

Nice idea, I'll try to scan some, but I'm not sure where to get them online.....

Naama

 

[herringbonekid]

i'd say that the US style differed quite a bit from EUROPE not just Germany. after the war the US went crazy for sportswear...fashion designers really experimented with a new sporty, vibrant look. Hollywood had a strong influence on the way americans dressed. if you find photos of English people, even as late as the early 50s they looked pretty much the same as they did during the war. Europe was much slower recovering from the war and i suppose investing lots of money in new fashions wasn't the main priority. i've heard it said that we were ten years behind the US, and i think thats maybe correct. of course there was cutting edge fashion in europe too, but it would have been available to a very small minority. most people out in the provinces had the 'make do and mend' mentality until the early 50s (when rationing ended). generally i'd say americans had a 'flashier' look, and europeans a more classic look ('stuffy' if you want to be unkind).

 

[Alpine Glamour]

Recycling at its best

Very true. my mother always complained that she had winter clothes made from her father's old army gear. my grandmother was a pro at turning that old uniform coat into a girl's cape and her brother's trousers. Then again, peple took care of their stuff for a very long time, and that is why clothes in good condition can still be found today from the era.

But I do confess, Naama, I like my Dirndls. I have a few of those, as well as the traditional knitted jackets with extreme puffy shoulders and embroydery.

 

[Naama]

Well, some Dirndels look quite cute, but I think, I'm not really the Dirndl type. Actually, for some strange reason I have some strange dislike for the austrian/bavarian traditional countryside style. It just gives me the creepes...... (especially the houses) I'm not really patriotic

Naama

 

[ProperRogue]

While in Salzburg

When I was in Saltzburg a couple of months ago, I saw a group of four gentlemen enjoying a cafe in the main square with three dressed in American 1930's and 1940's vintage, from the fedora's down to the wing tips, and a fourth in an amazing looking zoot suit. All four of them had to be under the age of 40 and were enjoying the looks and compliments of others as the passed by. Didn't have time to introduce myself and chat, simply a tip of the hat as I passed by but they did look good!

Cheers! or should I say Prost!

 

[John in Covina]

Enlish War time and Post War.

For some reason i had an impression that in England the people that were perhaps the English version of gangsters and those involve with entertainment such as nightclub, or vaudville / burlesque theater had a snappy style of dress tprior to during and after the Second World War.

 

[nightandthecity]

John, that is absolutely correct. English hoods - known variously as razor boys, wideboys, corner boys, spivs - tended to go for 2 basic styles which anyone familiar with their American counterparts will recognise immediately. First was the classic suit and trilby (fedora) but often with a lot of exaggeration like bigger lapels, much wider legs, longer arms, a floppier cut and so on. Second is workwear worn as casual wear ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú short utility jacket made of leather or wool, flat cap (newsboy), perhaps with a patterned dickler (handkerchief/silk scarf) round the neck instead of a tie, work trousers and boots?¢‚Ǩ¬¶. you get the idea. A kind of class statement like Skinhead in the 60s. They also tended to favour what was then called ?¢‚Ǩ?ìlong hair?¢‚Ǩ? ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú not long as we saw it in the hippy era but grown long on the back and sides ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú this in a time when ?¢‚Ǩ?ìshort back and sides?¢‚Ǩ? was the respectable norm. Harry Potter fans: think Malfoy Senior for modern long hair, Malfoy Junior for 1930s/40s long hair?¢‚Ǩ¬¶or Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes! You can often find some of the same ideas in the dress of other fringe characters like entertainers, jazz musicians, writers, artists, revolutionaries and so on.

As regards the basic theme of this thread: yes, European, British, and American styles are all subtly different. But it is difference within the same species. The difference between tabby cat and black cat not the difference between cat and elephant. For example, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m a big collector of vintage leather jackets and I can tell a French or German jacket from a British, a British from a Canadian, a Canadian from an American, straight away. But most people I know simply recognise my jackets as period jackets, they can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t be more specific. And the same applies to suits, hats etc

Funnily enough, a lot of vintage wearers in the UK (coming out of the rockabilly and swing scenes) go for various US looks, but I myself go very much for a British look these days.