The
Forties Fashion Styles are back in Fashion
By Sarah Mower |
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Published
11th Nov 2009 |
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The Forties Fashion Styles are back in Fashion
By Sarah Mower
Some of it is almost identical to the original. Years ago I bought my first vintage knee-length, long-sleeved Forties dress in a junk shop in Bath, and blow me if it isn’t absolutely perfect again. It’s drawn almost exactly along the same lines as the snakeskin print, puff-shouldered, bias-cut Isabel Marant dress that has turned out to be one of this season’s most desired frocks.
This gives us licence to rummage in the attic for the stashed-away Forties acquistions of a lifetime – and to get shopping again, in a judicious way, because the values of thrift and ladylike reserve are all part of this revival, if you play it right. Without veering into fancy dress, there are many ways of reviving pencil skirts – say, with a satin blouse dressed up with ropes of pearls and sheer black stockings rather than opaques, or with a tight-fitting sweater and matching cuffs on either wrist.
Under a jacket or a trenchcoat, with platform court shoes, leather gloves (and a pair of Forties-style sunglasses for good measure) and a slick of red lipstick, this does smart for day in a groomed way that feels like a zinging adult retort to the ubiquitous short, tight slapper dresses that have deluged commercial fashion. With Christmas coming, this is the perfect opportunity to dress as if you’ve just stepped out of Rick’s Bar in Casablanca.
Forties glamour is also influencing hairstyling. The essential thing is to find a hairdresser who can get a Veronica Lake wave going over one eye (Daniel Hersheson is brilliant at this), or to practise with curling tongs until you get it right.
Alternatively, slicked-back buns and French pleats will do the job, setting off a long neck and a pair of defined shoulders swathed in an ostrich or marabou bolero, worn over a liquid satin column dress. I’m already working on my version with a cherry red Ava Gardner-meets-YSL dress by Roksanda Ilincic to wear to the British Fashion Awards on December 9.
When fashion veers your way once in a blue moon, grab it with both hands.
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