1930s/40s style

[PumpkinSpicedTea]

Does anyone like this style and would like to share outfit choices here?

@Salacia I love this idea of pairing modern with something vintage. This is what I'm trying to do rather than go all out.

@PumpkinSpicedTea I have this one https://www.thehouseoffoxy.com/jersey-tops/40s-striped-slash-neck-top and one like this which ties at the waist so you can still see the trouser detail https://www.thehouseoffoxy.com/blouses/1930s-beau-blouse-ivory

Isn’t it @Salacia? I was beyond gutted when someone pipped me to the post.

Loving all of these links. What‘s the Howarth weekend like, please @timtam23? Is it somewhere you could go solo?

@Greeksummer yes I'm sure you could go alone, I went with one friend but I think I would have been fine wandering about on my own. It's crowded in the town centre as it's a small narrow steep main street so fills quickly with the crowds, but there's also a big park in the town with stalls, activities, bands, a tea dance, lots of WW2 stuff as well, and the steam railway runs into Haworth on 40s weekend. It was a friendly atmosphere. It was relatively easy to park (it's a small town with limited parking spaces but the cricket club opened up its large field for extra parking so there was plenty of room there and a short walk back into Haworth centre). We didn't stay for the evening when it probably gets a bit wilder. Comfortable 40s shoes essential for all the walking up and down Haworth main street I would say.

@Greeksummer - not to encourage spending but have you tried typing black wiggle dress into Etsy? There are some lovely dresses…

Not sure if this is a controversial opinion but whilst I love 30s/40s fashion I’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable at 1940s events/weekends etc. There can be some great vintage stalls there (and I love tea, cake and swing music) but it always seems to tip into nostalgia for the Second World War which I struggle with given how horrific it was for millions worldwide. Almost feels like a disneyfication of something truly horrific.

@Salacia , I agree disneyfication is a great way to describe it .

One of the best 40's weekends is coming up soon at Haworth in Yorkshire. We have beena couple of times with friends who dress in 40's clothes most of the time when they are not at work.

https://kwvr.co.uk/events/haworth-1940s-weekend/

Some of the dresses on Etsy are gorgeous but none of them are a patch on the pickled vintage one, unfortunately. My bank account breaths a huge sigh of relief!

I understand why some might think that about 40s weekends but to me, it’s more about being nostalgic for a time when everyone came together, as well as liking the fashion, music etc of the time. I’m sure there’s also an element if escapism and quite honestly, anything that brings people a little bit of joy in this evermore miserable and uncertain world is fine by me.

I know the feeling @Greeksummer - especially when I see something and reach for my credit card then check the measurements an know it won’t work…wallet breathes a massive sigh of relief! I get that impulse with vintage fashion where if I see something in my size that I like I presume it’s meant to be and it’s difficult to resist…

Re WW2 events, suppose it all comes down to your perception of the war/your own connection to it. Those in my family who lived through it had horrible experiences (very much in the man’s inhumanity to man area rather than the ‘blitz spirit’ which I also feel is very much rose tinted). I just struggle to see past that and those stories. Plus it always seems there’s somebody either dressed as a Nazi or moaning that they’re not allowed to dress as a Nazi (certainly has been the case at local events/in local press). Obviously that will be one person out of hundreds of attendees and they’re not representative at all but I suppose those sort of events are always going to bring that sort out. It also seems to be a very British thing. Maybe because (other than certain areas) we weren’t occupied. I’m not sure if 40s weekends are held in France, Belgium etc.

I know that makes me a bit of a hypocrite as the fashion, music, ‘pop culture’ of that era that I like was influenced by the period/circumstances and you can’t have one without the other. I’d love to go to a 60s/70s weekend that was focussed on fashion etc (although plenty uncomfortable about those eras too!).

Speaking of dresses I don’t need but measurements work and therefore I’m so tempted…don’t think the pickled vintage recommendation will be good for me 😂

Oh that is lovely @Salacia. Please accept my apology for bringing pickled vintage to your attention 😆

Thanks to this thread I've discovered House of Foxy and bought this top for the summer. I absolutely love it and I've been looking for a top in this exact red colour!

Great choice @hadtoomuchsleep

Thanks @Salacia 😀 I'll report back when it arrives!

Lovely choice @hadtoomuchsleep

I like the option of searching by era on the House of Foxy website 😊

This might not be much help as a) I've had some of them 30-40 years and b) you say you're not keen on real shops but I still find the odd 40s tailored jacket or even full suit in antique centres and certain charity shops.

Antique shops / centres that mainly sell furniture / interiors sometimes have a rail of fusty looking clothes stuck in a corner and I always have a rummage. I found a suit that way last year and paid £25.

The local hospice charity shop gets donations from grateful children / grandchildren when they clear the house. I'm always popping in!

Elsewhere it's much slimmer pickings but even so, I find 40s tailoring sometimes slips under the radar because it can look quite unremarkable at first sight: often grey worsted and very plain because of wartime / post war clothing regulations, also often hand made so no label which occasionally still flummoxes the pricers!

I love vintage wear, mainly 60s and 70s, but sometimes further back.

Vintage fairs are a great place to start. I also like to shop in charity shops and vintage stores. Like others, I mix and match old and new. I'm a 12/14 so often too big for authentic pieces so I buy replicas from Joanie, Hippie Shake etc.

The Severn Valley Railway runs a 1940s steam train weekend that looks fantastic. Perhaps you could attend an event to give you confidence.

My friend is also part of a dance group where they routinely dress in 40s clothing to replicate dances from that era. Might be worth considering?

I'm 50 and wear my vintage with pride. I do sometimes get the odd negative look/comment, recently from a younger work colleague, but I just focus on what I feel good in. I like Dawn O'Porter as she rocks my look. There was a time in my 30s I dressed more to conform and stopped wearing vintage, but a few years ago I thought sod it and ramped it up again. I feel much happier wearing what I love.

Love the 40s style. Feel like a mlion dollars in the dresses. Got two from House of Foxy- sadly too small now. I think if I ever got married this this be the style of dress I would go for.

This woman won sewing bee in 2020. She's a doctor by day but loves 1930s/40s fashion and makes so much stuff herself. It's not vampish stuff tho it's more Bletchley Circle. I think she looks great.

https://instagram.com/clare.bradders?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

@Floisme - thanks for the tips, wouldn’t have thought to look at antique/furniture shops. I did have a quick search on Etsy after you inspired me and found a lovely 1940s tuxedo style jacket but have managed to resist (I’ve got far too many jackets as it is…). Quite like the idea of a wool jacket for my autumn wardrobe though…

@Floisme it's funny you mention clothes in antique and furniture shops as I usually avoid looking at those rails due to it looking fusty 🙈

See that's the beauty of it PumpkinSpicedTea - everyone avoids the fusty rail. Even the shop owners avoid it because it's not their speciality and they probably just picked up the clothes in a house clearance. Sometimes they've been there years A spray of white vinegar and a hang on the washing line and you're good to go.

Thank you for answering my next question on how to un-fust them!

Some people also swear by bicarbonate of soda.

I draw the line at cigarette smell though - that's an absolute bugger to get rid of.