The interesting thing about our current love of everything 80s is that, back then, fashion had its own vintage trend – the 1940s.
During that era, fashion was far more utilitarian. Given that war dominated half the decade and women were encouraged to make-do-and-mend, its easy to see how fashion reflected the sobriety of the time. Materials were heavy and durable, colours were muted and tailoring was formal and practical. By comparison, the 80s was a decade of excess and prosperity (followed by sudden recession, like 2009) – the palette was loud, brash and clashing, materials were far more expensive and luxurious and ‘power-dressing’ meant that women could flaunt their sexuality and confidence.
However, despite the seemingly different concerns of the time, much of 80s fashion was inspired by the 40s. For example, the 80s broad-shouldered/cinched-waist jackets I talked about in my previous post, were first made fashionable during the 40s.
These images taken from a 1982 edition of Vogue Italia show how that original 1940s trend was adapted and reinvented.
Make-up in the 1940s was kept quite simple, heavy and dark, accentuating the eyebrows and lips. 1980s fashion adopted a very similar look but again, took it to a far more lavish and colourful extreme.
Liz Taylor, rocking some classic, simple 1940s make up.
The 80s updated version. Yikes.
Marc Jacobs 2009 show make-up, channeling the 1980s, in turn channeling the 1940s.
All the recent Autumn/Winter shows were inevitably very 80s inspired. Marc Jacobs A/W 09 show in New York was a deluge of 80s bright colours, bouffant quiffs (also a 1940s reappropriation) and vivid, costume make-up. Likewise Alexander Wang continued his favouritism of 80s clothes with black leather crop-tops and high-waist leggings. Louis Vuitton rolled with the same 80s vibe at their Paris A/W 09 show, albeit via more New Romantic 80s than power suits, and of course, Balmain is still riding the crest of Balmania, having started this whole 80s revision in the first place!
Check out Vogue.com for all the shows I’ve mentioned
However, on closer inspection, many of the collections previewed alongside Jacobs, Wang and Balmain, channeled a subtler 1940s look. Lovely Lanvin (GOD I love Alber Elbaz) had just as much cinched-waists, pencil skirts and broad shoulders on display but the cuts were more classic and colours more subdued, “with a sober 1940s influence” as Elle says.
The principle here I think is that while 80s clothes are having a serious comeback, it is always worthwhile investigating other vintage trends. Looking a little deeper at current trends, it becomes possible to understand how they are developed by reappropriating elements of the past. Though it may not appear that a certain era is in fashion, vintage pieces from any decade still remain precient and significant. Fashion is built on a sense of constant reinvention, so keep that 1940s dress to hand.
2 Comments
I love that ‘achingly cool’ picture of the 40s coats!
Probably because I have the original, which I uploaded to flickr in 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trevira/133676147/
Please provide a credit to my flickr photostream (Trevira) and a direct link to the original on flickr (link supplied above) as required by flickr’s own terms of use.
Cheers!
Interesting article. I’d like to point out that Elizabeth Taylor was born in 1932. That photo is probably from the late 1950s. The hairstyle and the dress are 1950s, not 1940s.