The 1940s was a tumultuous period in history and the fashions of the time reflected the upheaval. World War II led to restrictions on what Americans and Europeans could wear because of rationing for civilian populations and uniforms for those who enlisted. The end of the war brought new freedoms. Christian Dior’s groundbreaking 1947 collection was known as the ‘New Look’ which came to refer more generally to the fuller skirts and hourglass silhouettes that predicted the styles of the 1950s.
