{Readers Question} and A guide to 1940s Jeans and what to wear with them

 

I was recently asked by a a good friend, what a 40s girl would have worn with jeans? There are really two sides to answering this question  so I'll split the post in two...

Part One If you want an authentic look...

Jeans were workwear. Predominantly the realm of men only, but WW2 meant many women were entering the workforce and were looking to wear something practical and hardwearing. Jeans were often refered to as dungerees, overalls or

If you want an authentic workwear look with these think practical - flannel or chambray shirts, woolen jumpers.

Working on the Farm 

 

 Hard Working Denim on the Farm

W.A.V.E.S. ( Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in their Denims.

Part two If you want to wear an 40s fashion look...


Ok so you have your 40s / 50s style Jeans and you're looking for something to pair with them to give you that vintage look...

Not got any jeans yet? Try....

Freddies of Pinewood

Vivien of Westwood

LilyScarlet


For tops the sky is your limit!! And don't just stick to straight jeans either....

Heres some looks I'm loving at the moment on these internet lovelies

Elegant Musings Wearing History Jeans- Short Sleeved Sweater

Sorry I don't know who this girl is butthe tie top looks great with the pedal pushers (more of a 50s look I know but so cute) And I LOVE those cherries!! *desperately trying to keep  focus on the clothes and not the lovely car behind her!!*

Finally Super Kawaii Mama  and a lovely 40s blouse under her Bernie Dexter Dungarees!


So Bunny, and everyone else who was wondering, there you go.... thats the lowdown on 1940s Jeans and what you can wear with them, hope I helped!!!

Swindon & Cricklade Wartime Weekend

Mentioning George and Gracies Pilot in the last post, I searched through the blog to link it in, and realise - I hadn't blogged about the event we saw it at!!! So here is a very belated post about the Swindon and Cricklade War Weekend... a brilliant blend of railways, ww2 re enactments and vintage shopping!!

The weather wasn't looking promising so I ditched the dresses are tried to rock a landgirl style outfit! Not a bad decisions as there were loads of landgirl displays there.

Not sure whose those were but the amazing homefront displays in the gazebos were put on by the marvellous Blitz Buddies. They were a great bunch of people, very frindly and eager to answer any questions I had!




Their display also include period cars, we instantly fell inlove with the v8 pilot!!



One of their members was the fab Mrs She, who was offering Vintage Hairdos for £5 so, as I am had been struggling all week to recreate anything vaugely vintage, I treated myself to some victory rolls!!



Hard to photgraph dark hair but here's a closeup....





We also treated ourselves to a 1940s lunch in one of the carriages!

Potato & Leek Soup or Spam fritters to start with Rabbit Pie or Corned Beef Hash mains, Apple Tart Dessert and of course to finish a nice cuppa!

I really loved these cups!!





Shopping was fab too, I snagged a lovely brown hat and hubby bought this stunning coat

I really liked this tank top...... but as the price had fallen of, the chap wouldnt sell it *grr*



So all in all, a great little event, very relaxed and lots of fun!!!

How it all began ....

So, as this vintage lark is new to me, I've been trying to work out exactly what sparked me into the 'dressing up' part of it. Looking back I'm pretty sure it was this post by Hen over at Henhousehandmade.

I've read Hens blog for months now and the severn valley post really got me interested. Hubby loves his trains and it reminded me that our local railway normally has a 40s event. I showed hubby Hens post and posed the question....... 'you wouldn't fancy dressing up like that and go off to a railway event would you?' the rest they say is history!

Of course nothing is ever that easy and Avon Valley Railway had no 1940s event planned for 2011! A month or so later though when we were off at our devon bolthole, we noticed flyers for a weekend event 'Wings and Wheels' at Upottery Airfield 5 miles from us....

Wing and Wheels was great, plenty of WW2 vehicles, Reenactors and Planes. There was also a small stall selling vintage clothes and accessories! Hubby bought a pair of 1940s glasses (the prescription was perfect!) and some suspenders, I bought a fairisle hat for Little Miss and A leather (evaccuee) suitcase for Young Master.

Needless to say I came out with something too, a pair of crocheted white gloves and a navy tea dress. 'Is that your first vintage dress?' asked the customer in the snood next to me 'It won't be your last!'

We went back to Wings and Wheels the next day and I wore the dress....