Fashion in the 1940s (Shire Library)

This book reveals the impact of wartime on British fashion, how a spirit of utility, make-do and mend unleashed a whole new creativity among Britain's women starved of high fashion by rationing. Many of these home dressmakers copied the high-end looks. Women doing war work created new street fashion looks. It also shows how world war shifted the centre of the international fashion from Paris to New York and established a casual American style for British women and men. Finally, we see the re-birth of Paris fashion in Dior's New Look and a new glamour.