No CC Decades Outfits 2.0

1940s Women's Fashion

Just like men's fashion, women's fashion in the 1940s were dictated by the war. Military influence, rations of fabric and a limit to which colors were allowed to be used all influenced the style and cut of the clothes. In fact, government restrictions even dictated how wide skirts could get (which might explain why larger, fuller skirts became so popular at the end of the decade when restrictions were lifted). While the 30s house wife had been able to use flower sacks for fabric, this option was now closed as military need meant that flower now came in paper bags instead of cotton sacks. As a result sleeves were predominantly short, skirts a bit shorter and for the first half a bit more a-line in shape.  

Everyday wear and work wear

One thing that affected women's fashion was how many more women worked. With 16 million men at war, women worked in the industry, farming, in retail, offices, hospitals and also in the military. This first batch of outfits are to show what working women might wear. From the classic overall, to the military inspired work wear to the nurses uniform and then the business suits, I wanted to show some different aspects of working life. The skirt in the last two outfits is from Chrystal Creation and perfect for the era.

Other possible outfits for the every day women could include house dresses (good for cleaning), pants and shirts (pants got more and more common during this era), and since material was rationed and most sleeves short, a knitted cardigan to put over your top. Just like with men's fashion western fashion (or the idea of it) was hugely popular and the last three outfits are variations of that theme. 

For winter there would be a variety of jackets and coats. Unfortunately the game doesn't offer coats (I really wish it would) but I picked out some jackets that might work. The first outfit might be a woman working in farming, the second a nurse on her way home, while the last three could just be any woman trying to stay warm. 

For summer I've chosen these outfits. All outfits has the short sleeves, the marked waist and the slimmer skirt size. The second outfit has a pair of shorts, something which were becoming more popular as well. 

Swimwear 

Swimsuits were as also becoming smaller, though they were still a bit skirt like at times. The first resembles a two color option I saw in 1940s add but would have been slightly lower down the hip. The second is a representation of the dress-bathing suit that was quite popular (though again it should be longer). But new for the decade was also the birth of the bikini, which the last three outfits are a representation of. 

Athletics wear 

For sportswear we see the overall making its way into women's sportswear as well. But you could also couple a pair of shorts with a shirt or polo shirt (2+4) or keep a skirt/short combo (especially for tennis). This was also a time when women's leagues in sports such as baseball were starting, and I did try to find a way to incorporate that, but to be fair there is no good options for that. 

Party and formal wear

For formal wear the start of the 40s suffered the same restrictions as every day wear. As a result many women chose to wear separates for fancier party (outfit 1 and 4). Skirts were long but narrow and hugged the curves similar to the 30s. We started seeing bare shoulders (outfit 2) and sweetheart necklines became popular (outfit 3). Towards the end of the decade the skirt widened and the princess dress came back in fashion, on young girls often in light pastel colors (outfit 5).

For the less formal parties, blouses and skirts of different kinds were popular options. Jackets could also be worn to make shoulders wider as was popular at the time (outfit 1 and 2). The little black dress (outfit 4) was always in style. 

Teenagers

Teenagers dressed decisively different from their parents. For one they favoured pattern where their mother might favour single color. For school the outfit was often modest, cute dresses or like in outfit 1 a school uniform depending on the school, but after school she'd change to a plaid skirt and a knitted top, coupled with saddle shoes and bobby socks (outfit 2) or go either further to a plaid shirt coupled with jeans the same cut and style as a boy would wear (outfit 3). In the summer she might want to wear a shorter (or tied up) top to show off her midriff (outfit 4) but for the teens whose parents forbade that much show of skin, a t-shirt might be an option (outfit 5). For winter the jeans (or skirt) might be coupled with a thicker knitted sweater, preferably with patterns. 

Sleepwear

For sleepwear you'll recognise a lot of options, so I'll just post them up here: 

The Pinup-girl

The one style I haven't mentioned here is the pin-up girl, and that's because she was hardly the ordinary woman struggling at her new job at home, but more likely in showbiz sent to entertain the troops. But either way, she was a part of the style of the 40s, so here she is: 

1940s Children's Fashion

Changes in children's fashion in part followed the overall changes for fashion as a whole. Cowboy-outfits for boys and cowgirl-outfits for girls were popular, the military influence showed in outfits, and knitwear was becoming really popular. It's not always easy to show these changes without CC, as there are a lot of elements missing from the options of the game. Children's fashion as a whole is lacking, but I will give it my best try. 

Infants

Infants are the one category that I have not touched since the 1890s, as the long white dress was still a norm for so long. It was practical, easy to inherit and easy to clean. When looking for information of infant clothing online it is also very hard to find information, but by looking at old pictures we see that white was still the a really important color, girls and boys were still identically dressed and while pink and blue was starting to be used as a way to tell gender, they were often reversed compared to now. Blue was seen as a calm color for girls, and pink a lively color for boys. A lot of clothing were knitted.

In the outfits below, I've opted for white because it was the same for boys and girls. I've given some options to the long dress, into starting into separates. Outfits 1-3 (first row) are everyday. Outfits 4-5 hot weather, and the last outfit formal wear for boys only. I have not included a winter outfit because there are frankly nothing really good in game. I tend to use the onesie with a hood for all decades regardless. 

Toddlers - boys:

For toddlers some of the outfits from the 30s still work fine, but a new thing in the adds fro children's clothes are overalls which are gaining popularity. Knitwear is also popular. Shorts are still more popular than pants for toddlers, but pants are becoming an option. 

For formal/party wear I've opted for outfits 1-2 below, pyjamas is the same as before as is swimwear. Long pants for winter is becoming an option too. 

Toddler - girls:

For girls, dress is still the most common option, usually roughly knee length, so a lot of the options from the 20s and 30s still work. I am particularly fond of outfit 4 here as it shows the preference for striped shirts which was common in ads for children's wear, and combine it with the knitwear. Outfit 5 is a homage to the cowgirl play fashion. The last outfit is a summer option for very young toddlers. 

For older toddlers girls and skirts are more common summer wear (outfit 1-2 below). For formal fashion I've opted for outfits 3-4, then the same pyjama as boys (also the same swimsuit) and for winter's outfit a coat with a skirt. 

Children - boys:

For boys long pants were starting to become the norm, with shorts saved for hotter weather (outfits 6-7). Shirts were usually tucked in (hard with our options but outfit 5) and could be button down shirts with or without ties, or sweaters and long sleeved t-shirts. Shirts were very often striped horizontally for boys according to the ads I've seen (outfit 2, 3, 7). For boys too overalls were increasingly popular (outfit 4). 

Long pants could be worn in summer too, but lighter color (outfit 1 below). For formal wear I've opted for the suit, as boys often dressed like their dads for those kind of things. Sports were done in shorts and a t-shirt (outfit 3) or tank top (outfit 4). Polo shirts and sweat shirts or sweat pants would be other options. For swimming the trunks looks like dads, and a boy still slept in pyjamas and the outfit for winter is also the same as for the 30s. 

Children - girls:

Girls were still very often dressed in dresses (outfit 1) or skirts and striped shirts (outfit 2). The school uniform also works well for this decade (outfit 3). However, in ads we do see an increasing amount of 'slacks' for girls in this period (outfit 4-5), often combined with striped shirts (outfit 4) or tucked in shirts. For summer shorts and a top would do. A girl would generally wear mary janes for shoes. 

The first outfit here I felt worked for the tucked in shirt option, here coupled with shorts for a summer outfit. The second outfit is a representation for the cowgirl look. For formal wear I chose one of the little fancier dresses but others could work too. Swimwear was still shorts and top or full swimsuit. For sports I've opted for a long sleeve t-shirt and shorts, but short sleave t-shirt would work too. By the 40s girls too wore pjs and as pants were becoming an option it was easier to keep warm in winter. 

In my Whittaker Saga the 40s just begun, so you'll have to wait a little longer for a 50s update (either when I get there or the next patch depending on which is first). In future updates I will put teens with kids I think but we'll see. 

I love this post! Please do more decades! I get tired of trying to find CC content for my decades. This was super helpful. 

skyebird77Thank you! And I promise I will do more of them. I'm at 1942 in my game now, so the 1950s are up next. If not before then by the time the next patch. I usually do CAS and buildings in vanilla mode during patch week, so we'll see how many decades I have time to cover (that depends on how many mods the patch breaks).  But if not before, I will do the 1950s before I get that far.

Hello JesLet40 ! I had to log in for the first time in ages just to say, thank you so much for doing this!!! Putting these outfits together was one of my favorite things I've ever done, and I appreciate so much that you've saved this and added to it! In fact, this is going to help me out tremendously, as I've recently decided to do this challenge a second time and was looking for more no-CC outfit ideas n_n ❤️

ashubiiI'm so glad you approve! I just couldn't let your thread get lost, it was too valuable and too much work to just let it get lost with the move. I am glad you like my additions, they were fun to do. 

your additions are wonderful! I'm starting a variation of the challenge that begins in 1850 and was using some lovely CC. Unfortunately i ran into some hiccups with my game and have moved to a clean folder with basically no CC at all (I have a skin and eye replacement, as well as some extra lashes, nothing else right now). It seems like I'll have to attempt this without CC, which for this decade I'm already wondering how I'm going to manage. 1870's and beyond will be more doable, I think, but there really isn't much in the game to match those 1850's skirts! Your working class outfits may be my savior here! 

For the earlier years working class is so much easier when going without CC! Those huge skirts were just not very practical in the fields and factories. :) And it helps that people in real life nearly wore identical clothing anyway.

1950s Male Fashion:

The 1950s was a bit of a contrasting time. On the one hand bold colors and lots of patterns, on the other a return to a more conservative style with dark suit color, white shirts and long ties. For once, working class clothes change a bit too - as blue color jobs means factories, mechanics and less agricultural work.

Everyday outfits:

With men’s fashion, the early 1950s came with a rather conservative look, especially for the businessman. “Grey was the only color necessary in his wardrobe, with subtle shades of brown or blue for those daring to stand out.” (Vintage dancer). Shirts were predominantly white or blue, and neckties skinny, long and often striped. In game there is only one suit that really fits the bill really well, but several shirt and tie options that work, and really a bit of imagination and most suit jackets could work, not all men followed fashion after all. The outfit was completed by a fedora hat.

Another trend was the continued move towards leisure wear becoming more popular. Sports jackets in different colors, pullovers, cardigans in bright colors were all popular options at home. Here a lot of the outfits used for the thirties work just as well here.

For the working class man, shirts were rougher, and uniforms common. Overalls were of course still common, especially as mechanic became a more common profession with the increase of cars in society.

Winter wear:

Winter clothes is hard in the 1950s as most men would wear a coat of some kind over his suit. When not wearing a coat there are several types of jackets he would wear that is simply not represented in game (what I wouldn't give for a classic trench coat!). But this is what I came up with that came reasonably close (you will note that most of these has been used before in earlier decades too):

Summer:

For summer trends that had started in the late 1940s continued. The hawaiian-print was more popular than ever, men still wore socks with their shorts, and shirts were more commonly left untucked. Plaid was really popular and shoes were becoming more and more casual and comfortable, with sandals, loafers and blue suede shoes (which I can't really find any good ones in game). Straw hats of various forms completed the outfits. Of course versions of the sailor style still survived in its white and blue.

Swimwear:

Swimwear continued to evolve like it had in the 40s. New man-made materials made for a better fit, and bold colors and prints were favored. Waists were higher than on any of the options in game, but legs could vary in length from extremely short to just above the knee. The trend with matching shirts continued as well and basically everything from the 40s can stay used.

Athletics wear:

Sport clothes in the 50s looked rather a lot like todays, or the ones they had in the 40s for that matter. Shorts with elastic waist of various lengths, ranging from really short to just above the knee, a variation of t-shirts, polo shirts and sweat shirts. The real novelty was the hoodie that was born in this decade. The Converse All Star was still the most popular tennis shoe, with 80% of the market according to Vintage Dancer.

Formal and party wear:

The 1950s was definitely the age of the tuxedo. While white tie was still used for really formal occasions, the tuxedo had replaced it in almost all other formal settings. The color was predominantly black or midnight blue, but in summer a white jacket with black or blue pants could be used as well. For less formal events, a normal business suit could be used, sometimes even with a jacket of a different color if you were bold.Blue or red was particularly favored. I choose blue here.

Sleepwear:

For sleepwear anything that worked in the 40s would work in the 50s. Not much happened, other than more man-made materials being used. One "news" was the bathrobe, which while it wasn't new per say, made an entry into the homes of everyday people and lost its status symbol. This is a selection of what I use in my game:

1950s Women's Fashion

As the 40s waned, Dior's New Look, was introduced, and it is this look, with full bodied skirts and a clearly marked waist, that is the defining look of the 50s. War was over, the economy was booming, and the government no longer interfered with how wide a skirt should be. Colors were light and bright. Pinks, teals, light blues and greens for summer, and burnt orange, auburn and darker blues and greens for the winter. Red was worn year round.

Everyday clothing

There are some good dresses in game to get that full bodied, traditional housewife, style in game, as well as some good skirts to use. Below I've opted for the checkered dress with pockets, as pockets for housedresses were a major trend. The next two would more likely be worn out of the house and the final one is a skirt and top combo that together look a lot like one of the dresses pictured at Vintage Dancer's webpage.

But while full dresses and skirts were very popular, so was the sheet dress and pencil skirt. In the first look here I've paired it with a top that has that marked waist and fit the decade well. Also note the new kitten style glasses that were very popular throughout the decade.

Of course women also wore pants in this decade too. New for the decade was that pants were changed, made tighter. The capri pant was popular, and coupled with both shirts and knitted sweaters. For jeans a new "cowgirl-look" was created with a pair of jeans with high waist that followed the shape of the body and tapered out to a rolled up cuff. The western trend in general continued strong for this entire period.

Winterwear

Again, it's nearly impossible to get good winter wear for the decade without CC. We are missing coats, capes, and jackets of the right shape. (A coat kit, please, just give me a coat kit, I'd pay, please just take my money!). I've done my best here by using the jacket (male form) that came with Batuu, as well as a couple of others. The last choice is to represent the fact that macks started being more popular during this period.

Summerwear

For summer outfits would look a lot like ordinary wear, with full skirts or pencil skirts. But shorts and the white capri pant were also very popular.

Swimwear

When it comes to swimwear we do get quite a few options in game, as swimsuits more starts to look at what we recognise them as. New materials gave new options, and just as with men bold patterns and bright colors dominated the beaches. One thing to keep in mind was that the swimsuit was usually quite straight over the hips, covering a lot, while on top you both had halternecks and entirely strapless designs. The bikini kept on being popular.

Athletic wear

For sports women regularly wore shorts at this time, quite often very short shorts. But there were also jumpsuits and the very new leotard, which more or less looked like a long sleeve swimsuit that you wore tights with underneath. I tried, and failed, reproducing that in game, but none of the tops work. The jumpsuit has tights underneath however, and the new ballerina slipper which was a popular shoe for gymnastics. Otherwise the converse was the go to shoe for working out.

Formal and Party wear

Formal wear followed much the same trends as normal clothes - meaning sheet dresses or princess dresses. The latter were often in soft sheer materials and pastel colors. The mermaid shape was also popular.

For semi-formal events skirts were shorter. The cocktail dress as we know it was born (image one is an attempt to recreate that). Note in picture three house everything from shoes to glasses match. Matching was a huge trend of the decade. Your nails matched your lipstick, your eyeshadow your eye color or the dress color, gloves, shoes, handbag matched the dress, and so on. Another trend were big jewelry. Pearls were popular, as was gold chains, or pastell colors of all kinds.

Sleepwear

Sleepwear for this decade looked much like sleepwear for the previous one (at least in game). The new item would be the more casual bathrobe. Another trend was matching pjs for the entire family.

Elder fashion

For most of the decades, I've just kept my elders in the outfit they had as adults (as most elders wouldn't follow trends the same way young people do), but starting in the 40s Sears had a special line of clothing for elders that was quite popular, so I thought that should be represented here. In general clothing for the "mature woman" had longer sleeves, longer hemline and more modest necklines than clothes for younger women. They were also generally in darker colors. I've put together some outfits to represent this here, both for every day and formal/semi-formal occasions.