What "the mid-nineteenth-century look" has in common with 1940s?

K

Kate1994

Registered Guest
Hi there!
I'm new to the forum, I need someone's expertise in fashion history.
In the book The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester came across this sentence:
"The silhouettes were as different from the mid-nineteenth-century look that was so pervasive right then and also so infantilizing that Estella heard at least one or two exclamations".
As far as the novel itself is about 1940s, it made me curious what "the mid-nineteenth-century look" could actually have to do with all this.
What "the mid-nineteenth-century look" has in common with 1940s?

I would be grateful if you help me out.
thanks!
 
the novel itself is about 1940s
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Which part of the 1940s? Pre-war? War time? Post WW2? There were some major shifts in fashion over that decade.

And what is Estella wearing that elicits the exclamations?
 
MagsRags said:
Which part of the 1940s? Pre-war? War time? Post WW2? There were some major shifts in fashion over that decade.

And what is Estella wearing that elicits the exclamations?
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No, Estella is wearing nothing. Estella is a Parisian Seamstress who immigrated to America because of the WWII. But she wants to become a fashion designer, so, she organizes a show to sell some of the dresses she had made before.
The silhouettes the author is referring to are the ones of the dresses created by Estrella.
 
It was a bit like this though - the one at the front - 1940s pattern

Hollywood1940483FSize14.jpg
 
There was definitely a girlish look popular with young women in the early 40s. Example from my website
IMG_9580.jpeg

And as the war started, Paris was cut off from the rest of the world. The couture house had to make a major push to become relevant again.
 
MagsRags said:
There was definitely a girlish look popular with young women in the early 40s. Example from my website
View attachment 185852

And as the war started, Paris was cut off from the rest of the world. The couture house had to make a major push to become relevant again.
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It's such an unusual thing... Victorian era amidst of 1940s... I would never even thought it could exist back then...
Thank you.
 
"Gone With The Wind" had a pretty good influence on American fashion for a few years in the late 30s and early to mid 40s. And even a few major Paris Haute Couture designers (like Dior) were showing dresses with bustle backs around 1938, but not influenced by the American film.
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
"Gone With The Wind" had a pretty good influence on American fashion for a few years in the late 30s and early to mid 40s. And even a few major Paris Haute Couture designers (like Dior) were showing dresses with bustle backs around 1938, but not influenced by the American film.
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Could you please attach some photo so that I could get the idea properly?
I've read the book, but never actually watched the movie.
 
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