Fashion continuously evolves, bringing new fads with each generation. The use of various fabrics and materials to create detailed garments reflecting societal trends has been a talent for centuries. Freshly pressed clothing, beautifully styled hair, and newly polished shoes are components of “fashion.”
The 1940s was an amazing time. Along with the socio-political change of the time came a cultural change in the mindset of young African Americans. It was an amazing time for her generation, the US was victorious in WWII, and working class African Americans began receiving employment in northern factories, gaining entry into the middle class.
Let's delve into the world of African American fashion in the 1940s, exploring how style became a powerful form of expression and resistance.
The Power of Attire
When given the opportunity, Black women used attire as a form of rebellion against their enslavers, expressing power, identity, and ancestry. Black women also channeled their fashion sense through labor. Skilled in spinning, weaving, dyeing, and sewing, these skills were vital for survival and often meant that their work would be worn by their enslavers. After emancipation, Black women pursued careers in the fashion industry and wore clothing mirroring popular trends.
These powerful images of beautiful women of color represent an important document. We’ve picked out some of our favorite photos of African American women, to highlight their 1940’s dress style, hairstyles and - well, their pure sass. Black lives matter!
Read also: Fashion Trends of the Civil Rights Era
Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris from Pittsburgh USA, is now acknowledged as one of the great photographers of his generation. His entire collection is now curated by the Carnegie Museum of Art. Born in 1908, Harris began his professional career as a freelance photographer. By the late 1970s Harris’s contributions began to ebb and he eventually entered into a management deal with a local entrepreneur named Dennis Morgan. Nicknamed “One Shot” as he rarely got his subjects to sit for more than one photograph. His photos appeared in almost every issue of the Pittsburgh Courier.
However Morgans licensing of Harris’s work to the Corbis Archive finally brought worldwide attention. In 1998 in the last months of his life, a documentary was screened called “One-Shot” by Pittsburgh filmmaker Kenneth Love. Sadly Harris was too ill to attend the premiere.
The Zoot Suit: A Symbol of Rebellion
For the first time, the Black youth defined themselves not in accord with White America, racist stereotypes, or even their own parents. They defined themselves according to how they wanted to see each other!
The garment was baggy, with broad shoulders, a long, over-exaggerated drape, and gleefully loud! It’s name, the Zoot Suit! As my grandmother told me, every woman’s ideal man is handsome, confident, and stands tall. The men of the time responded to this demand by creating a garment that would allow them to appear in such a way as to meet this requirement.
The Zoot suit is by far one of the most iconic pieces in Menswear history. It has been re-imagined more than any other archetype introduced to men’s fashion in the past 100 years. Before James Dean and Marlon Brando dawned those iconic black leather jackets, and before the Wise-Guys in Little Italy ever wore diamond pinky rings, before there was a such thing as RUN DMC or Adidas, there was the Zoot Suit. It was the symbol of the rebellious youths who had the bravado and panache to define themselves and inadvertently a whole generation! An invention of the “Hep Cats” and “Cat Daddys” of the 1940’s the over-exaggerated, outlandish, and painfully ostentatious Zoot Suit was the first uniform of the American Rebel.
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Malcolm X once stated ” The Zoot Suit is a killer-diller coat with a drape shape, reet pleats and shoulders padded like a lunatic’s cell”. While I for one love the nostalgia of the archaic slang of Brother Shabazz, let’s examine this a little closer, and define the “drape shape” “padded shoulders” and “killer-diller”.
In order to learn how the Zoot developed I think it is important to understand the mind frame of African American men at the time. They were asserting their masculinity and demanded to be respected as men-not relegated to the position of “boy” as they were often called in the American South. The Zoot suit was the physical manifestation of this change in attitude. Those heavily padded shoulders Malcolm X was referring to made men look commanding and more athletic, almost like a boxer (it’s no coincidence the Zoot suit rose to popularity around the same time as Joe Louis).
The “drape shape” he refers to owes its entire existence to one characteristic common among all teens-rebellion. During the war years there was a ration on textiles in the US and a limitation as to what was considered appropriate use for clothing. The Zoot Suit flagrantly defied this notion with its bagginess and drape (drape referring to the way the suit hangs on a man’s silhouette). The excess fabric stated to the world you had an eye for fashion and dared to defy authority - in this case the government ration. This is how young Zooters became recognized as cool, they had the perfect blend of style, attitude, and bad ass!
The Zoot suit was cut from the shoulder with a high-waist taper, with much of its shape being in the massive shoulders spreading like the hood of a cobra across the neck and deltoids. The origin of “reet pleat” is actually unknown. It’s commonly believed that “reet” is a corruption of “alright” probably misconstrued through a southern accent. The Zoot’s pants were extremely wide and loose, typically cuffed at the bottom resulting in a near ballooning effect in the break. The wearer usually topped off his look with a dog chain attached at the hip and a walk that we’ll call “cat-like” or as I like to think, a super cool cat.
Once again this was due to a change in mindset, it was walking proud and standing tall, not walking in fear or shame. As for the term Killer-diller, it’s one of those African American phrases that is not meant to be taken literally.
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Above you see the full embodiment of the Zoot Suit- vivid, bold, and flamboyant! This couple reminds me of the stories my grandmother told me about the Blue Room and the Orchid Room in the 18th & Vine district. I’d like to imagine my grandparents somewhere in the crowd enjoying the juke and jive of the time. I didn’t know then, but, this imagery has had a profound effect on me, shaping my values, taste, and love for style.
The term Zazou is believed to have derived from the above referenced tune by Jazz Great Cab Calloway. More than just a another cool phrase of the “hep cats”, it was adopted as a meaning of rebellion and resistance in Nazi Occupied France. In 1940, when the Nazis seized Paris, they immediately implemented a ration on textiles in attempt to reserve all resources for the German war effort. In addition to the numerous food and rationing efforts, the Germans also put into effect a prohibition on “Entartete Musik” literally Degenerate Music, commonly called Jungle Music-the popular jazz and blues music of African Americans. African American Jazz musicians had a long established presence in Paris since the mid 1920’s when artists such as The Great Josephine Baker relocated to France finding the audience more accepting of African American Entertainers.
The youth of the 1940’s also gravitated to the Jazz and Swing styles and are believed to have established underground clubs for dancing to the outlawed sound of Black artists. They also adopted a style of dress similar to the “Zoot Suit” created by young African Americans. The Parisians modified the style adorning themselves in wildly striped, excessively long, sport coats with heavily padded shoulders. Above you see the signature “quiff” hairstyle, thick cotton socks, and cropped trousers with overly wide cuffs. The slacks were cut short, too short, almost as if in addition to WWII there was also an imminent danger of flash floods in 1940’s Paris. Unlike the Zoot Suit, Zazou trousers were narrow and often worn in contrast to the extravagant sports coat loudly draped above the torso.
In addition to excessive fabric, some zazous even went as far as to wear the Star of David to further protest against Nazi Occupation. Like all things, this era came to an end with the effort to rebuild in Paris in the 1950s,but, what a time it was. The legacy of the Zazou leaves us with the understanding of an ethos that remains significant to this day. The notion that the way you dress is a refection of your values, attitude ,and lifestyle.
Debbie Sessions has been teaching fashion history and helping people dress for vintage themed events since 2009. She aims to make dressing accurately (or not) an affordable option for all. She has turned a hobby into VintageDancer.com with hundreds of well researched articles and hand picked links to vintage inspired clothing online. We are Debbie and Oscar, your guides to dressing up like decades past. We are here to help you find clothing online and learn about vintage fashions as worn by everyday people, just like you. Need help with your outfit?
Marilyn Ware.
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