Australian Home Journal, July 1946

 What were postwar fashions like?  As you can see from the picture below, in the short term very little changed for the average woman.  Perhaps they were  allowed an embellishment or two (like the peplum worn by the figure on the left) but rationing was still in force in most countries, and economy was still the order of the day.

So what were the emerging fashion trends of 1946?  Oddly, for this date, there was very little information in the July issue of the Australian Home Journal as the magazine's fashion correspondent appears to have gone missing in action.  Fortunately for us, there were lots of interesting snippits of information in other publications.

There was still an emphasis on making-do and making-over.  The Herald (Melbourne) posted a picture of members of the Australian Women's Army Service

examining service uniform frocks which have been dyed.  With a little trimming they make useful frocks in civilian life.

The Herald, 17 July 1946

 Left over military material was being pressed into service, though there was some dispute over who got priority.

Silk from the parachutes which are being released from the RAAF should be reserved for making shirts and pyjamas for ex-servicemen, Mr Holland, State president of the Returned Servicemen's League said yesterday, commenting on a report that the silk might be used for women's day and evening frocks.

The Argus, 17 July 1946

There were, however, stocks of the new miracle fabric "nylon" becoming available.  Nylon had been invented shortly before the war, but the conflict prevented it being made available for civilian use. 

At the moment one city store is featuring newly arrived stocks of nylon, suitable for dainty blouses and summer underwear.

The Argus, 10 July 1946

"Slacks" had made their way into women's wardrobes, and they weren't going to be pushed out.  It should be noted, however, that at this stage they were very definitely meant as casual wear.

For outdoor wear, slack suits should be carefully tailored and should never be too tight around the hips.  Worn with check blouses—fashion's very smartest whim—or with bright jumpers or cardigans, they are the answer to cold weather.

Blouses and jumpers should be of the plainest, most tailored variety and as gay as you like to colour; but the fancy, lacy kind of jumper should be left at home, and all necklaces and bits of jewellery laid aside for more formal wear.

Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga), 17 July 1946

Abroad, the various fashion centres were feeling their way.  London, which was still under strict rationing and a newly-elected socialist government opted for the practical and the economical.

LONDON FASHIONS by Louise Andree Coury

During the war, because most women had much to do and very little time for dressing or visiting the hairdresser, button-though frocks sold at the rate of about 8 to 1 as compared to those which were slipped on over the head.  Button through frocks are still popular, but the newest kind are fly-fronted—the buttons usually being dyed to match...

LIKE SEA WAVES
Unpressed pleats abound in every collection... I wonder whether it has occurred to you why the fashion designers have been featuring unpressed pleats so much.  The principal reason, according to a leading manufacturer, is to make the necessary economy of material less apparent.

Townsville Daily Bulletin, 10 July 1946

Paris, on the other hand, was trying to regain its role as leader of haute couture.  The fashions presented by the major fashion houses were extravagent and definitely not intended for the masses.  It is possible that a lot of them were being marketed towards countries that had been untouched by war.

All Paris women who are trying to borrow beauty from their clothes this Summer can get a substantial advance from the draped silhouette that is offered.  This is not a fashion adopted by the masses.  It is necessarily exclusive...

There has been no diminution in the fullness and the rise of sleeves in general.  Most of the richest coats and dresses for day and evening wear stress their sleeve, cut to make no attempt to save material..

Mercury (Hobart), 25 July 1946

New York, on the other hand, was revelling in some distinctly sexy fashions.

New Fashions Are Revealing

Evening gowns slit fore and aft as far as the law allows were presented by Anna Miller at a press review this week.  The review was aptly titled "Night Triumph".

The gowns are by Patric, and are designed to display your nylons, make the stag line gasp and set the ladies whispering.

A black crepe gown, with a touch of lace in the right places to keep it from being a bare-bosom model, was slit up to the knees at the right side and from the neck to the waist behind.  It would look good on Jane Russell, but the censors might wake up screaming.

North -Western Watchman, 4 July 1946.

Shades of Hollywood femmes fatales perhaps—though as this article notes, the censors would never allow their costumes to get this extreme!