This is an occasional series highlighting historical movie and TV costumes that best represent the decade they were produced in. They may or may not be the most historically accurate, but we think these costumes stand out as icons of when they were made. Comment with your faves, and watch the blog for the next decade we review!
The Mark of Zorro (1940), costume design by Travis Banton
Pride and Prejudice (1940), costume design by Adrian
The Sea Hawk (1940), costume design by Orry-Kelly
Hudson’s Bay (1941), costume design by Travis Banton
That Hamilton Woman (1941), costume design by René Hubert
The Little Foxes (1941), costume design by Orry-Kelly
The Black Swan (1942), costume design by Earl Luick
Jane Eyre (1943), costume design by René Hubert
Frenchman’s Creek (1944), costume design by Raoul Pene Du Bois
Gaslight (1944), costume design by Irene
Henry V (1944), costume design by Roger K. Furse
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), costume design by Irene Sharaff
Mr. Skeffington (1944), costume design by Orry-Kelly
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), costume design by Oliver Messel
A Royal Scandal (1945), costume design by René Hubert
Kitty (1945), costume design by Raoul Pene Du Bois
The Wicked Lady (1945), costume design by Elizabeth Haffenden
Saratoga Trunk (1945), costume design by Leah Rhodes
The Spanish Main (1945), costume design by Edward Stevenson
Dragonwyck (1946), costume design by René Hubert
The Harvey Girls (1946), costume design by Irene
Forever Amber (1947), costume design by René Hubert
Anna Karenina (1948), costume design by Cecil Beaton
Hamlet (1948), costume design by Elizabeth Hennings
Joan of Arc (1948), costume design by Dorothy Jeakins
Macbeth (1948), costume design by Fred A. Ritter & Adele Palmer
The Pirate (1948), costume design by Tom Keogh
The Three Musketeers (1948), costume design by Walter Plunkett
That Forsyte Woman (1949), costume design by Walter Plunkett
The Heiress (1949), costume design by Edith Head
Little Women (1949), costume design by Walter Plunkett
Prince of Foxes (1949), costume design by Vittorio Nino Novarese
Samson and Delilah (1949), costume design by Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Elois W. Jenssen, Gile Steele, & Gwen Wakeling
Under Capricorn (1949), costume design by Roger K. Furse
What’s your favorite iconic historical movie costume of the 1940s? What would you add to the list?
Shout out to ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ (1949), wonderful black comedy set in Edwardian England and featuring Alec Guinness in eight different roles as members of the d’Ascoigne family!
Oh, how I second your opinion–all those frilly, skin-tight frocks on Joan Greenwood! The guy and I watch it every year.
I have a soft spot for Meet Me in St Louis but I liked the Forsyth Woman and the Heiress. Edith Head’s costumes helped with making the ab fab Olivia de Haviland look derpy. Walter Plunkett gave the feel and look of his period but I still dislike GWTW but what about the Court Jester. Pellet with the Poison et al.
I love THE COURT JESTER, but it came out in 1956– a good one for the 1950s list, though.
This is an AMAZING list of 1940s costumes– the only one I’m surprised didn’t make it in was Walter Plunkett’s costumes for Lana Turner and Donna Reed in GREEN DOLPHIN STREET (1947)– there’s even a great stripey dress for Lana Turner.
I had a lot of Plunkett already & was running out of steam :)
Nice to begin and end the 1940s with some Tyrone Power 🥰. I do love Anna Karenina from 1948 too!
Wow! What a list!! I don’t know Frock Flicks well enough to know what movie was made when, so I don’t have any suggestions to add off the top of my head. This list has the first pics of Angela Lansberry that I’ve ever seen where she looks young!
There’s a WCW for the amazing Angela; check it out on this site.
The ones I remember seeing in theaters and being wowed, long before I knew much about costume: The Little Foxes, Caesar and Cleopatra, Forever Amber, The Heiress. And of course the white gown in Gaslight.