Humanity can not be unhappy infinitely, the psyche works so that you will look for a way out of the most difficult and traumatic situation. In history, there are many examples when brilliant things were created in harsh and oppressive conditions.
The 1940s were a decade of creativity, innovation and functionality. Fashion trends of those years gave birth to perhaps the first truly practical bags for women, design and construction of some bags are successfully used in our time.
In the 1940s, bags became an indispensable daily accessory. Small clutches were too impractical during the war. Previously, women had just a lipstick, a purse, sometimes a cigarette case in their bags. In the 1940s, the contents of women's handbags included scarf, gloves, perfume, wallet, key chain, mirror.
Designers were inspired by uniforms, and volume bags with long handles were popular, they were convenient to put on a shoulder to free hands. Black and brown leather was preferable. Bags were very similar to clutches of the 1930s, but they were bigger and were called envelope bags. Metal clasp was replaced by a zipper because to use less metal.
In addition to this design, shell bags and bags with all kinds of folds and draperies were in fashion. A small bag worn on the wrist, over the years became larger and was not on the wrist, but on the forearm.
Since materials such as metal and leather were reserved for military use, designers thought about finding materials for their masterpieces. As a result, unusual fabrics and exotic animal and reptile leather (antelope, buffalo, goat, alligator, snake, iguana, lizard) became popular.
Women could sew their own textile bags. The simplest design was a bag in the form of a knapsack on a lace. Knitted and crocheted bags were also popular, they were beautifully decorated with Lucite or bakelite handles instead of metal ones.
All sorts of synthetic fabrics in the form of patent leather were used. At the end of 1940s, synthetic bags of light and bright colours (red, green, yellow) were in trend.
It is surprising that with an acute shortage of fabric, accessories and other things, bags of this era were created with great skill, enthusiasm and love for detail. Striking reasonableness and conciseness of forms, originality of design and style were the main features.
For evening gowns, satin, viscose, brocade, black felt and cashmere bags were created, also beads were used. These bags today do not lose their aesthetic appeal and perfectly fit into a modern look.
