1941 was the first year that America saw a large number of women and men alike wearing high fashion clothing. The most famous fashions at this time were the “hog tie” outfit, the weathered and battered suit, and the weathered but fashionable “sexy top” that were introduced by Rose Jones in 1939. While there were no formal fashion trends set by this administration, the fashion for women was evolving from rags to riches in just one year.
The “hog tie” was an immediate success as it helped to bring together all the loose ends of the female wardrobe into one outfit. This type of fashion included ruffles on the skirt and the use of high fashion accessories such as high heel shoes and decorative high heeled bracelets. It was the “sexy top” that really popularized the use of high fashion clothing as a promotional product and this particular item was responsible for the “modess” advertising fashion that we are familiar with today. Modess advertising programs were widely popular during the war and this helped to raise the profile of high fashion clothing for both men and women.
Another very popular item that was introduced during the war was the sanitary napkin. This item came in the form of individual sanitary napkins which had feminine designs that were sewn onto the napkin. Advertisers saw the appeal of the feminine design and began to widely display them in ads and fashion shows. After the war ended, sanitary napkins were finally introduced in mass quantities and they quickly became very popular among all different types of women and they are now one of the most common pieces of every woman’s closet.