I’m currently in the middle of the amazing and well written book “1940s-Fashion-The-Definitive-Sourcebook” by Emmanuelle Dirix & Charlotte Fiell and I just read a wonderful section on “why floral (and figurative) patterns in the 1940s were favored“.

The simple reason stated in the book was that designs with floral or figurative patterns were easy to match up and hence generated less wastage in garment production. In a time when “Make do and Mend” was becoming the norm, this makes a lot of sense.

After the war was over floral could still be found on many of the women of the 1940s because 1. There was still a shortage of fabric for a while after and 2. Floral dresses were an “Understated Elegance”. Not flamboyant, just wonderful as is.

On a personal level I LOVE a beautiful 1940s floral dress and I own a couple personally and I’m always hoping to add more. So lets take a peak at what beautiful floral dresses were available to the ladies of the 40s, shall we?

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

1940’s Floral Dresses

The 1940’s Images

Let’s start with the stunning woman from the 1940s that I found on Flickr. Her off the shoulder floral gown is simple but just pure perfection on her. I love the black ribbon belt and the ballet slippers with the ties to bring it all together.

1940s vintage photo of a young woman posing for a photo in a an off the shoulder floral dress with a ribbon belt. She is wearing a choker as well. — Source: Flickr-Hans

1940s photo. How stylish is this beautiful woman? Look at that jacket…wow! And her accessories are amazing (I want that purse!). I love the floral pattern in this dress and I’m sure once the jacket came off the dress was just breathtaking on her.

1940s vintage photo of a young woman in a floral dress and stunning 1940s jacket and hat and purse. Fantastic 1940s fashion inspiration! — Source: Flickr-Jasperdo

Beautiful 1940s Floral dresses times 2! Love these two stylish Black ladies posing together on a chair.

1940s vintage photo of 2 Black Women in 1940s Floral Dresses. Super 1940s fashions

Source: Pinterest

1940s photo. From the same Flickr account, the below image is the wonderful woman above’s, neighbours. Well well what stylish neighbours she had! I cannot tell if her dress is really a floral pattern ( I initially thought it was tropical) but does not really matter the pattern is still fantastic.

1940s vintage photo of a man and woman posing together in 1940s fashions. The woman is wearing a pretty 1940s dress and cute peep toe shoes. Our man is in a stylish suit. — Source: Flickr-Jasperdo

1940s photo. One more photo from the same account shows the friend of our floral dress jacket wearing fashionista, two photos above. What a collection of fantastically dressed ladies she hung out with! The floral dress in this photo is beautiful and I love her pose too. I wonder what she is thinking?

1940s vintage photo of a young woman sporting a pretty 1940s hairstyle and 1940s dress in a floral pattern and cute 1940s peep toe shoes. — Source: Flickr-Jasperdo

1940s vintage photo of 4 women in 1940s fashions posing together at a Garden party.

Pick your favourite dress or fashion accessory out of this photo (I can’t, they are all too amazing).

Source: Etsy – LightSilverAndPaper

1940s Photo. First up…COLOUR! And now..what a dress! That green floral pattern is just wonderful on this mother with her son at the beach. I would totally wear that to work or even a night of dancing.

1940s vintage photo of a woman in a green floral dress posing at the ocean with a child. Lovely 1940s fashion inspiration.

Source: Flickr-Ross B. CARE

I have shared this image in a past post (link below) but it’s worth sharing again because her floral dress AND matching headscarf during what I imagine to be a USO dance is a favorite of mine. Another great example of how a simple floral style like this can look just pure perfection.

FURTHER READING: What to wear Lindy Hopping -1930s/1940s Real-Life Vintage Images

1940s vintage photo of people swing dancing in the 1940s. The woman is wearing a floral 1940s dress and matching hair turban / hair scarf.

Examples of 1940s Dresses in Real Life

Now for a small sampling of 1940s Floral Dresses you can buy off Etsy (Updated March 2024)

Vintage Shopping: If the outfit is gone, don’t fret! Etsy is updated daily with 1000s of vintage clothes. Just do a simple search and see what pops up. You can also visit my 1940s Fashion Collection that I update monthly of outfits I like that are for sale on the site. You can find that HERE.

1940’s slinky plum bias cut satin floral asymmetrical dress with all the BEST colors and details of the era.

Source: Etsy – traven7

1940s Dress – Homemade Cotton Floral Day Dress.

Source: Etsy-FabGabs

1940s Dress – Gorgeous 1940s Rayon Crepe Dress in Banded Floral with Heavy, Pleated Skirt.

1940s Dress - The Midsommer Dress - Gorgeous 40s Rayon Crepe Dress in Banded Floral with Heavy, Pleated Skirt

Source: Etsy-FabGabs

Vintage 1940s Floral Print Dress.

Source: Etsy

Gorgeous 1940’s printed rayon dress. This dress features a unique all over print that has a floral motif and trees in a muted soft blue, green and brown.

1940s Fashion: Gorgeous 1940’s printed rayon dress. This dress features a unique all over print that has a floral motif and trees in a muted soft blue, green and brown.

Source: Etsy

Vintage 1940’s Gray Floral Novelty Print Cold Rayon Day Dress. This is my kind of silhouette.

1940s Fashion: Vintage 1940's Gray Floral Novelty Print Cold Rayon Day Dress WW2 Era

Source: Etsy

Absolutly devine original 1940s swing dress with a floral pattern.

1940s Fashion: original 1940s swing dress with a floral pattern

Source: Etsy

What a wonderful 1940s sun dress. This dress would be perfect for the summer time picnic or to wear dancing on a beautiful night under the stars.

1940s Fashion: 1940s womans floral summer dress — Source: Etsy-Ella and Frank Vintage

The fabric on this dress is actually flowers AND umbrellas. Fantastic! The label states that it is a “Brucewood Custom” dress.

1940s Fashion: 1940s floral dress — Source: Etsy-Planet Claire Vintage

The floral detail is again beautiful but the ruffle detailing really takes this dress to the next level. Don’t you agree?

1940s fashion: 1940s Ethel Lou Jrs cotton dress features a colorful floral print. Ruffle detailing with eyelet trim at neckline and front skirt. Metal zipper up side of dress — Source: Etsy-Tuesday Rose Vintage

Lastly here are a couple of vintage advertisements for 1940s dresses (and one that is not a dress):

1940s Playsuit with matching over skirt. WANT! Love! So cute! Can I also have the adorable hat with the palm tree and fish on it??

1940s womens fashion: 1940s Playsuit with matching over skirt in a floral pattern. — Wakes of Melbourne catalogue, Summer 1946-47

Pretty frocks for all your pinching pennies needs.

BTW if this is a bargain look then sign me up!

1940s cotton house dresses as seen in a vintage catalog page from the 1940s.

And with that ad, that concludes are journey into 1940s florals.

So lovely readers are you a fan of the florals in 1940s dresses? Or do you tend to sway more towards the sequins and simple elegant styles? Or maybe you love them all! Share in the comments section below!

And with that ad, that concludes are journey into 1940s florals.

FURTHER READING:

Vintage Fashions 1920s-1960s – Archived Blog Posts
Vintage Fashion Designers – Archived Blog Posts
Vintage Photo Archive -1920s to 1960s

Liz 🙂

Updated August 2024

Ohhhh I’m sooo happy that summer is finally here (well it will be here as of tomorrow but close enough). It was a long cold winter here in Toronto and I have been itching to get out into the warmer weather since the first day of winter. I will admit that jetting off to Spain for week 100% helped kick me into summer mode but I’m never fully happy till I hear “SUMMER IS HERE!” and that happens tomorrow! Yippee!!

1950s vintage photo of 3 women in 1950s swimsuits sitting on a beach by a boat.

So with the wonderful summer weather upon us that means it’s full on summer dress time for me and that includes some of my Tiki / Hawaiian dresses. Invited to a BBQ..why yes I will wear my pink flamingo tiki dress (seen below at Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas during Viva Rockabilly Weekend). Invited for drinks on a patio..why yes I will wear my two piece tiki outfit. etc. etc. You invite me to something I will try to “summer it up” as much as possible and that means for me lately that can lean towards a Tiki theme.

Tiki Style as seen at Frankie's Tiki Room in Las Vegas.

Sadly my closet is limited on space and my pocket-book is lean BUT if I had the space and money here are some of the “Tiki / Tropical / Hawaiian Dresses” I would have in my wardrobe (and some you could possibly own yourself if you quick enough to pick it up).

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, Unique Vintage, RocknRomance Vintage & Collectif are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

NOTE: If something is no longer available on Etsy, do a search for other vintage items that are like it. “New” vintage products are being updated all the time!

VINTAGE SHOPPING: I have a collection of ‘Vintage Summer Outfits‘ on Etsy that you can buy right now and I update Monthly. Happy Shopping!

Vintage Summer Outfit Inspiration

Tiki / Tropical / Hawaiian Dresses

What an enchanting oceanic beauty this is! It’s a rich cotton 1950s New Look Hawaiian halter sundress with 3D winged shelf bust, elastic ruching, and full circle skirt by “Made in Honolulu for Desmond’s of Southern California!”

Note: I have a very similar dress, while the pattern is different (mine are tropical flowers instead of seashells) the dress is close in style (not a match but you get the point). I have shared my dress below.

1950s Dress. What an enchanting oceanic beauty this is! It's a rich cotton 1950s New Look Hawaiian halter sundress with 3D winged shelf bust, elastic ruching, and full circle skirt by "Made in Honolulu for Desmond's of Southern California!"

Source: Etsy

Toronto Vintage Society at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend 2016.

Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend 2016 Car Show. 1950s Vintage Dresses on display by the Toronto Vintage Society.

I’m a big fan of sometimes simple design makes a strong statement, and this 1950s dress does.

1950s Vintage Dress with Palm Leaves. Fun Tiki Dress or 1950s Summer Dress. — Source-Etsy “simplicityisbliss”

The below Jeffrey of California 1970s dress just SCREAMS 1940s/1950s. I’m so in love with the fruit basket pattern, madly in love.

1940's 1950's Style 2-pc Carmen Miranda Embroidered Lace Heart Trimmed Tiki Hawaiian Pinup skirt and top (1970s) — Source-Etsy “ChickaBoomVintage”

The below dress is an “OuterLimitz” creation and I think I might actually need to buy this one. I currently own 2 dresses from this fantastic designer and will admit that I’m a huge fan. Isn’t that pattern wonderful?

1950s style Hawaiian sarong dress -Tiki Style

Oceanfront Boutique is also another fun vintage reproduction online store creating beautiful tropical vintage style dresses for all to enjoy! Here is one of my favs featuring a vintage tropical fabric (avail as of May 2023 HERE)!

Hawaiian dress and kikepa-Hawaiian Shaheen style dress reproduction. Made with vintage 1960's fabric.

Source: Etsy

Now here is the vintage version – An authentic 1950s ALFRED SHAHEEN, Hawaiian floral Tiki printed brown cotton sarong wiggle dress w/ waterfall Train.

Vintage 1950s ALFRED SHAHEEN Sundress | 50s Hawaiian Floral Tiki Printed Brown Cotton Sarong Wiggle Dress w/ Waterfall Train

Source: Etsy

Oh my! Look at the glorious colours on this “Fashions of Hawaii” hourglass dress. And the back train! I have no words…no words.

1950's Polished Cotton Rich Glowing Tiki Tribal Print Hourglass Cocktail Dress w Draped Train by Fashions of Hawaii — Source-Etsy “Butch Wax Vintage”

Sarong dresses are a favorite of mine because they just such a flattering look on almost every shape. The below 1950’s “Sun Fashions of Hawaii” Tiki dress is wonderful example of this.

Tiki Time 1950's Hawaiian Print Sarong Polished Cotton Dress by "Sun Fashions of Hawaii" — Source-Etsy “Wear it again”

Can we have a moment of silence for this amazing creation. Ssshhhh….Okay now speak! EEKKK!!! The novelty print is crazy cool! and the one shoulder design with the bow..fantastic! Sigh…love.

1950s Dress - Vintage 50s Rayon Hawaiian Dress - One Shoulder Novelty Print Fire Red Sundress - Tiki Torch and Surfers — Source-Etsy “jumblelaya”

Fish Print 1950’s Alfred Shaheen in green. Ohh la la, beautiful.

1950s ALFRED SHAHEEN // Fish Print Sarong Dress & Bolero // vintage 50s dress — Source-Etsy “dethrosevintage”

I’m going to end this wonderfully colorful post with this 1950’s Hawaiian Sundress by Kamehameha. This would be a perfect addition to ANY Tiki party or BBQ you might be attending this summer.

1950s KAMEHAMEHA Amber Leaf Glow Tropical Plumeria Orchid Floral HAWAIIAN 50s Sundress Full Circle Swing Skirt Pinup Dress — Source-Etsy “Geronimo Vintage”

Lastly make sure you check out my other Tiki post… Time to get Tikified! Fun Tiki Items & Clothes To Inspire

Liz 🙂

Category: Vintage Fashion