If you’re like me and you like to wear your hair in a vintage hairstyle, looking for inspiration on what exactly you want that look to be can be a bit overwhelming. There are many photos out there and some can seem darn right impossible and very intimidating.
How to Combat This?
I like to use inspiration of real life women of the specific time period I’m going for. Why? Because they seem more achievable. If Betty with 2 kids, a husband at war and home-front work can throw a victory roll or 2 in her, why can’t Liz who works from home do something similar? ALSO I love when I see frizzy sets, and not perfect hair because once again this is REALITY! A photo of a movie star with loads of help to make her hair look like perfection is well stunning to look at but for most of us, hard to achieve.
Actresses June Havoc and Helen Walker
So for today’s post I want to showcase Real Life Photos of women in the 1940s and how they wore their hair. Maybe this will inspire you to jump into vintage hairstyles or try a new look on your next night out.
Happy browsing and experimenting (P.S. at the end of this post I will share links to great tutorials & blogs posts to help you out)!
Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
1940s Real Life Women’s Hairstyles
The Vintage Hairstyle Photos….
Buy Savings Bonds! Love the hair flower, full curls and a little pomp at the front of our ladies hairstyle.
Yes this appears to be a model, but she feels very “Normal” so I wanted to add this image to the group.
Source: Etsy – therescuedphoto
Let your beautiful curls go free! Sometimes you don’t need to meld the curls into the most popular style of the time, just letting them roam free is equally as beautiful. -1940s photo.
Source: Pinterest
Another outstanding photo of two friends with gorgeous curls posing in a photo booth.
Source: Etsy – therescuedphoto
Hair Flowers can give you a 1940s look in an instant. How happy is this young woman, taking a fun photo booth photo? I love it!
Source: Etsy
Candy Apples, Hair Bows and Bumper Bangs. Simple style for anyone to try. -1940s photo.
Source: Daily Mail
Another super hair flower placement idea. Thanks for the lovely look “Miss Fair Oaks”. -1940s photo
Source: Etsy
1945 Vintage Hairstyles. A hair scarf and a simple pull back of the hair can give you a beautiful authentic 1940s look (another hair flower as well!).
Source: Pinterest
1949 photo: Victory rolls and more hair flowers. Aren’t these ladies adorable?
Source: Chuckman’s Photos
Just adding a lovely small roll or 2 to your hair, creates a 1940s look instantly.
Source: Daily Mail
Brush out your curls and add a scarf to your hair and then your done.
Source: Pinterest
Photo Booth Beauty. This 1940s woman’s curl hairstyle is just so dreamy!
Source: Etsy
University of Pittsburgh students 1948. Have curls (or created curls)? Take 2 bobby pins and pin back. Easy (that is my go to style)!
Source: GlamourDaze
The girl on the left is how my hair usually looks after I get tired of brushing it out from a set and frankly she looks adorable! So the lesson here is, sometimes just leave it because it works.
Source: Pinterest
Frizz Frizz Frizz! See everyone it was not always the perfection you see on Instagram and in classic movie star photos, women had frizz and they embraced it. Why? Looking good was mandatory to help with moral but helping the boys overseas was even more of an important cause. So bring on the frizz!
About photo: Women munitions workers of the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. plant dining with friends. 24 Aug. 1942 (Canada in WW2). Next photo is also of friends from the same plant also hanging out.
Source: Collections Canada
1944 Beautiful Black Hairstyle Inspiration from Shaw University in Raleigh North Carolina.
Source: DigitalNC.org
Hair not working out? Add a cute sun hat to it.
Source: Collections Canada
Of course if we are talking real life photos from the 1940s we cannot forget the look of women working IN the factories.
The 2 photos below are of “Veronica Foster the Bren Gun Girl: Canada’s Original Rosie the Riveter“. She is wearing a kerchief in the first image and demonstrating how to wear it in the second one (the kerchief protects the hair from being caught in machinery).
One more scarf photo-Vintage Photo of a 1940s Female worker Margot Bourassa shellacks the body of a fuse in the breakdown room of the Cherrier plant of the Defense Industries Limited. 1940s,
Source: Collections Canada
Collection of 1942 vintage women’s hairstyles, I put together for my Pinterest boards (shown below).
Need More Help?
- Take a look at my ‘Women’s Vintage Hairstyle‘ archive HERE
- I did a detailed blog post on “1940s Women’s Hair Accessories” HERE
- Vintage Hair Tools: Hairstyle Books 1940s & 1950s -vintage blog post
- PLUS…for more ongoing inspiration & help please make sure you follow/check out my Pinterest boards “Vintage Hairstyle Tutorials” and “Vintage Hairstyles 1920s-1960s“
Question time: Do you take inspiration from real life photos from the era you enjoy or do you like to emulate the stars of that time? Share your comments and anything else you wish to discuss in the comments section below.
Liz
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