I spend a lot of time online looking for great vintage inspired clothing. There are many fabulous vintage reproduction clothing designers online now that make our choices more plentiful than ever! While I prefer the classic 1940s dress — simple, A-line, boxy shoulders — others want to sleek and sexy 1940s inspired bombshell look. If you want the latter, you will have more choices.
Here is a collection of a few of my favorite retailers that carry mostly new vintage style 1940s dresses.
1940s Dresses for Sale
VintageDancer – Our goal at VintageDancer.com is to make it easy to find vintage style clothing by era. We do the looking for you and link to many of the best 1940s style dresses from popular online retailers. Start you shopping here with one of these shopping pages:
- 1940s Dresses and 1940s Plus Size Dresses – Two pages of a variety of new 1940s dresses for sale online.
- Pin Up Dresses – Sexy wiggle dresses that gained popularity with pin up girl models in the 1940s.
- 1940s Shirtwaist Dresses – My favorite 1940s style classic dress is the button down shirtwaist or shirt dress. Learn more about this classic style vintage dress. Shop other styles appropriate as day dress here.
- Formal Dresses – Elegant 1940s style formal dresses perfect for holiday parties, proms, mothers of the bride, and guests of weddings.
- 1940s Wedding Dresses – Vintage inspired wedding dresses with modest tops, A-line full skirts, and plenty of lace for a ’40s touch. Also includes appropriate accessories and shoes.
Need 1940s shoes and accessories too?
More shops with new 1940s dresses:
Unique Vintage – The cream of the crop when it comes to form fitting ’40s pencil dresses are Stop Starring Dresses, available at UV. The best part is that no matter what your size, these dresses are made to make you look good. I own several and can’t wait to buy my next one. Some designs come in plus sizes up to 4XL, too.
Modcloth – With an ever-changing stock of clothing that sells out quickly, Modcloth usually has some 1940s style dresses for sale. They range from classic day dresses to sexy pinup wiggle dresses. Its their 1940s style shoes that I love the most.
Popular 40s polka dot dresses at Unique-Vintage.com
eShakti (Amazon) / eShakti.com – If you have a hard time finding clothing that fits your body shape, eShatki is for you! They have many vintage-inspired dresses where you can choose the sleeve type and length, hem length, collar type, and other changeable details. They offer a very wide range of sizes as well. Each dress is made just for you and shipped within 18 days! Making the most authentic-looking 1940s dress requires knowing a bit about 1940s fashion first, or you could always ask me for help.
Miss Candyfloss (SE) – 1940s dress for day and evening as well as jackets, coats, shirts, skirts, pants and shorts made in small batches in Europe. Classic vintage styles!
Freddies of Pinewood (UK) – Hands down the best in 1940s repro jeans and overalls for women and men.
The House of Foxy (UK) – 1930s, 1940s, 1950s repro and inspired styles. Plus sizes too. Very classic vintage clothing. I am a big fan!
Wearing History Clothing – Vintage pattern maker with several ’40s patterns. You must buy the 1930s/ 1940s Smooth Sailing Trousers!
Vecona Vintage (DE) – Fine dresses, skirts, blouses, and pants in the 20s to 40s style.
Laura Bakker Fashion (DE) – One of a kind, handmade with natural fabrics, 1940s inspired clothing for women and men. Exceptional quality and vintage aesthetic. Dresses, skirts, tops and pants.
Jitterbuggin (Etsy)– 1940s blouses, pinafores, dresses, skirts, pants and swimsuits. All handmade in the USA.
On the Sunny Side (NL) – Handmade women’s ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s clothing. Colorful dresses and blouses.
Amazon – I am hesitant to recommend finding a dress on Amazon for a few reasons. They are usually knock-off designs, made cheaply and mailed directly from the manufacturer in China (which can take a month or more to arrive). If you search Amazon for 1940s dresses you will get a lot of results that are 1950s instead of 1940s. In general, ’40s dresses had sleeves, modest tops, and narrow A-line skirts, not full swing skirts. There are few brands that ship directly from the USA (if it listed as Amazon Prime, it does) and are of better quality than others. The benefit of these cheaper brands is that they are usually $40 or less. I include some of them in my shop listings. If you see something you like but are not sure if it is ’40s, ask me before you buy.
1940s dresses on Amazon? Be careful many are not 1940s but 1950s instead.
Vintage 1940s Dresses for Sale:
Etsy and eBay are good for finding genuine vintage dresses. They also are a good source for vintage someone who can make you a custom 1940s dresses.
1940s dress at Blue Velvet Vintage
Blue Velvet Vintage – One of my all-time favorite vintage clothing sites. Lots of great finds from many different eras. The 1940s dresses are simple and fun- just what a ‘40s dress should be. They are starting to carry reproduction 40s dresses, too.
Facebook – I have been buying most of my vintage clothes within various Facebook groups. There are too many to list. Simply use the search feature at the top of the page to search groups for “1940s” “vintage” or “retro.” I have a few groups listed here.
MORE Vintage Retro Clothing
Over 50 vintage and vintage inspired clothing brands online:
Over 50 vintage inspired clothing brands and retro clothing stores we love to shop at.
Teri says
both Betty Page and Unique Vintage are great stores. I am totally hooked on their beautiful dresses.
Beth says
How could you forget http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com?!
admin says
I didn’t know about you site. Thanks for letting us know! It’s mostly 50’s and early 60’s but I saw a few 40’s as well.
Wallflower Vintage says
How about Wallflower Vintage?!
Got your email and would be happy to be a part of your ebook! Good luck!