1940s Mrs., Mature, Elderly Clothing and Fashion History

1945 Dresses for Mature Women

The woman who was 60 years old in 1940 had been born in 1880. Her life had progressed from the Victorian child to the Edwardian lady to a young woman in the 1920s.  She was sophisticated and regal, yet preferred current fashion trends over anything too “old.” Sears and other department stores and clothing shops saw a need to create fashionable clothing for the “Gracious Lady” who wanted comfortable dresses in longer hemlines, long sleeves, and in age appropriate colors and materials.

1943 Sears “Gracious Lady” Dress Designs

Sears designed their Gracious Lady clothing line with a smaller and lower bust, lower waistline, longer hems, white lace collars, and tucked/gathered waists with minimal buttons. They advertised dresses that were easy to put on for arthritic hands.

For the older woman who wanted a new frock, she had plenty of choices that looked similar to fashion for the middle aged woman. What she avoided were most bright colors and bold patterns, ruffles and bows, revealing necklines, and slim silhouettes.

House and Day Dresses

The humble housedress was what most mature women spent their entire day in. They were usually button-down shirtwaist dresses (half or full) with a matching belt, fold out collar, long sleeves, and an A-line skirt (pleats were common).

Fabrics for mature women were small checks and all over small florals. Dresses were usually not trimmed in anything other than a bit of rick-rack, narrow ruffled lace, or piping. An apron usually kept them covered up and clean from a day’s work.

For the very poor / working class family, an older woman would not have been wearing the latest house dresses. Instead her dress would have been 10-30 years old. Sometimes they made up their own clothing patterns based on older clothing styles but with current fabrics.

1940 Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Pheobe Watrons, Seventy-Four and Eighty-Three Years Old Respectively, Wearing Dresses From the Late 1910s

Dresses for Going Out

Dresses for leaving the house, going to church, or attending a tea required a mature woman to put on her best frock. These were long sleeved dresses in solid dark colors or floral prints.

1943 Dresses for Full Figures

The advice for choosing a dress had more to do with body shape than age. Plus size women, tall women, and petite women each had favorable and unfavorable dress designs in the 1940s.  From these, the mature woman could choose a dress that flattered her figure yet had the ease and comfort her body needed.

Some options were:

Advertiser

Some additional dresses from Sears:

1943 Mature Dresses – Day and Afternoon

1945 Mature Dresses

Wearing a suit or adding a suit jacket over a dress was a common way for mature women to dress up or go to work in, such as this woman working in a toy shop. A tailored jacket was too fitted for many mature women, who left the jacket unbuttoned.

1941 Shopping and Working

Mary McLeod Bethune Wears a Two Piece Suit (1949)

Fabrics and Colors

“A design that is simple and restrained seems well suited to the woman who is poised and reserved. Rich fabrics seem to belong to regal looking women. Soft, pliable textures and subdued colors look well on the gentle, retiring person. ”  – Today’s Clothing / Laura Baxter, 1949

As a woman aged, her dress fabrics softened. It was a mistake for a woman to choose a heavy, stiff fabric. Instead, she looked best in cotton percale, light wool, rayon crepe, and light sheers.

The Gracious Lady collection by Sears offered up women’s dresses in colors of black, dusty rose, navy blue, cadet blue, lilac, wine, deep green, and medium grey.  The inclusion of light pinks and purples was a more recent addition to the fashionable wardrobe of older women. Previously, elderly women were advised only to wear dark colors. Learn more about 1940s colors and fabrics here.

“Delicate blues, greens, or pinks, or dashing mustard yellows, and the sheen of white or flesh satin, highly becoming in youth may, with maturity, deal harshly with the wearer. ” – Today’s Clothing / Laura Baxter, 1949

1946 Blue and Wine Red are Good Choices for Mature Women

The adding of a white lace overcollar or dickie and cuffs onto a dress was one way to add lightness to dark clothing. The white framed the face like a regal portrait, while the lace was both antique and modern.  The narrow collar with a V neckline was best for full faces, while a wide collar with a high neckline was ideal for thin faces.

1943 Lace Collars

Cocktails and Evening Dress

“With the evening dress a scarf of net tulle, of chiffon, or other diaphanous tissue will usually prove successful. Chiffon, georgette, crepe de Chine, and other soft silks are pleasing with afternoon dresses, while flat crepe, radium, and other soft but firm silks combine well with more tailored day-time dresses.”

“The little formal jackets made in soft casual styles, of rich materials, are a most useful feature of the present mode, one that is particularly becoming to the older woman who finds the the collarless neckline is extremely unbecoming; a softscarf or collar partially concealing the neck is flattering.”

“Velvets, double chiffon, and other soft fabrics are more becoming than crisp or stiff silks, glittering sequins or paillettes, or hard metallic cloths. Those that fit high at the back and the sides of the neck are more pleasing than those that are cut low and wide at the neckline. Dress necklines, if they are to be worn without a scarf, are most pleasing when they fit close at the sides and back. A small collar, fitting high at the back and sides, may end in a narrow, slender V at the front.”

 – Color and Line in Dress by  Laurene Hempstead,  1947

Read more about 1940s cocktail and party dress styles or formal evening dresses. 

Makeup

“..touches of rouge of soft, not vivid, red (usually red that is faintly red-violet) give an appearance of vigor and vitality. If color is used on the lips, it should be a soft, delicate salve or cream rouge that may be rubbed in to give a faint, shaded coloring. A definite outline on lips that have lost the firm contours of youth emphasizes the age of the wearer.”

1946 Makeup

“A rather dark, natural, or flesh powder is usually best, as the skin of the older woman, in most instances, has darkened with age. Eye make-up is almost always a mistake for the older woman. An oil or petroleum jelly may be used to darken gray eyelashes and brows slightly.”

Hairstyles

1943 hairstyles – soft rolled updos

“The forehead, which usually grows higher as well as more wrinkled with advancing years, should be at least partially concealed by the hair.”

“Hair combed up exposing the ears, with or without the old-fashioned top-knot, betrays age; softy waved hair partially concealing ears, is ageless and becoming.”

“Flat, loose coils would be much more youthful and would give softer, more flattering lines. – Color and Line in Dress by Laurene Hempstead, 1947

1949 Valentine Tessier and Alice Delysia

Hats

“A small hat, but not too small to extend slightly beyond the widest part of the face, may be becoming to the older woman. A slight brim that shades the eyes and soft folds rather than severe, stiff lines and textures aid in obtaining the appearance of graceful, attractive old age.” – Color and Line in Dress by  Laurene Hempstead,  1947

“A moderately large brim may gracefully shadow the face and conceal the lines and aged texture of the skin. Lines that are neither too rounded and too curved nor too severely rigid and straight are most pleasing on the older woman. They give an appearance of simple dignity that makes the older woman appear at her best. It is possible every season to select smart hats that are becoming to the older woman, hats of simplicity and dignity. – Color and Line in Dress by  Laurene Hempstead,  1947

1943 Hats for Gracious Ladies

Shoes

The older woman turned to very basic low heel shoes – lace-up Oxfords, single strap Mary Janes, and slip-on boots and slippers.

1941 classic, low heel shoes and boots for older women

Shop 1940s style shoes – Flats or wide fit

Where to Buy 1940s Clothing

1940s Tea Dresses, Mature, Mrs. Long Sleeve Dresses– My handpicked selection of 40s day to party dresses

1940s Plus Size Dresses

Evening dresses – Most long 1940s style evening gowns are mature woman friendly. Shorter 1940s party dresses are another option.

The Seamstress of Bloomsbury (UK)- Solid and print 1940s dresses.

Rock N Romance  (UK) – Some long sleeve 1940s dresses for day and partywear

1940s Vintage Dresses with Long Sleeves – Many 1980s dresses and suits can also work well for the 40s

1940s Reproduction Clothing Brands

Betty and Ray Bukovnik wedding party