Fashion is ever-changing and ever-evolving but most people will agree that each decade has its own distinct fashion trends that go down in history as absolutely legendary and instantly recognizable. In some cases, there are even elements that remain relevant for years to come and never go out of style. Today we thought we’d pay attention to 10 style icons of the 30s and 40s, who’s fashion sense we absolutely adore and who’s dresses we found to be most memorable over the years.
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo was a very popular, talented and incredibly gorgeous actress that was known for her beauty and a sense of mystery around her. She also got to wear quite a lot of beautiful dresses in films. We especially love these two from “Romance” and “Mata Hari”.
Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell started her career by winning a beauty pageant and then pursued cinema. Her movie career spanned over 40 years and in that time she got to enjoy quite a few styles and fashion changes but let’s take a look at two of the dresses she wore in the 30s that we thought were particularly fetching.
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene is basically known as the glam symbol of the 30s, but she was never afraid to experiment with style. As you can see she could look equally stylish in the most feminine dress and in a men’s suit.
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton is quite a controversial figure. She was a very wealthy lady, a philanthropist, a socialite, an heiress. She also had an impeccable sense of style as you can see from her outfits below.
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was a popular actress who usually played the role of the blonde bombshell in Hollywood. You can see why though, she was incredibly pretty and her fashion largely reflected that style of a very sensual and sexy woman.
Vivien Leigh
You all know Vivien Leigh from her role of Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With The Wind. That movie has so many incredible dresses it was hard to pick just a few but we thought these two were the most contrasting and the most memorable ones.
Bette Davis
Bette Davis was known for her beauty and talent. People couldn’t get enough of her big beautiful eyes. She was also a very stylish woman and as you can see she liked to switch up her styles when she was working and when she was just being herself.
Joan Crawford
We absolutely love Joan Crawford’s curls and padded shoulders. It’s not an easy look to pull off but we’re pretty sure she single-handedly made that padded look a trend that all women wanted to follow.
Ingrid Bergman
You can’t talk about Ingrid Bergman and not mention Casablanca. She was stunning in it and we adore how every outfit she wore in that movie was simultaneously effortless and absolutely chic. It’s such a stylish movie, you should watch it if you haven’t.
Katharine Hepburn
When people hear the last name, Hepburn, most will think of Audrey. But Katharine Hepburn was a style icon in her own right and a very talented actress. We love that she could rock any style and look natural and like she belonged no matter what she’s wearing.