1940s vintage photo of 3 women with 1940s hairstyles and 1940s fashions sitting on the grass for a photo.

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.

1940s vintage hairstyle photo for women on how to wear your bangs in four different ways.

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 Photos….

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.

1940s Vintage Photo of a young woman in a photo booth with curly hair. Vintage Hair Inspiration from the 1940s.

Source: Pinterest

Another outstanding photo of two friends with gorgeous curls posing in a photo booth.

1940s vintage photo of two young women posing together in a photobooth with beautiful 1940s hairstyles, heads full of curls.

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!

1940s photo of a young woman in a photo booth wearing a hair flower. Perfect 1940s vintage hairstyle inspiration.

Source: Etsy

Candy Apples, Hair Bows and Bumper Bangs. Simple style for anyone to try. -1940s photo.

1940s vintage photo of young Black Women college students eating candy apples holding books and showcasing 1940's hairstyles

Source: Daily Mail

Another super hair flower placement idea. Thanks for the lovely look “Miss Fair Oaks”. -1940s photo

1940s photo of a young woman who won a pageant, 1940s vintage hair inspiration

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!).

1945 of three young women in 1940s fashions and 1940s hairstyles posing for the camera.

Source: Pinterest

1949 photo: Victory rolls and more hair flowers. Aren’t these ladies adorable?

1940s vintage photo of TWO JAPANESE WOMEN ON THE BEACH in 1949

Source: Chuckman’s Photos

Just adding a lovely small roll or 2 to your hair, creates a 1940s look instantly.

1940s vintage photo of the back of a Black Women's hairstyle in the 1940s. Great 1940s vintage hair inspiration.

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!

Photo Booth Beauty, c1940s Vintage Photo of a young woman with a 1940s hairstyle and red lipstick posing for photo in a photobooth.

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)!

1940s Black Fashion & 1940s hairstyles as seen on these University of Pittsburgh students 1948

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.

1940s women in summer clothes at the lake in 1940s swimsuits and 1940s fashions sporting 1940s hairstyles in this 1940s vintage photo. So fun!

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.

Women munitions workers of the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. plant dining with friends. 24 Aug. 1942 WW2 Homefront Canada vintage photo. The image also showcases women's 1940s hairstyles.

Source: Collections Canada

1944 Beautiful Black Hairstyle Inspiration from Shaw University in Raleigh North Carolina.

1940s vintage photos from 1944 Black Women Hairstyles from a Shaw University Yearbook featuring vintage Black Hairstyles for Women.

Source: DigitalNC.org

Hair not working out? Add a cute sun hat to it.

Women munitions workers of the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. plant hanging out with friends. 1942 WW2 Homefront Canada vintage photo. Plus 1940s hairstyle inspiration-How to wear a hat with your 1940s hair.

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).

Veronica Foster the Bren Gun Girl blog post by www.vintageinn.ca vintage photo bomb girl

Veronica Foster the Bren Gun Girl blog post by www.vintageinn.ca how to tie a head scarf for war work vintage photo

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,

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 vintage hairstyle inspiration-how to wear a hair scarf in 1940s style.

Source: Collections Canada

Collection of 1942 vintage women’s hairstyles, I put together for my Pinterest boards (shown below).

1940s vintage hairstyles for women from 1942 vintage yearbook

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“

Vintage hairstyle tutorials collection by vintageinn.ca blog on pinterest 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s

Vintage Hairstyles inspiration from the 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s collectio by vintageinn.ca blog

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

PIN THIS

real life hairstyles of women from the 1940s vintage photos collection by www.vintageinn.ca blog

It’s now 2016 and that means I start to prepare for Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend in April. Now I by no means prepare like some ladies (and gents) I have met, who have been preparing since the day they walked off the Orleans property. I just start to think of what I might like to bring, what I’m missing to complete an outfit and what hairstyles I might try to practice before I hit hot and humid Vegas for a week. Then I get to Vegas and all of that goes out the window when I’m too tired, lazy or more interested in dancing and socializing then doing my hair and then you get “standard liz hair” in all my pictures (seen below).

Vintage Inn Blog hairstyles — No curl pic and then I went crazy and now I have curl lol

THAT said, I did want to share a bunch of images I have been saving to my ‘Vintage Hairstyles‘ Pinterest board to help not only myself but anyone else who might be looking for vintage styles as well. Lets check out what I have found.

APRIL 2023 Update: Make sure you check out my detailed posts (and more real life hairstyle inspiration) on ‘A Vintage Guide to 1940s Hair Accessories’ & Vintage Hair Tools: Hairstyle Books 1940s & 1950s

1940s & 1950s Vintage Hairstyles

Blog Post of Vintage Hair Inspiration

Big Pincurls and a Side Bun. You know what I love about this look, is that the instead of trying to hide the bobby pins inside the curl (which is so difficult for me sometimes), by simply using pretty decorative hair pins you can secure it like the image below and it looks stunning.

Note: While buns were not a 1940s / 50s look it is fun that one era is meshed with another era to create a new vintage hairstyle.

vintage pincurls hairstyle — Source: Flickr-miriamethel

Victory roll updo. I can do the bottom part no problem. The Victory Rolls…not so much but it sure is pretty and totally doable (from what I have been told lol).

1940s hairstyle featuring victory rolls and a pin curl and hair flower. — Source: Flickr-Elegant Musings

Cute Alert! And maybe possibly not that hard to do, it looks like a Faux Bob.

Ponytail..check with cute rolls. Awesome! But I really need to practice because I really really adore this look and it would be perfect for VIVA.

1950s victory rolls and ponytails vintage hairstyle — Source: We Heart It

This is a great image because it shows you exactly where you need to place the clips in order to have that great 1950s hair that glamour icons like Dita Von Teese rocks.

I love 1940s hair and this one is just fantastic.

1940s vintage hairstyle - Poodle Hairstyle — Source: Flickr-miriamethel

This style seems pretty quick and easy after you have done all the hard work with a set.

I will be honest, I have no idea how to do this style but this image is so striking and the hair so beautiful that it just had to make this roundup.

Vintage Retro Hairstyle — Source: miriamskafferep

I wanted to tryout this complete look before VIVA last year but it never happened, maybe this is the year.

And if it all fails and you just can’t keep going on with whatever your hair has done then a turban is always a good way to go.

Working women in World War II working in a factory wearing hair scarves — Source: Flikr-Minnesota Historical Society

Want more inspiration? Check out my blog post that I did on 2 American Hairdressing magazines I had picked up from the late 1940s. Lots of great stuff in there.

1940s hairstyle from American Hairdresser Magazine

FURTHER READING:

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

Question time! Did you like to experiment with hairstyles or do you find yourself falling into the “same old same old” look because it’s tried and true?

Liz 🙂

Tag: Vintage hairstyles