1942 Plus Size Vintage Styles from Lane Bryant Catalog

May 27, 2021
by
The Glambassador

A few months back I wrote a blog post for the 1956 Lane Bryant Catalog I acquired and now I’ve gotten my hands on this 1942 Spring/Summer Lane Bryant Catalog along with a few others from the late 1940s and early 1950s.

I love seeing these vintage designs for plus size women and seeing how they are styled. It gives me so much inspiration for my own styling. Catalogs are a valuable resource and wonderful way to really understand the fashion of the era, these were garments that everyday women bought and wore. And the fact that this was right in the beginning of wartime in America, it’s a great snapshot to see what styles were in fashion and to see what types of fabrics and details were being added or subtracted from the previous years due to rationing.

I love looking through these old catalogs and seeing a lot of the same details in items I already have in my wardrobe. I also make note of specific details on necklines, sleeves, hem length and fabrics so when I’m putting an outfit together I can look to these resources to put together the most authentic ensemble I can.

As these catalogs are quite fragile, I wanted to preserve them by scanning them in and sharing it with you. I’ve included some of my favorite pages here, but you can flip through the entire catalog below. You can also find all of the images on my Pinterest page .