1940s Fashion Is the Hottest Trend for Fall Thanks to This TikToker and Her Grandma

1940s fashion is so 2023. 

Julia, a 28-year-old from the Chicago area, has always been close with her grandmother and admired her for being a wonderful mother, wife, and woman. But during the pandemic, Julia began to truly understand another talent of her grandmother’s: fashion design.

Julia tells Glamour that she knew her grandmother, who she refers to online simply as Grandma to protect her privacy, had dropped out of fashion school in the 1940s, but didn’t know a lot about her time there or her design dreams. That is, until the COVID-19 lockdown, when Grandma went through her things and uncovered old sketches from when she was studying and asked Julia if she wanted to see them.

“I was really blown away,” she says. “They were really beautiful. She mentioned that when she passed away, she wanted people to know that this was part of her life. She wanted them either sent out to magazines or displayed at her funeral. And I thought, well, why would we wait for you to pass away?”

Although Julia had no design or sewing experience, she decided that her pandemic project would be learning how to sew so she could bring Grandma’s designs to life. She began documenting her process on TikTok and has since has posted more than 90 videos about her “Grandma designs.” 

A few years, millions of views, and nearly 800,000 followers later, Julia and Grandma have introduced a whole new generation of women to this refined and chic, but whimsical and feminine era of fashion. 

If you’ve been similarly captivated by Grandma’s designs, or if you’re just interested in incorporating some elements of the era’s style into your wardrobe, here are Julia’s tips for putting together a modern outfit with a 1940s fashion twist.

When it comes to sleeves, the puffier the better.