In 1940 Elizabeth Arden, the cosmetics and skin cream mogul, branched out into clothing with the assistance of designer Charles James.

In the fall of 1945 Julia Coburn, former director of the Tobe-Coburn School of Fashion Design, articulated the postwar dilemma facing designers: what will women want to wear after years of wartime restrictions?

Movie star Rita Hayworth set off a controversy in her title role in Gilda (1946) for the scene in which she strips off her arm-length gloves. While the sexy scene dazzled thousands of her male fans, it upset many critics and conservatives who deemed it inappropriate for the viewing public.

During World War II Hollywood designer Edith Head visited Manhattan and expressed nostalgia in The New York Times for the lushness of Hollywood costumes before the war: "How well I remember the day when we would swirl fox skins around the...