1940s Theme Cocktail and Dance Party
To have fun with a different type of party, hold a 1940s theme party with fashion, décor, music, dance, drinks, and food. The 1940s music, fashion, movies, film noir, theatre, and dancing have always been popular.
Big band music and dance were very popular in the 1940s. Most dances were slow dance or foxtrot, faster dances were swing/jitterbug and Lindy Hop. People listened to music on the radio. Big ballrooms offered large dances with big name bands.
Because of World War Two rationing, and just having come out of the Great Depression, people did not have much money. Many young men were fighting in the military. Women worked in war equipment factories or service jobs to cover the labor shortage. Food and fashion were simple and cheap with ration cards.
Music and dance of the 1940s had a retro swing dance revival in the 1990s. This revival also popularized the Sinatra Rat Pack, lounge music, and James Bond movies. Cable TV, CDs, and Internet access to older music and culture generated retro theme dances and parties. Swing dance clubs opened up across the country.
Big Bands
Glenn Miller Orchestra
Big bands were the dominate form of music on records, film, and the radio in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of the music was easy listening and vocals. Dance music was a mix of slow dancing, foxtrots, and fast tempo swing/lindy hop songs.
The leading big bands were: Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Chic Webb, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Lunceford, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, Glenn Gray, Jimmy Dorsey, and others.
Glenn Miller “I’ve Got a Girl in Kalamazoo” with Nichiolas Brothers dancing
Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine”
Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee
Count Basie “One O’Clock Jump”
Benny Goodman “Sing Sing Sing”
Singers
Billie Holiday
The top singers with big bands were Frank Sinatra, Andrew Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, Cab Calloway, Doris Day, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Anita O’Day, Perry Como, Tex Beneke, Helen Forrest, Martha Tilton, Mills Brothers, Nat King Cole, and others.
Jo Stafford “Long Ago and Far Away”
Frank Sinatra “All or Nothing At All”
Doris Day “Sentimental Journey”
Billie Holiday “I’ll Be Seeing You”
Dance
Swing dancing included Lindy Hop and what we now call east coast swing, also called jitterbug or jive. Most dancing was slow dancing and foxtrot.
Whitey Lindy Hoppers “A Day at the Races”
Dean Collins and Jewel Mc Donnell with Andrews Sisters
Lindy Hop dance scene from “Malcolm X”
Bob Fosse “Sing Sing Sing” dance
Movie Stars
Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd in This Gun For Hire, 1942.
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Berman in Casablanca, 1942.
Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews in Laura, 1944.
James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, 1940.
Hoagy Carmichael, Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, in The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946.
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurrry in Double Indemnity, 1944.
Robert Montgomery and Vivien Leigh in Waterloo Bridge, 1940.
Donna Reed and James Stewart in It’s A Wonderful Life, 1946.
Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce, 1941.
Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in Easter Parade, 1941.
Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past, 1947.
Clark Gable and Lana Turner in Somewhere I’ll Find You, 1942.
Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier in Rebecca, 1940.
Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth in The Lady From Shanghai, 1947.
Additional top stars included: Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy, Betty Grable, Gary Cooper, Olivia de Havilland, Gene Kelly, June Allison, John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Tyrone Power, and many others.
Food
Because of the Depression and the War, food was rationed and was simple and cheap. Menu items were similar to what people eat today. The following were popular in the 1940s. Be creative and make it interesting. Mix it up with old and popular party food of today.
1940s popular party foods:
- Potato chips, pretzels
- Cheese and crackers
- Pickles, olives
- Chicken salad
- Egg salad
- Pigs in a blanket
- Deviled eggs
- Sausage, salami, ham, cold cuts
- Mini sandwiches, canapes – ham salad, tuna salad, egg salad, chicken salad
- Fruit salad
- Cornish pasties
- Stuffed celery
- Stuffed cherry tomatoes
- Meatballs
- Potato salad
- Pasta salad
- Bean salad
- Cole slaw
- Jello molds
- Baked beans
- Chicken and waffles
- Chicken ala King
- Ham
Desserts
- Ice cream
- Orange sherbert
- Donuts, eclairs, pastries, tarts
- Bread pudding
- Pudding – tapioca, chocolate, vanilla, rice
- Cake – chocolate, sponge, pound, gingerbread, cupcakes, pineapple upside down
- Brownies
- Short bread
- Pies – apple, cherry, lemon meringue, peach, blueberry, mince
- Cookies – ginger, chocolate chip, oatmeal, molasses, sugar, peanut butter
Cocktails
French 75 – 1 part gin, 1/2 part lemon juice, 1/2 parts simple syrup, 2 parts Champagne.
Hurricane – 1 part dark rum, 1 part white rum, passion fruit syrup, lemon juice, ice.
Blue Moon – 2 parts gin, 1/2 part lemon juice, 1/2 crème de Violette, ice.
Moscow Mule – vodka, lime juice, ginger ale, Ice.
Screwdriver – vodka, orange juice, ice.
Pink Squirrel – 1 part crème de Noyaux, 1 part crème de cacao, heavy cream.
Gin Fizz – gin, lemon juice, sugar, splash of soda water.
Gin Ricky – gin, lime juice, soda water, ice.
Manhattan – 2 parts whiskey, 1 part sweet vermouth, 1 dash Angostura bitters.
South Side – 2 parts gin, 1 part lemon juice, 1/2 part syrup, mint leaves.
Ward 8 – 2 parts whiskey, 1/2 part lemon juice, 1/2 part orange juice, 1 tsp. grenadine.
Sidecar – 2 parts cognac, 1 part orange liqueur, 1 part lemon juice.
Old Fashioned – 2 parts whiskey, few dashes bitters, 1 crushed sugar cube, few dashes water, ice, lemon slice.
Grasshopper – 3 parts crème se menthe, 3 parts crème de cacoa, 3 parts cream.
1940s Fashion
In the 1940a, women dressed very feminine and men were dapper. When going out they dressed to the nines.
Do research on 1940s style. Old Sears catalogs and magazines are helpful such as Life, Look, . There are numerous sites online and books at the library. Movies are very helpful. The leading stars of the 1940s were:
Leading ladies – Lauren Bacall, Gene Tierney, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Veronica Lake, Ingrid Bergman, Ava Gardner, Loretta Young, Joan Fontaine, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable, Donna Reed, Barbara Stanwyck, June Allyson, and others
Leading men – Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Dana Andrews, Alan Ladd, Peter Crawford, Henry Fonda, Bob Hope, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and others.
Because of the Depression and then the War, fashion was practical and not fancy. Clothing was simple, often homemade. Both men and women wore hats. Women wore dresses or suits, with hemlines below the knee, they most likely sewed themselves and wore gloves and fancy shoes. Jewelry was most likely family heirlooms. Nylon stockings with garters were very hard to come by during the war. Men wore suits, sweaters, or sport jackets with dress shirts, ties, and polished shoes. Shoes were rationed so everyone had extra pairs. Summer casual would include plaid, bowler, flannel, or Hawaiian shirts for men with loafers or tennis shoes. Women wore slacks, dresses, or plaids with casual shoes. After the war apparel become more fashionable.
Teen girls wore saddle shoes and bobby socks with skirts or rolled up slacks.
African-Americans were more fashion oriented than whites during the war.
Zoot suits with fedora hats were a fad for young men for a while.
