When LIFE magazine published a fashion article on the trends that were expected to reign in the autumn of 1938, the editors focused much of their attention on one particular aspect of the coming season’s styles: namely, the indication that straight lines seemed to be giving way to a softer—or, at the very least, a somewhat less rigid—silhouette.
“Shoppers will find saleswomen swooning over romantic evening dresses,” LIFE assured its readers. “It seems the western fashion world is emerging from the second tubular cycle . . . into a bell-shaped cycle.”
“This July,” the feature continued, “buyers from all over the U.S., on their annual pilgrimage to New York showrooms, were amazed at the number of hoopskirts shown by Kallman & Morris, evening-dress specialists. Here were aristocratic hoops for the masses. Here was fashion repeating itself.”
Hoops for the masses. Not a bad rallying cry. But in pictures made by LIFE’s Alfred Eisenstaedt for that year’s fall round-up, other equally clear trends emerged: plaids, co-ed sweaters, calfskin everything—and in his inimitable, warm style, “Eisie” made them feel as vital as anything that the vaunted “bell-shaped cycle” could deliver.
Here, in photos that were published in LIFE in September 1938, as well as pictures that never ran in the magazine, we revisit some of the most promising themes and accents of a long-ago season, when fashion again repeated itself—yet still managed to feel utterly new.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.
Fall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. The wool plaid and the cut of the sleeve make this $22.50 Star-Maid dress new.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. The sleeve, a modified dolman, has deep armhole forming part of shoulder and waist.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Fall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Fall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Fall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Fall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Calfskin, used for the collar, cuffs, pocket outlines and as a waistband, is one of the new notes in this coat designed by Clare Potter for Charles W. Nudelman Inc. Also new are the high side pockets. The hat, wrist-length gloves and bag are all made of calfskin.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFall fashion, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSuede, silk and wool combined in a sport suit. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesShoes by Palter DeLiso, 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Co-ed sweaters are feminine like one above with bow.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Sleeves on the new dresses are either dolman or wrinkled below the elbow with high roll shoulder.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Plaids are the big news of this fall. . . . Note how the skilled cutting of the back brings the square blocks into points at the waistline, thus achieving a thinning effect.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images