I do not envy men when it comes to wartime civilian attire. They certainly have a worse time of finding information, and tend to wear their clothes out (alas, far fewer original pieces can be found!). To that end, I will try to offer as much information as I can with what resources I have. As with any impression, finding original images and footage is the absolute best way to go about figuring out what to look for when recreating a look. Catalogues are also a good resource, and I will pull a few of those as example images.
This post in particular will be directed to fashions for men in England during WWII. American fashions and English fashions for men differed quite significantly during the war. As the US wasn't affected by rationing, enlistment, and war work until much later than England, there were more carry-over styles from the 30's and restrictions on Brits during the War. You'll notice a lot of these images are of the Home Guard, which was made up of men who were aged out of enlisted service. These were some of the only men not usually in uniform! Even the Home Guard was eventually outfitted with standard issue uniforms later on in the war, so photos of men in civilian attire in England specifically are a bit scarce.
I've recently (as in, today) acquired a WONDERFUL book on wartime style, "The 1940's Look" by Mike Brown which I may paraphrase and quote occasionally (he IS a Brit, and a man, so he has a very relevant perspective to this post!).
The Basics - Suits, Trousers, Waistcoats, Shirts, and Sweaters
From a video from the Imperial War Museum about the 1940's house, which touches on fashions for men, "Most men would have had two work suits, a Sunday best suit (or for funerals and weddings), and a sports jacket and flannels for the weekend. In 1942, the Board of Trade announced that all men's jackets were to be single breasted from now on, and limited to three buttons. Turn-ups on trousers were banned completely, a move that was extremely unpopular (and questions were even asked in the House of Commons about it)." This seems to refer to NEW garments, so I suppose if you still had a double breasted jacket or trousers with turn-ups (cuffs), you would be taking good care of them to keep them around as long as possible before having to give in and buy a new suit. However,
