History's Best Selling Fashion of 1938

Revisiting 1938 presents a grand parade of fashion history, marked by swell Yankee ingenuity and home-front craftsmanship and enduring fan favorites. Unrivaled hits including Cargo pants, Platform shoe, and essential classics took top honors in living rooms and storefronts alike. Master craftsmen from industry leaders like British military and Salvatore Ferragamo led the vanguard, engineering high-caliber releases that swept main street from coast to coast as genuine top-flight hits. Dive into the full historical rankings below to see which standout creations won the day.

1. Cargo pants

   Released in 1938 by British military

   Cargo pants burst onto the scene in 1938, not on a fashion runway, but on the battlefields, designed for the British military. Their immediate success stemmed from their revolutionary utility, offering soldiers unparalleled carrying capacity right on their person. This ingenious design, featuring large, functional pockets, quickly proved invaluable for carrying maps, ammunition, and medical supplies. Though born out of necessity in wartime, their practicality and rugged aesthetic laid the groundwork for a transition from military essential to a global fashion phenomenon, eventually becoming a staple for workers, adventurers, and style-conscious individuals worldwide.

2. Platform shoe

   Released in 1938 by Salvatore Ferragamo, Salvatore Ferragamo

   The platform shoe, an enduring symbol of height, spectacle, and defiance, dramatically re-entered the modern fashion consciousness in the late 1930s, gaining immense popularity and cultural significance. Though its roots trace back to antiquity, it was Salvatore Ferragamo's innovative "Rainbow" sandal for Judy Garland in 1938 that marked a pivotal moment, introducing an architectural elegance to the elevated sole. This initial success laid the groundwork for its explosive resurgence in the 1970s, becoming synonymous with disco glam, rebellious youth culture, and a bold departure from conventional footwear. Its immediate appeal lay in its ability to transform stature and silhouette, offering wearers a powerful new mode of self-expression that resonated across diverse subcultures and fashion trends, cementing its status as a commercial and cultural phenomenon.