How did WW2 change the way people dressed?

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by dbf, Mar 5, 2015.

  1. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31719704


    Video in link

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    Despite air raids and austerity, style was not in short supply in World War Two. An exhibition at the Imperial War Museum looks at how conflict abroad meant fashion at home had to change.
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    The Make-do and Mend credo - given official support by the Board of Trade in 1942 - tried to make people think differently about where they got clothes from.

    With coupons limiting what could be bought in the shops, old garments at the back of wardrobes were adapted and given new life.

    This woman's matching jacket and skirt may originally have started life as a man's pin stripe suit.

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    This child's cloak looks a a bit more rough and ready - it is made from an old blanket.

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    With the threat of night air raids across much of the UK, a new fashion item emerged.

    This "siren suit" below is, arguably, an early form of onesie. Very fashionable in the war years, they were long sleeved trouser suits which could easily be pulled on in the rush to get to an air raid shelter.

    Many people made their own - while more tailored styles were available in shops with coupons.

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    And to accompany the siren suit, women could carry their gas masks with them in the bottom of specially-designed handbags.

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    Publicity posters and pamphlets for the make-do and mend scheme featured a cartoon character called Mrs Sew and Sew.

    Dress-making classes were set up - this image is from London in 1943.

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    Accessories

    Because jewellery was also on the ration, innovative ways were found to create bespoke items.

    This plastic bracelet was reputedly made from the windscreen of a crashed German aircraft.

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    The design is embellished with a snake's head where the plastic was fused together.

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    This American-made compact case has a distinctive wartime twist.

    Products like these made popular gifts for servicewomen, and the wives and girlfriends of servicemen.

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    In the blackout

    Night-time blackout restrictions also led to innovative new products to help people be seen in the dark.

    Selfridges in London pioneered a range of luminous accessories, as the photo below from 1940 shows.
    Products like fake flowers...

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    ...and buttons for coats.

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    And far from urging people to don dark coloured clothes in the blackout, the government actively encouraged the wearing of white clothes.

    It wanted to halt a rise in the number of car accidents involving pedestrians.

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    Patriotic fashion

    You could also show your support for Allied forces by the way you dressed - with patriotic patterns and prints.

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    This underwear set was made by a dressmaker for Patricia Mountbatten - the elder daughter of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten.

    It was made using a silk map given to her by a boyfriend in the RAF.

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    Textile and fashion company Jacqmar created scarves featuring popular wartime motifs and patriotic messages.

    Produced in silk, rayon or wool, they were sold both at home and abroad.

    They were not cheap though - and, when bought in Britain, each one also required two clothing coupons.

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    Finally, this design by Filmyra Fabrics celebrates Winston Churchill's leadership as prime minister.

    It includes extracts from some of his most famous and inspirational speeches.

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    Fashion on the Ration is at the Imperial War Museum, London, until 31 August 2015.
     
  2. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30083317
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  3. Bernard85

    Bernard85 WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    good day dbf.super moderator,yesterday.11:33pm.how did ww2 change the way people dressed?using much common sense.and doing what is now a every day word.RECYCLE.and they always looked good.regards bernard85
     
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  4. TriciaF

    TriciaF Junior Member

    I would love to have gone to this exhibition, but too far for me.
    As I've said before I grew up during WW2 and remember quite a bit about the clothes, shortages lasted well into the 40s. You couldn't buy dress fabrics until that time, as most cottons came from India or the USA.
    My Mum liked to look stylish and smart and always managed somehow. I understand now why she used to get so annoyed with me, a tomboy, when I came home with ripped and muddy clothes.
    When I started secondary school I wore my Auntie's blouses, dresses made from checked mattress ticking, and an overcoat made from Dad's RN overcoat. Very proud of the anchor buttons.
    I still like some of the styles - you can buy vintage clothes patterns online and I've made a few things recently.
     
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  5. Noreen

    Noreen Member

    My mum still had us un-ravelling woolly jumpers so she could re-knit the wool in the 1960s. It took a long time before she shrugged off make-do-and-mend.
     
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  6. zahonado

    zahonado Well-Known Member

    MY mother travelled back from India in 45 with 15 trunks full of evening dresses and bales of silk and linen for relatives in Britain...the evening dresses were worn for many years...but austerity Britain was a big shock for her. This exhibition looks fantastic...love the silk map bra and pants!
     
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  7. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    I smiled when I saw that child's cloak which had been made from a blanket. I do have a photo of two relatives when they were children, both wearing coats made from blankets. Their mother paid the seamstress with potatoes. This was 'on the other side', in some ways not so different.

    That suit looks very much like something my gran wore in a couple of photos I have of her with Dad when he was home on leave. My gran was a great one for re-using. I remember - in the 70s - her still having a special drawer in the kitchen for old bits of string and brown paper etc etc, saved for when it was needed again. She could also knit for the olympics - itchy aran jumpers her speciality. I can still feel my arms ache at the memory of holding up the hanks of wool so she could bundle them up into into balls. She also was a great one for smuggling stuff across the border during the war, her father's side being originally from Donegal. My aunt was a very good seamstress and made all her own clothes.

    Dress-making was still very much stressed as a skill for all girls when I did 'Domestic Science' at school. I loved embroidery, crocheting, knitting ... but not that. I remember the cotton prints looking like they were left over from the 1940s.
     
  8. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    I wouldn't mind one of those Churchill headscarves. Still looks good.





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  9. toki2

    toki2 Junior Member

    Does'nt everybody save string and brown paper nowadays?
     
  10. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

  11. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31938129

    Video in link

    Imperial War Museum: How fashion survived WW2 rationing


    As the second world war came to an end, continued rationing meant the task of making ends meet was a daily challenge.
    Wartime restrictions covered clothes as well as food, and a new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London tells the story of how people managed to keep themselves looking smart, despite the shortages.
    Jayne McCubbin went to see Fashion on the Ration.
     
  12. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD


    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/make-and-mend-trailer-aka-clothing-coupons-trailer


    .http://www.britishpathe.com/video/mrs-sew-sew
     
  13. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD


    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/b...l-bathing-costume-issue/query/clothes+coupons



    .http://www.britishpathe.com/video/slippers/query/clothes+coupons

     
  14. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD


    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/rations-aka-rationed-rags/query/clothes+coupons

    .http://www.britishpathe.com/video/jerry-verno/query/clothes+coupons
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    Clothes Ration Anomalies » 12 Jun 1941 » The Spectator Archive
     
  15. toki2

    toki2 Junior Member

    I know of a couple of young Mums with limited budgets who are recycling adult clothes by making children's garments. Fabric is expensive and hopefully, the throwaway period is on the wane. It is the same with leftover food being made into a meal instead of chucked in the bin. I think this is marvellous and their Grannies would be proud of them.
     
  16. TriciaF

    TriciaF Junior Member

  17. toki2

    toki2 Junior Member

    The girls get a lot of ideas from the internet. Initially, they lacked the basic sewing skills that every female in the 40's would have had but they picked it up very quickly. My mother was a great seamstress and knitter and made most of my clothes.
     
  18. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

  19. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD



    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/sensible-clothes-buying
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    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/hats-aka-make-and-mend-hats/query/Make+And+Mend+Hats



    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/f...ork-hats-issue-title/query/Make+And+Mend+Hats
     
  20. Shiny 9th

    Shiny 9th Member

    I saw this exhibition at the IWM,and it made an interesting comparison with all the military hardware on display.Making an effort to attract a wider audience.The shop at the museum had several replica scarves for sale and other items. Expect they can still be found at the online site. Thanks for the video re how to tie the headscarf.I need to practice tying one for a WW2 themed event I am attending, and saw this post just in ti e
     
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