Fashion on the Ration

The art of looking good during the Second World War

The War and Peace Show takes place between 21st and 25th July at the Hop Farm Country Park, Beltring, Kent. An increasingly popular part of the show, is the fashion show - a departure from the hundreds of vehicles and trade stands. This year, the fashion show promises to be an eye opener.

The 1940's have often been characterised as a period of glamour and sophistication but the reality, for millions of British housewives, was very different. It is true that towards the end of the decade there was a mad scramble to leave behind the memory of the enforced austerity of the war years but resources remained limited until well into the 1950's. The much heralded "New Look" introduced by Christian Dior in 1947 was claimed to mark the end of the era of drab design and economic necessity but of course it was a style beyond the reach of the majority of women who were trying to rebuild their lives after the trauma of war.

Despite the images portrayed in the local cinema and the rather less glossy magazines for women which continued to be published during the war, wartime existence for women was not at all glamorous. Most single women who did not enter the armed services were called upon to undertake tasks previously carried out by men or were recruited into industrial jobs in support of the war effort. Such jobs were often strenuous, routine, repetitive, dangerous and usually involved long hours and separation from familiar home surroundings. Housewives too, were expected to give up some of their "spare" time to the war effort, undertaking a wide range of voluntary activities.

The woman left at home with a partner called away to war probably had the hardest existence of all - coping with shortages of almost everything familiar to daily life, clothing and feeding a family despite the severe restrictions imposed by rationing, worrying constantly about loved ones fighting overseas and children evacuated to strange families in unfamiliar places, enduring regular bombing raids, running a household without any of the modern aids today's housewife is used to, and coping with the loneliness imposed by her situation.

Our Fashion Show this year plays tribute to the heroines of World War Two - All of them! Not just the headline grabbing, medal-winning, few who did exceptionally brave things in dangerous situations but all of the women, in all walks of life and at all levels of society, who lived through those dangerous years and did their best not only to survive the rigours of daily living but rose to support their families, neighbours, communities, our Nation and it's allies, and played their part in the eventual victory of democracy over tyranny!

We are pleased to bring you a portrayal of men and women serving Britain and America in the armed forces, in the workplace, in the voluntary organisations, and on the Home Front. We also want to show you that life was not all work and drudgery so Wartime entertainment and leisure-time activities are also featured.

Given the many pressures placed upon the wartime woman and the obstacles placed in her way such as rationing, it is not surprising that some women needed encouragement to put looking beautiful high on their agenda. Women's magazines in particular continued throughout the War to remind women that it was "their duty" to look their best at all times. In one article under the heading "Don't Get Slack!" actress Ruby Miller wrote" It is every woman's job to wear her gayest clothes - and a smile!". As well as some rather tenuous patriotic reasons for looking their best ("It is our job to bring colour and cheerfulness to the grim business of war") her readers were also given some practical advice ("Wear light coloured clothes - not only will they have a cheering effect, they will minimize the danger of being run over during these long evenings when the lighting restrictions are in force").

Regular "Woman's Own" contributor Ursula Bloom warned "If you let yourself go now, you may not get the chance to pull yourself up afterwards when your man comes home. Stay lovely".

Most women, however, needed no such encouragement. For the single girl, the absence of so many men in the Forces created intense competition for "dates" which in some areas reached fever pitch when the "Yanks" arrived! Married women too wanted to look their best - for their own morale as much as anything. They were proud of their role and felt that to let themselves down would also be letting their men folk down - besides "why should we let that Hitler get the upper hand?".

The demands of war and the restriction of imports to essential materials quickly led the Government to introduce rationing, particularly for food, clothing and petroleum. From June 1941, each adult was given a basic allowance of 66 points, in the form of redeemable coupons, which regulated the amount of clothing they could purchase during a year. This was not a generous allowance as it was calculated to provide just one complete outfit of clothes although, of course, they could be used for any combination of purchases the buyer wished. To underline the severity of the restrictions, 66 points would allow a woman to buy one dress or one dressing gown or one jacket, one nightdress, two pairs of shoes, six pairs of socks or stockings, one jersey or cardigan, two sets of underwear, one scarf, one pair of gloves and one apron. A man would fare no better as his allowance would only buy one suit or a jacket and trousers, two shirts with twelve collars, two pairs of shoes, six pairs of socks, two vests, one pair of short pants and one pair of long ones, one pair of pyjamas and a pair of gloves. The restrictions imposed by the rationing scheme continued throughout the War and became even more strict - by 1944 the allowance was down to 40 points!

Rationing alone, it was recognised, would not solve the Nation's shortage of materials. During 1941, the government consulted with designers and manufacturers to draw up standard designs and specifications for a range of clothing and furniture. The result was a range of "utility" clothing which restricted designers and manufacturers in a number of ways. Excessive use of fabric was not allowed and as a result pleats all but disappeared, skirts became shorter and slimmer, and men's trousers were often made without turn-ups. Restrictions applied to accessories - decorative trimming was banned and jackets were only allowed three buttons. Clothes produced in accordance with the new regulations were identified with the mark "CC41"

(Clothing Control 1941).

In order to launch the new range of utility clothing, several top designers of the day, including Worth, Norman Hartnell, Digby Morton, and the Royal dressmaker Hardy Amies, were asked to each produce designs for a top coat, suit, afternoon dress and what was described as a "cotton overall dress".

The results were elegant but austere and captured the Nation's mood perfectly. However, by 1945 women were calling for more feminine designs which reflected their growing expectations of a better future as the tide of the War turned in the Allies' favour.

The response of many women to the joint effect of rationing and the utility scheme was to "make do and mend". What started as a necessary task of making clothes last longer grew into a mass movement of creativity and innovation, spurred on by endless advice from women's magazines and radio programmes. Even the Ministry of Supply got in on the act when they created "Mrs Sew and Sew", a rag doll-like creature who gave tips on improvisation at the sewing machine. Following her advice, from a cast-off dress "one could make a pretty blouse and matching headscarf and still have enough material to make a baby's romper".

The War and Peace 1940's fashion show this year focuses on ordinary people living an extraordinary existence and doing their patriotic best to look glamorous. We present men and women in the services, at home, at work and at play. We bring you some of the music and dance of the era, some of the sadness and some of the comedy, and some of the spirit that "saw us through" those dark days.

For further information on the War and Peace Show, or to buy advanced tickets, please contact the Hop Farm Country Park on 01622 872068 or visit www.thewarandpeaceshow.com.

-ENDS-

300 dpi images available on request.