Clothing Goes to War

Nan Turner

Description

Clothing Goes to War: Creativity Inspired by Scarcity in World War II is the story of clothing use when manufacturing for civilians nearly stopped and raw materials and workers across the globe were shifted to war work. Governments mandated rationing programmes in many countries to regulate the limited supply, in hopes that the burden of austerity would be equally shared. Unfortunately, as the war progressed and resources dwindled, neither ration tickets nor money could buy what did not exist on store shelves.

Many people had to get by with their already limited wardrobes, often impacted by the global economic depression of the previous decade. Creativity, courage and perseverance came into play in caring for clothing using handicraft skills including sewing, knitting, mending, darning and repurposing to make limited wardrobes last during long years of austerity and deprivation.

This fascinating page-turner is the first cross cultural account of the difficulties faced by common people experiencing clothing scarcity and rationing during World War II. In person interviews of women from over ten countries are contextualized with stories of the roles played by newly developed textiles, gendered dress in the workplace, handicraft skills often forgotten today, romance and weddings, rationing represented in war era film and the ever-present black market. Period photos from private collections, magazines and periodicals add dimension to this captivating account of the often overlooked role of clothing during World War II.

Clothing Goes to War will appeal to present day readers interested in curtailing their consumption of clothing in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fueling climate change. Adopting the conservation techniques of the World War II generation who: 'made do' and 'wore our clothes until they wore out' will help to curtail the fashion industries negative impact on the environment.

'We made do.'

'We wore patches on our patches.'

'We wore our clothes until they wore out.'

'I was so excited when they had a feed sack with a border print!'

These are just a few examples of the amazing first-hand experiences of women from over ten countries faced with clothing shortages represented in this book. Governments, regardless of which side they were on, enforced rationing and restrictions on clothing so that scarce textiles could be diverted to outfit the military, leaving limited resources for civilians. Many people had to get by with their already limited wardrobes, often impacted by the global economic depression of the previous decade. Creativity, courage and perseverance came into play in caring for clothing using handicraft skills including sewing, knitting, mending, darning and repurposing to make limited wardrobes last during long years of austerity and deprivation.

Seventy-five years later, the lifestyle of Western culture has become more focused on a sense of entitlement and overuse. Recently, a 'slow fashion' movement promoting growing awareness of the negative effects of over consumption on the environment has motivated people to voluntarily restrict their clothing consumption.

This movement echoes the efforts of civilians during World War II to sustain their limited wardrobes. A great deal about leading a more sustainable lifestyle can be learned from the cultural knowledge presented here in the stories of people who lived through the Great Depression and World War II.

Clothing Goes to War represents an important contribution to the history of textiles and clothing, sociology, environmental studies, material culture and the history of World War II.

This is a book that will have genuinely wide appeal. Local historians and craft groups may want to include this in their libraries many craft groups maintain libraries that discuss fashion and craft in wartime.

Academic readership will be among researchers, educators, scholars and students in fashion studies, history, cultural studies and feminist studies, who will particularly value the thorough documentation.

General readers will particularly enjoy the personal stories and close examination or rationing and alternative methods of clothing families. History-loving readers will like to see war from the consumer side of conflict. The current COVID-19 situation provides an unexpected context for many potential readers who until now have never faced lack of consumer goods, hoarding and market-price manipulation.

 

 

Acknowledgments 

Introduction



1. Rationale for Rationing: The Demanding War 

2. Textiles Go to War: Military Uniforms Prioritized 

3. Gender Defined by Clothing: Women in Slacks

4. Home Front Handicrafts: Creativity Inspired by Restrictions

5. Feed Sack Fashion: Nothing Was Wasted

6. Wartime Weddings: Falling in Love During Wartime

7. Costumes Go to War: Clothing in Hollywood and British Film

8. Clothing as Commerce: Hoarding, Bartering, and the Black Market 

9. Make-Do and Mend: Once Forgotten, Now Reborn

10. Epilogue: Global Pandemic of 2020 Forces Revivals of 1940s Handicrafts

Bibliography 

Index

Sujets

• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• Sustainability
• History of fashion design
• Rationing
• General officer
• Military
• World War II
• Fashion
• General
• Mode (habillement)
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 11 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781789383485
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Clothing Goes to War
Clothing Goes to War
Creativity Inspired by Scarcity in World War II
Nan Turner
First published in the UK in 2022 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2022 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright 2022 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copy editor: MPS Limited
Cover designer: Aleksandra Szumlas
Cover image: Joseph Earl Turner
Production managers: Aim e Bates, Georgia Earl, and Debora Nicosia
Typesetter: MPS Limited
Paperback ISBN 978-1-78938-346-1
ePDF ISBN 978-1-78938-347-8
ePUB ISBN 978-1-78938-348-5
To find out about all our publications, please visit our website.
There you can subscribe to our e-newsletter, browse or download our current catalogue and buy any titles that are in print.
www.intellectbooks.com
This is a peer-reviewed publication.
This book is dedicated to my parents, Joseph Earl and Patricia Jean Ford Turner, who would never have met in college in Emporia, Kansas without the disruption of World War II .
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Rationale for Rationing: The Demanding War
2. Textiles Go to War: Military Uniforms Prioritized
3. Gender Defined by Clothing: Women in Slacks
4. Home Front Handicrafts: Creativity Inspired by Restrictions
5. Feed Sack Fashion: Nothing Was Wasted
6. Wartime Weddings: Falling in Love During Wartime
7. Costumes Go to War: Clothing in Hollywood and British Film
8. Clothing as Commerce: Hoarding, Bartering, and the Black Market
9. Make-Do and Mend: Once Forgotten, Now Reborn
10. Epilogue: Global Pandemic of 2020 Forces Revivals of 1940s Handicrafts
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
As I finish Clothing Goes to War , I think back on this long journey that started with a box of photos documenting my father s WWII experience. I am so appreciative of all the people who believed in this project and shared their experiences, knowledge, and expertise.
First of all, I am grateful to my professor, Dr. Susan B. Kaiser at the University of California, Davis, who suggested that I turn my interest in WWII into a master s thesis. She, along with Joan Chandler, Ann Savageau, and Dr. Margaret H. Rucker, guided me through my research and graduate study. Also at the University of California, Davis I would like to thank Amy Clark and David Masiel in the University Writing Program who generously shared their writing expertise. Daniel Goldstein, David Michalski, and Roberto Delgadillo, University of California, Davis librarians, generously met with me numerous times to help me find resources.
Deprivation Fashion: Creative Sustainability Inspired by Clothing Restrictions during WWII , my thesis and the preliminary research for this book, was completed in June 2012. After completing my master s degree, I found the subject so interesting, and the urgency of documenting the stories of the dwindling numbers of primary resources so compelling, that I continued my research.
I am indebted to so many people who shared their wartime experience with me. Especially, the women in Weston-super-Mare, UK whose parents invited my father to Christmas lunch in 1944 and extended an invitation to me in 2011 to stay in their home. I know they were just as curious as I was to exchange information. Their first question about the nice young American soldier they became friends with during the few months he was stationed in their village was if he had gone to medical school after the war. I was happy to report that he had as well as suppling other information that the loose lips sink ships war era protocol had not allowed him to share.
My thanks for shared experiences, all kinds of help, inspiration, and giving me the confidence that I could finish this project to: Dennis Wile, the photographer for the 1270th Engineer Combat Battalion, along with his wife Virginia and son Dennis Wile Jr, who graciously hosted me at their home in Trussville, Alabama and shared his professional photographs and experiences. The members of the World War II War Brides Association and the Bay Area War Brides chapter who warmly welcomed me to their monthly lunches and several national conventions. The members, hailing from a wide range of countries, were very generous in sharing their stories. Edward and Ludmilla Trautt who invited me over for tea on many occasions and shared their WWII memories with me. Jillian Azevedo, Karen Quail, Therese Poletti, Jennifer Coile, and Kristine Mietzner, my preliminary editors and friends, who helped with organization, format, grammar, and moral support and were always quick to answer my questions. Rosemond Rowe Sleigh who spent many hours helping me find my voice and improve my writing. The Normandy Veterans' Association members and their wives who I met in London at the 2014 commemorative ceremony of the 1944 Normandy invasion. Dorothy Sheridan, director of the Mass Observation Archive, who I met at the 75th Anniversary Conference of MO. The American Historical Association (AHA) who generously awarded me a Bernadotte Schmitt Grant. Peter Winning and Lisa Redlinski at St. Peter s House library in Brighton, UK which owns a priceless collection of WWII magazines. Generous longtime friends: Lois Breida, Sally Calabrese, Ellen Miller Coile, Will and Patti Collins, Virginia Fry, Doris Gilpin, Marilyn Kren, Leila Ruddick, Elizabeth Sosic, and Rosemary Smith who shared their stories of growing up during the Great Depression and living through World War II.
For help obtaining permissions to use images that added so much to the story, I would like to thank: David Abbott, Head of Brand Partnerships, TI Media; Marie Alm, daughter of WWII nurse, May Buelow Alm; Sandy Antelme, author of Se Chausser Sous l'Occupation. 1940-1944, for her help obtaining the shoe images from the Mus e des M tiers de la Chaussure, S vremoine, France; David Bagwell, Brand Identity Heritage Manager, Michelin North America; Tiffany Boodram, Assistant Manager, Cond Nast Licensing; Caroline Berton, Photo Syndication Manager, Cond Nast, Paris; Gillian Collins of gilliancollinsartist.com; John Grover, Deputy General Counsel, Hanesbrands; Franklin Habit of franklinhabit.com; Suzanne Isaacs, Community Manager, National Archives Catalog; Mary Palmer Linnemann, Digital Imaging Coordinator, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia; Eirlys Penn of http://www.scrapiana.com ; Kay Peterson, Rights and Reproductions Coordinator, National Museum of American History; Emmanuel Petrakis, Chairman of the Maritime Museum of Crete; Mary-Jo Miller, Assistant Curator, Nebraska State Historical Society; Scott Olsen, Permissions Department, King Features Syndicate; Pete Pitman, Deputy Curator and David Coxon, Director, Tangmere Military Aviation Museum; Lauren Steinke, SVP Brand Management, Iconix Brand Group; Shelley Tobin, Costume Curator, Killerton House National Trust; Andrew Webb, Media Sales Licensing Executive, Imperial War Museum; Ruth Woods of craftschooloz.com.
I am so thankful for the time and efforts of my peer editors: Dr. Susan B. Kaiser, Dr. Margaret Ordo ez, and Dr. Denise N. Rall. They graciously offered thoughtful constructive criticism and challenges that made an immeasurably improvement to my work.
Finally, thank you to my editors, Aimee Bates, Georgia Earl, and Debora Nicosia, at Intellect Books, Bristol, UK, who made this book possible.
Introduction

All we wore were hand-me-downs and old clothes.
Emma (born 1925, Auckland, New Zealand) 1
Valerie Maier, a young seamstress born in 1922, was desperate for fabric to make herself a new dress in war-torn Germany during World War II. She lived in F rstenfeldbruck, a town in Bavaria so small that it did not even have a clothing store. It would not have mattered anyway since as the war progressed, all stores were either empty or bombed out. It was impossible to find fabric, so Valerie often used unrationed or unexpected textiles to sew up dresses for herself and her sister Ingrid, seven years younger. Ingrid described a rather risky action Valerie took to find fabric: In the last year, 1944-45, there was a store that sold material and among other things, they sold the German flags. My sister bought quite a few of the flags and cut out the insignia. She made dresses out of them. Desecrating the German flag was a criminal offense. Ingrid was afraid of the consequences of wearing a dress made from the German flag. I remember once I was walking from the place that I worked at the time and I saw, a block away, there was a woman with a red dress. I guess at that time the color was not really worn. And my friend said, Oh, look at that! There is someone wearing a red dress! And I knew it was my sister, but I did not say anything. Ingrid was afraid of the possible stigma attributed to her relationship to the woman in the problematic red dress.
Recently, another story about clothing made from a German flag appeared in the Canadian newspaper, National Post . Thom Cholowski, a World War II historian, bought a red skirt similar to the dress made for Ingrid on the auction site eBay. The online seller had purchased the skirt from a collector who bought it from the original wearer. Cholowski knew that the skirt was made by a German woman for her daughter from a Third Reich banner at the end of the war. He explained why the flag was used as dress material in the National Post article:

The war ended in Europe May 8, 1945, but the struggle for survival for millions of people didn t stop there. [ ] So you made do with what you had. And in this case, the Nazis had been defeated, this flag was use