Comments on: Utility fashion in pictures

By: Cargo-Hose kitt Gr.44

Cargo-Hose kitt Gr.44 — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:32:36 +0000

[...] Utility fashion in pictures .broken_link, a.broken_link { text-decoration: line-through; } [...]

By: Susannah

Susannah — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:00:13 +0000

Hi ho! Joke. I’m 99% sure she’s not actually a man… but she bears an uncanny resemblance to friends of mine who are.

By: Retro Chick

Retro Chick — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:34:53 +0000

I love British war time clothing. I think it’s amazing how fabulous such simple clothes can look.

It’s nice to live in a non rationed time and have a choice between US and UK war time fashions if you fancy going for the look though!

By: Jill

Jill — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:07:51 +0000

these are SO great…and I agree that Jonathan Walford’s book Forties Fashion is fantastic. My favourite about this post is the photo that might be a man in drag. Now THAT is an aspect of wartime history I’d love to know more about.

By: swellgal

swellgal — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:05:05 +0000

The book Forties fashion, siren suits etc is amazing, every Forties fan should have it. There is another amazing book, a huge tome, I am lucky enough to have it in the library at the university I teach at – it is called Wearing propaganda : textiles on the home front in Japan, Britain, and the United States, 1931-1945 / John W. Dower … [et al.] ; Jacqueline M. Atkins, editor.
Other Author(s):Dower, John W.
Atkins, Jacqueline.
Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture.
Publisher:New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, c2005.

It is textile focussed, but talks about the garments from the UK, US, Australia as well as the enemy – Japan. It is well worth a look. It also goes into detail about rationing, lifestyle and so on.

We also have a wonderful exhibition on at the moment here in Melbourne, Australia. Called “Over Paid, Over-Sexed and Over Here” U.S Marines in Wartime Melbourne, 1943. It has wonderful photos and stories about the US marines who were stationed here, and their memories of Melbourne. This is a link to some of the photos…

http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Whatson/overhere/Pages/Imagecollection.aspx

By: Susannah

Susannah — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:03:55 +0000

Well, there was some rationing of food and goods in the USA. But it wasn't nearly as comprehensive or as long-lasting as rationing in the UK. And although there were clothing restrictions in the USA, they weren't as strict. I didn't know most of this stuff either, before I started this project. I'm learning as I go. It's pretty great.

By: Kitty

Kitty — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:36:59 +0000

I’m learning a lot from your blog. For instance I never knew that there was no food rationing in the USA. or clothing either. I guess I read about rationing and thought it was relatively universal. My mom, who grew up during the war, would serve us bread and scrape it when we were kids in the sixties. We learned to make our own sandwiches in self defense. LOL I guess the family was on their own form of rationing, being as there were 8 or so girls at home at any one time and they lived on a carpenter’s wage. Grandpa was English but he came over to the USA just after the end of WWI, 1918 I believe. he was 17.