At war with Woman, 1942 & 1943
Behold my latest eBay find — 5 vintage copies of Woman magazine from World War 2!
As satisfying to page through as Vogue in its own homely way, Woman is a typical women’s weekly magazine of the day, serving up a mélange of starchy advice columns, knitting patterns, fashion and beauty tips, household hints, schmaltzy short fiction and recipes — all with an unmistakably British stamp.
It’s absolutely impossible to read these issues and not be acutely aware there’s a war on. Nearly every article and ad is saturated with the realities and the mood of war — changed lifestyles, separation, extra work, rationing, shortages, challenges, anxiety, duty.
Rather unfairly, manufacturers of beauty and fashion goods advertised their wares even when there was depressingly little chance that women would actually be able to buy them:
But some things never change — in this case, the barrage of remedies for the bewildering profusion of digestive problems from which the women of Britain apparently suffer. (Seriously, am I the only woman on this island who doesn’t struggle with the mysterious affliction known as bloating? Probably not, but you’d never know it from the countless female-targeted ads for antacids, probiotic yogurts and, yes, laxatives.)
But I digress. Here’s an interesting insight into the received wisdom on personal hygiene in the 1940s. Remember, ladies, deodorize every few days and floss once a week! (James, wandering past the bathroom one night: “You floss?“)
Here’s a great example of what fashion editors had to contend with during the years of austerity restrictions, clothing rationing and shortages galore. “Here, love, pin a bit of dustmop on that butt-ugly frock!” I’ve left the image uncropped so you can also see a sample of the tepidly torrid fiction favored by Woman.
Finally, a sweet and innovative touch — colorful motifs for women to embroider to show in what branch of the forces their husband or sweetheart was serving:
Brazenly you can proclaim where your interest lies by working the emblem of your choice on the pocket of your dress, on a lapel, or on a scarf. More secretly you can decorate a slip, or work his emblem in the palm of your glove.
I am enjoying your WW2 posts very much. My Mom talked about clothing restrictions and having to remake the same few dresses over and over…shared maternity dresses with her friends.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed reading the magazine extracts–and your research on restrictions.
I think all too often the “homey” stuff that really affects people’s day to day lives is ignored or forgotten.
good lord, the three flowers face powder, i was bidding on that tin on ebay, but it went out of my range. i was going to keep poppers in it
I love the jelly mould things and the embroidery motifs are fascinating!
Fantastic post, so much interesting stuff. I also noticed the decidedly war-timely name of the Bourjois perfume ‘Ashes of Roses’…
Just wanted to say thank you SO much for posting this! I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, it’s totally delightful
I’m in grad school working on a project on Canadian women in WWII, with lots of focus on fashion, beauty, and wartime beauty pageants, so pretty much everything you post is wonderful to me.
Those add-on pockets are hilarious!
The dustmop frock is hilarious…Though I have to say that the embroidery patterns seem quite cute and charming, particularly the “palm of your glove” comment.
This is one of my favorite eras, the 40′s, tragic and easy to romanticize but I love the fashion, the history, the music, the whole of it. You can just imagine some ‘woman’ picking this magazine up for a brief respite from all that was going on. I have never heard of this magazine maybe exculsive to Great Britain? Great find.
Thanks for putting this up. This is really interesting. Love the indigestion medication ads and the Mitchell and Webb link. Haha, and the dustmop frock.