Women Civilian Fashion During WWII

 

I’ve always been interested in rationing during WWII and having to use coupons to get food, tires, etc, but only recently read about restrictions on clothing.

 

To reduce textile use by 15%, the US War Production Board's Regulation L-85 and Britain's Austerity Regulations mandated strict manufacturing rules.

 

Women's Wear:  Fabric was rationed, so clothes were different. To cut down on excess cloth, ruffles were banned as were attached hoods, voluminous sleeves, and excessive pleating. Skirt sweeps (hem circumference) were tightly regulated, and hems and fabric belts could not exceed two inches in width

 

Trimmings: Pockets were limited (e.g., no more than one pocket per garment for women), and luxury embellishments like lace, embroidery, and decorative buttons were heavily restricted.

 

Nylon & Silk: Nylon was entirely redirected for military use (such as parachutes), leading to a complete ban on nylon stockings. Women resorted to painting on "stockings" with leg makeup and drawing the back seam with an eyebrow pencil.

 

Rubber & Elastic: The use of elastic and rubber in foundation garments (like girdles) was banned.

 

Dyes: Shortages of green and brown dyes caused clothing manufacturers to use more red dyes in civilian wear.

 

In addition to restrictions on how clothes were made, civilians were limited on how many pieces of clothing they could buy.

 

Hems and belts could not exceed two inches in width.

 

Skirts rose to knee-length.

 

Since metal zippers were unavailable, wraparound dresses and skirts were introduced.

Metal buttons were entirely restricted on civilian garments.

 

Trousers for women became acceptable for work.

 

Materials like cotton denim, jersey, striped mattress ticking, gingham, and calico became more common and rayon, a synthetic material developed in the 1930s, became a popular substitute material for nylon and silk blends.

 

Consumers were restricted to buying 3 pairs of leather shoes per year using stamps in their ration books. This was later cut to only 2 pairs. No extra rations for growing children. Clothes were bought big for the child to grow into.

 

To spruce up drab, utilitarian clothing, women used bright floral brooches, necklaces made from affordable new plastics like Bakelite, and patriotic-themed jewelry.

 

And of course, everything was used, reused, altered, patched together and treated with care. One phrase was popular at that time:

“Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without.”

 

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Random Thought:

Everything is figureoutable.

 

Medieval Parent Magazine – Maternity Clothes

 

Article – GET CRAFTY – How to make your own maternity robes (because it is your only option)

 

What women wore during pregnancy was what they wore all the time. They MIGHT have a second set of clothing to wear while the first set was being washed, but then again, they might not. Everything was made by hand. No stores. Sometimes a traveling weaver or spinner would make the rounds of the villages to turn raw materials into cloth.

 

It usually started with a pair of hose that were like loose leggings held up by garters or straps. Some had feet in them, some did not. Over that was a long shirt-like garment that was at least mid-calf long or longer. Over that was a heavier tunic that was usually floor length. Some had sleeves, others were sleeveless. Some kind of belt then usually finished the outfit. It was handy to hang essential tools from the belt, such as a knife, trowel or pair of scissors.

 

And that was it. If there was a worn place or a tear, it was mended. You wore that outfit until it was literally a rag. So no special maternity clothes. Just the same old, same old.

Just as a side note – they didn’t have pajamas, either. If it was hot, they slept in the nude. If it was cold, they wore their everyday clothes. If they got too warm, they might take a couple of layers off.

 

This picture is the closest I could come to what the outfit might look like, except that only the wealthy would have clothes with any color in them. Everything was pretty much the same color – drab.