THE WAR YEARSINDUSTRIALIZATION

Effect of Women and their role and position in society Manufacture of fabric and goods Vidya Schalk COMPILED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

WORLD WAR II (1939-1945)

The

German invasion of Poland in September 1939 set the tone for everything that happened in the next decade. as fashion follows social trends and the events of the world economy, World War II necessitated changes in clothing styles and fashion design.

And

CONSCRIPTION OF WOMEN
During

WWI, women volunteered for essential work in order to release men to go into the armed forces. WWII it became clear that volunteering was not going to meet the demands of wartime production Conscription of women as well as men was unavoidable

1941
Spring

1941 Every women in Britain aged 18-60 had to be registered and their family occupations were recorded. Each was interviewed and required to choose from a range of jobs It was emphasized that women would not be required to bear arms. However, many women, did and were eventually to work - and die - under fire.

NATIONAL SERVICE ACT

In

December 1941, the National Service Act (no 2) made the conscription of women legal.
At first, only single women aged 20-30 were called up, but by mid-1943, almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were employed in essential work for the war effort.

CHANGING ROLES

ADDED RESPONSIBILITIES
Continued

to have responsibility to take care of

families

Cleaning house Taking care of children Preparing meals Etc

Newfound

responsibility to take over mens jobs when they went away to fight Patriotic and not unfeminine to work "If you've used an electric mixer in your kitchen, you can learn to run a drill press

1942

WOMENS LAND ARMY

Most

women who volunteered before the war went into civil defense or the Women's Land Army. The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organization created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls. Most WLA members were young women from the towns and cities

Members of the British Women's Land Army harvesting beets, 1942 or 1943

Land Army girl Doreen Bacchus at the Women's Timber Corps training camp at Culford in Suffolk. Ministry of Information official photographer IWM (TR 909)

By WWII, both Australia and the U.S. had their own Women's Land Armies, too.

WOMENS VOLUNTARY SERVICE

WVS had 1 million members by 1943 Provided Tea and refreshments Collected scrap metal Looked after people who lost homes

 rganization to aid civilians. O he work of the WVS covered T a very broad spectrum. ad a simple philosophy for H the WVS-if the job needed doing, it was done.

WVS ORGANIZED SALVAGE COLLECTIONS

ATS
AUXILARRY TERRITORIAL SERVICE

ATS
Like

men they wore a khaki uniform. Recruiting posters were glamorous a little too glamorous. Disappointed because it really was not Many worked in mess hall, peeled potatoes, acted as cleaners, worked on anti-aircraft guns Later allowed to become welders, carpenters, electricians etc.

Private Catherine Thomas of the Auxiliary Territorial Service using an oven during a domestic science course for service women at Avondale Park School, Notting Hill Gate, London, 1945. Ministry of Information official photographer IWM (TR 2601)

ATS- ANTI AIRCRAFT CREW / AIR RAID WARDENS

ATS anti-aircraft crew, 1941

Mrs Edith Digby, an Air Raid Warden on duty in Bermondsey, London during the Second World War. Ministry of Information official photographer IWM (D 9724)

A WOMANS PLACE
SECOND WORLD WAR BRINGS BIG CHANGES

A WOMANS PLACE
In

the 1930s, social roles were clearly defined. A woman's place was in the home, a man's place was out at work. was acceptable for women to work outside the home if they had no family to look after, but they were paid less than men were even when doing the same jobs.

It

BEFORE THE WAR AND DURING WAR

Before

the war, nearly five million women in the United Kingdom had paid employment, but most would have expected to leave as soon as they married, or when they had their first child.

With

the onset of war, everything changed. Before long, women made up one third of the Ambulance crew, Fulham, 1941 total workforce in the metal and chemical industries, as well as in ship-building and vehicle manufacture.

Train to Win - Government Training Schemes 1940

WOMEN AS WORKFORCE
WHAT JOBS DID THEY TAKE ON

WAR MACHINERY BRITISH WAR

PRODUCTION
AMMUNITIONS INDUSTRY

Imperial War Museums WWII MUNITIONS PRODUCTION BRITIAN 1941

RAF CREWS VISIT A MUNITIONS FACTORY, UK, 1941

Women working in an underground munitions factory at Liverpool, 1945. Ministry of Information official photographer IWM (TR 2665)

A woman metal worker sweating stiffening rings in a Torpedo Balance Chamber using a gas blow torch. Ministry of Information photographer IWM (L 503)

AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURE

BIRTH OF A BOMBER: AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION IN BRITAIN, 1942

BIRTH OF A BOMBER: AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION IN BRITAIN, 1942

Men and women at work on the tail of a Halifax bomber at the Handley Page factory at Cricklewood.

Mrs Peggy Tompkins sits at a drawing board and marks on the centre of gravity for various aircraft parts, at the Handley Page factory at Cricklewood. Several other women can also be seen at work in the Drawing Office.

A woman war worker machining pistons for a Rolls Royce aero engine.
Ministry of Information official photographer IWM (TR 1141)

Two members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) check the accuracy of antiaircraft fire from a gun battery during the Second World War. Taylor (Mr) IWM (H 5122)

ICONIC ROSIE THE RIVETER (US)

A real-life "Rosie" working on the A-31 Vengeance bomber in Nashville, Tennessee (1943)

SMALL ARMS MANUFACTURING

SHIP BUILDING

Two welders, one of whom is a woman, at work. Beaton Cecil IWM (DB 84)

A study of a young woman welder . She is posing for the photographer, leaning against a column. In the background a ship under construction can be seen in a slipway.
Beaton Cecil IWM (DB 62)

PILOTS

Women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in flying kit at Hatfield, 10 January 1940. Daventry (F/O) IWM (C 381)

An Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) flying instructor, Miss J Broad, with a male pupil in an Airspeed Oxford training aircraft. IWM (E(MOS) 300)

OTHER WARTIME JOBS

A member of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) working at a milling machine in the Royal Navy depot at Greenock, 22 March 1943.
Beadell S J (Lt) IWM (A 15575)

A female Fire Guard using a stirrup pump on the roof of a building in London, 1941. Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer IWM (D 5007)

Women welders making stirrup pump handles during the Second World War

The completed stirrup pumps are placed on a conveyor belt, ready for packing and distribution. The female workers are giving the finished pumps one last check before they leave the factory.

Women in Industry: Six women painters at work on a Ministry of Supply site, where houses were being built for arms workers.

Women in Industry: A group of women outworkers assembling electrical parts. Many women, who because of age or domestic responsibilities were unable to undertake full-time war service, worked part-time in private homes, converted shops and small buildings all over Britain.

Leading Aircraftwoman M Wishart, a meteorological clerk in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), takes a weather reading from a thermohygrograph at RAF Pitreavie Castle, Scotland, December 1943.
Goodchild (F/O) IWM (CH 12199)

FASHION AND FREEDOM

MILITARY STYLING SIREN SUIT

Military

styling and lines influenced fashions at the start of the war. Women often wore trousers, or a onepiece siren suit (socalled because it could be pulled on quickly when an air raid warning siren sounded).

UTILITY STYLING

iren suits were a popular item of S clothing during World War 2. hey were the original jumpsuits. T he suit is like a boiler suit and was a T favorite to wear, especially at night during air raids. ith its quick zippered front, people W could wear the suit over pajamas, making it ideal for a quick dash to the air raid shelter. he jumpsuit, a new innovation, was T warm and comfortable and featured pockets for papers and valuables. any found it ideal for children. M

HEADGEAR
Headgear

became practical, seen as a means of keeping hair out of the way rather than as a fashion statement.

1940s WARTIME HATS PATTERN

HANDBAGS
Large

handbags - to carry all the family's ration books - were also practical rather than fashionable accessories.
1940s ROUND TWEED BAG

KNITTING
Knitting

became a national female obsession.

WARTIME KNITTING 1941

The Song of the Sock Stitch, stitch, stitch! The women are there in a flock, Youll do the leg and Ill do the foot Lets all be useful, though we cant shoot. And they sang the song of the sock. For when by war their countrys hit English ladies will always knit.

MAKE DO AND MEND / SEW AND SAVE

Various

schemes gave advice on recycling or making clothes last longer, two of these were the Make Do and Mend, and Sew and Save, schemes. Leading designers worked on the Utility scheme, aiming to make the best use of materials to produce functional clothing.

MAKE DO AND MEND

MAKE DO AND MEND

"To discard clothes that are not completely worn out is unpatriotic", the Board of Trade December 1942

Spring edition of Leach-Way Fashions, (no. 191 Frocks, Coats and Renovations, c1943)

HAIR
Hair

was worn long, but off the face.

Good Housekeeping, 1943

Since hats were nonexistent (because of rationing), a bit of leftover ribbon could become a date night look.

VICTORY ROLL
As

war drew to a close, women adopted the 'Victory Roll', where the hair was rolled up tightly, fixed in place, and topped with a sweptup curl.

BRIGHT RED LIPSTICK

Longer

hair, like red lipstick, was thought to add to a woman's glamour. The popular wisdom was that such feminine touches boosted morale, both for women and for the men around them.

A female member of Air Raid Precautions staff applies her lipstick between emergency calls. Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer IWM (D 176)

FABRIC AND GOODS

MANUFACTURE

WHY THE NEED FOR SYNTHETICS

Silk

was in short supply during World War Two. Much of it had come from the Far East, and Britain and her allies were almost entirely cut off from that source. It might be thought that a luxury commodity like silk would be of little importance in wartime. But there was one purpose for which its tough, fine fibers made it very suitable the canopies of parachutes.

Silk parachute rope from World War 2

NYLON
Parachutes

were needed in greater quantities than ever before to save airmens lives, to land airborne troops, and to drop supplies and secret agents. It was fortunate that, just a few years previously, an American research chemist had come up with a substitute for silk. This was the man-made fiber we call nylon.

BRINYLON

British and Nylon made famous by textile fibre manufacturers such as Courtaulds.

ENTER RAYON !
Nylon

and wool were both needed by the military and Japanese silk was banned in the USA after the attack on Pearl Harbor. the new synthetic fabric developed in the 1930's became the material most often used for the creation of ladies' clothing during the War.

Rayon,

WHAT IS RAYON ?
Rayon

is one of the most peculiar fabrics in commercial use today. Strictly speaking, it is not an artificial fiber, because it is derived from naturally occurring cellulose. It is not, however, a natural fabric, because cellulose requires extensive processing to become rayon. Rayon is usually classified as a manufactured fiber and considered to be regenerated cellulose.

RAYON PRODUCTS
Dupont

Chemicals acquired the rights to the process in the 1920s and quickly turned rayon into a household word, churning out yards of the cheap, versatile fabric. Rayon drapes well, is easy to dye, and is highly absorbent, although it tends to age poorly. Many rayon products yellow with age and pill or form small balls and areas of roughness where the fabric is most heavily worn.

1940s rayon blouse

1940s Red Rayon flower print tea dress

1940s Gingham Rayon Dress

The name originates from an adjective in the Malay language, genggang, meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch. When originally imported into Europe in the 17th century it was a striped fabric, though now it is distinguished by its checkered pattern.

Famous photo of a post-WW2 woman sitting on kerb, trying on her new nylons.

Hundreds of women wait in line on a cold December morning in 1945 to buy nylon stockings at a New York City store.

1940S FASHION- UTILITY

SCHEME

RESTRICTION ORDERS INTRODUCED

The

utility scheme was introduced into Britain by the Board of Trade on 1st June 1941 to ensure low and medium quality consumer goods were produced to high standards at reasonable prices. Utility applied to furniture and other consumer goods as well as clothes. Clothes were made from Utility cloth, which was defined in terms of minimum quality levels (weight and fiber content per sq.yard) and maximum allowed retail prices.

Clothes were identified by the CC41 label.

MAKING OF CIVILIAN CLOTHING (RESTRICTION ORDERS) WAS PASSED IN 1942

This

forbade wasteful cutting of clothes and set list of restrictions that Tailors and dressmakers had to work to.

For example, dresses could have no more than 2 pockets, 5 button, 6 seams in a skirt, 2 inverted or box pleats or 4 knife pleats and no more than 4 metres of stitching. No unnecessary decoration was allowed.

THE L-85 ORDER HEMLINES RISE

The

L-85 Order specified the amount of fabric that could be used to create a garment. Hems rose with fabric restrictions. The order also restricted the number of pleats and trimmings as well as jacket and trouser lengths. The metal used for zippers was needed by the military and buttons were limited - useful only, not for ornamentation.

Christian Dior Measures for the future ! 1945

FASHION IN THE 1940'S - FABRIC RESTRICTIONS PUT A NEW EMPHASIS ON LEGS

NO NYLONS !!!

THE DREADED RAYON STOCKINGS THAT

BAGGED AND SAGGED AROUND KNEES AND ANKLES

DRESS RESTRICTIONS - YES : FASHION RESTRICTIONS - NO

To

demonstrate that these limitations didn't necessarily signal an end to style and fashion, London's top fashion designers were asked by the Board of Trade to create a year-round collection. focus was on line and cut, and the collection was elegant and simple.

The

STANDARD WARTIME FASHION

This

tailored and slim line silhouette, with pronounced shoulders and nipped in waists became the standard wartime look. Jackets were short and boxy, or long and lean.

 Skirts

were straight with a kick pleat or gently flared, and hemlines were 18 inches from the ground, just below the knee. Surface interest was created by imaginative placement of pockets or buttons which sometimes featured the CC41 utility motif. Some designs copied the military style with breast pockets or belts and small collars. Utility clothing also extended into children's wear, which also bore the same CC41 label.

1943

SHOES
Shoe

designs were chunky and solid, with wedges or low 2" heels. Open toe shoes were banned as impractical and unsafe. Men's shoes adhered to the usual formula of hard wearing Oxfords or Brogued lace-ups.

STOCKINGS
Production

of silk and nylon stockings ceased altogether in Britain in 1940. Materials were in short supply and silk was needed to make parachutes for the Armed Forces.

SHORT SUPPLY OF NYLON

Due

to the rarity of stockings, they were a desirable commodity and the small supply available on the black market were very highly sort after. When the American soldiers arrived in Britain they often used gifts such as stockings, which were in plentiful supply over the pond, to endear themselves to the local girls.

 During

the war, American soldiers traveled light. This did not prevent them from coming prepared for seduction. A pair of nylon stockings went a long way toward influencing foreign policy. In many places, nylon stockings were as good as gold.

NYLON ??
However

many women chose to use a variety of different methods to make their bare legs up to look like they wear wearing stockings

Women painting stockings and back seams on legs.

Mr. and Mrs. Average Utility designs for men and women from 1945.

Stripes and checks serve to brighten up an otherwise simply cut outfit, but note the wrap-and-tie detail, which cinches in the waist and emphasizes the flare of the unpressed pleats

British women serving in the navy were the proud wearers of a brand-new uniform, which seems to have allowed for a certain amount of feminine freedom in the hairstyle

Senior British designer Norman Hartnell was a founder member of the group that masterminded the Utility program

 artime Utility fashions W from Britains Norman Hartnell, June 1943. mploying top designers E was a clever way of making standardized designs more attractive, and ironically, it also meant that some women became better dressed as a result of wartime restrictions.

SOCIAL CUSTOMS AND NORMS CHANGE

The

practical demands of wartime changed social customs beyond all recognition. People enjoyed far greater social freedom than before, with more opportunities for encounters with members of the opposite sex, and a sense that normal rules did not apply in the face of so much imminent danger.

COURTSHIP AND DATING

AFTER WWII

BEFORE WWII
Pre-war

dating system:

Dating was not about sex or marriage. Instead, it was a "competitive game," a way for girls and boys to demonstrate their popularity.

Men's

popularity needed outward material signs: automobile, clothing, fraternity membership, money, etc. Women's popularity depended on building and maintaining a reputation of popularity

This reputation of popularity was achieved by being seen with popular men in the "right" places, turning down requests for dates made at the last minute, and cultivating the impression that you are greatly in demand.

AFTER WWII
After

World War II the norms within the dating system began to change. By the late 1940s and early 1950s demographic realities began to sink in; There was a shortage of men.

250,000 men never came home from the war, so for the first time in the United States, women outnumbered men

However,

the most striking change in postwar courtship and dating was the ever-earlier age at which children and teenagers entered the courtship and dating system.

REFERENCES:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/fashion-

or-ration.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/32253685/Fashions-of-a-

Decade-the-1940s

http://www.liverpoolblitz70.co.uk/tag/cc41/ http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/14337/how http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/

synthetic-fabric-helped-the-war-effort-in-1939-45/ 205202661

http://www.niu.edu/~rfeurer/labor/chronological.html http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/

women_WW2.htm