Fashion on the Ration

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I was delighted to be able to squeeze in a trip to the Imperial War Museum, London’s ‘Fashion on the Ration’ exhibition, before it sadly closes on the 31st August.

As the title suggests this fascinating collection covers fashion in war time Britain in the 1940’s, including a vast array of uniforms and clothing such as a Women’s Voluntary Service dress and beautifully designed handbags that incorporated the all important gas mask!

Both myself and fellow vintage enthusiast friend agreed that we couldn’t believe how immaculate the uniforms were, considering what action they may have seen and also how some outfits could easily be worn today, just without the badges or military insignia. The WLA (Women’s Land Army) uniform in particular had to be extremely practical for ‘Land Girls’ such as my Granny Pat who had the important task of teaching other women to drive tractors, so as unbecoming as the corduroy breeches may have been, they served a purpose!

Helpfully all clothing was paired with photographs from the period, demonstrating what tasks were carried out in this attire, and in some cases how attractive it made young service men and women look to the opposite sex! One serviceman was disgruntled at the fact that the American uniforms were much smarter, so apparently they always got the best girls!

We take for granted the styles that have worked their way down through the years and have possibly not appreciated their function. For example, I have always thought how incredibly glamorous a turban looked on women, and this came about through the necessity of women having to keep their hair safely tucked away from the machinery whilst grafting in various munition factories. Whilst on this subject, one of my favourite exhibits was jewellery crafted in a factory from the windscreen of crashed military aircraft, proving just how resourceful women had to be in this difficult time.

Incredibly during World War II a quarter of the British population was in service and required a uniform, this in turn placed pressure on the British manufacturing industry. The government’s response was to introduce rationing for civilian clothing on 1st June 1941. A coupon system was in place allowing 66 coupons per adult, that decreased to only 24 coupons between 1945-6. (To put this in perspective 11 coupons had to be used for one dress!)

Determined to not let these restrictions limit their wardrobe, women were especially inventive and again the government encouraged this with their legendary ‘Make do and Mend’ campaign. One extraordinary example is an elegant dressing gown made completely of RAF silk escape maps, that wouldn’t look out of place in Paul Smith today!

The show closes on a superb set of scarves, embracing the feeling of the time with artwork and quotes such as Churchill’s famous words “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” and if you’re feeling frivolous you could even pick up your own ‘Black Out’ scarf from the gift shop, but I decided in the spirit of the exhibition to ‘make and do (and maybe) mend’!

Fashion on the Ration: 1940s Street Style is on show at the Imperial War Museum, London until 31st August 2015.

Unfortunately no photography was allowed, but I have managed to find some examples to show you below.

Handbag incorporating gas mask
Handbag incorporating gas mask
Granny Pat in her Land Army uniform
Granny Pat in her Land Army uniform
WLA Recruitment poster
WLA recruitment poster
'Woman' magazine cover illustrating a lady sporting a turban.
‘Woman’ magazine cover illustrating a lady sporting a turban.
Bracelet made from aeroplane windscreen
Bracelet made from aeroplane windscreen
RAF silk escape map lingerie
RAF silk escape map lingerie
18th August, 2015
Categories:
Exhibition
Museum