Wartime fashion
Subtitle: from haute couture to homemade, 1939-1945
By: Geraldine Howell
Publisher: Berg; Berg Publishers
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780857850706; 9780857850713; 9780857854292; 9780857854285
Subjects: Fashion design; Social life and customs; Fashion; Clothing and dress; World War, 1939-1945; Women's clothing; History
Description: A comprehensive analysis of Second World War dress practice and appearance, this study places dress at the forefront of a complex series of cultural chain reactions. As lives were changed by the conditions of war, dress continued to reflect important visual narratives regarding class, gender and taste that would impact significantly on public consciousness of equality, fairness and morale. Using new archival and primary source evidence, Wartime Fashion clarifies how and why clothing was rationed, and repositions style and design during the war in relation to past expectations and ideas about clothes and fabrics. The book explores the impact of war on the dress and appearance of civilian women of all classes in the context of changing social and economic infrastructures created by the national emergency. The varied research elements combined in this book form a rounded and definitive account of the dress history of British women during the Second World War. This is essential reading for anyone with an active interest in the field, whether personal or professional.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.