Archive for the ‘History And Times Of Vintage Women’ Category

Sep

Women’s History During WWII

Posted by: admin in History And Times Of Vintage Women

Women’s participation in WWII is always acknowledged but rarely given the significance it deserves. While it is true that women were not holding guns on the front lines of the war, approximately 200,000 served in military support or combat nurse positions that put them in harm’s way. American women both home and abroad risked life and livelihood to support their men and more importantly their nation during World War II.

Women at Home
In many cases, “women at home” is a misnomer. While young wives across America were left to care not only for themselves but their children and aging parents too, they were also left to care for the country itself. Women, who for so long had been taught that their life’s work was as a mother and a housewife, stepped up and filled roles in every segment of society. In Hollywood, on the sports fields, and even in factories women were taking up traditional male roles.

While most people are familiar with the image of Rosie the Riveter, few consider what these role changes really meant for women of the 1930’s and 1940’s. The majority of these women had at best worked as secretaries, seamstresses, or school teachers. Some had never worked at all. And yet they put on their husband’s work shirts, rolled up their sleeves, and started doing manual labor.

Women Abroad
Even as the housewives joined the assembly lines back home in America, other women were moving toward the front lines of the battle in Europe. These women too were housewives, mothers, and in some cases even celebrities serving in the SSO.

Perhaps the most commonly recognized female contribution to the war is nurses. The Army Nurse Corps has received a lot of publicity; unfortunately much of it has been romanticized by the media. These women did not have time to do their makeup and flirt with soldiers. They were instead administering medication and dressing wounds in field hospitals situated in the midst of the battleground, on military trains, ships, and even on transport planes.

Meanwhile, other women served in military uniforms as members of The Women’s Army Corps (WAC). While these women received less benefits and recognition than their male counterparts, they never hesitated to give 100%. Initially the traditionalist male military leaders were reluctant to accept their female charges, and insisted on placing them in limited positions. Essentially, the first WAC members were glorified secretaries; filing, typing, and running errands for higher ranked officers.

As the war continued, not only the military but society as a whole began to accept that it needed American women in ways that transcended feminine ideals. Women’s roles in the war expanded until they were working in many of the most skilled and critical positions in the military. While women were still not allowed to command men, they were finally working side by side with them and earning their respect; not as subordinates, but as equals.

World War II changed the world in many ways, and not least of those was the evolution of American women. Now women had been both caretakers and breadwinners, nurses and soldiers, and while taking on both roles was no doubt a burden, it also proved liberating. It should be no surprise that the daughters of these women would later lead the feminist movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Alana Morgaine
Alana’s Cherished Treasures
Alana’s Books And Magazines

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Jul

Women’s Fashion During the Depression

Posted by: admin in History And Times Of Vintage Women

Women’s fashions during the Depression years returned to the somewhat more conservative style of dress that was known before the “roaring 20s.” The wild, untamed years of the 1920s saw inhibitions fall from women’s fashions as liberation was the tone of the times. When the Depression struck, society returned to a more traditional and feminine look during the 1930s. The hardships of those years, when many suffered, saw skirts return to longer lengths and natural waistlines in clothing prevail.

Fashion in the early 1900s was dictated by the styles in Paris and the “haute coutour” movement as it was known. Long, full skirts with hem lines rising ever so tantalizingly, and the bodice narrowing, ever so gradually, introduced a fuller view of the graceful feminine silhouette than ever before. When the Depression years came, clothing reverted to a more reserved look as to reflect the dreary situation during that time.

The 1930s saw a return from play to work for many American citizens. After the fairly frivolous lifestyle of the 1920s, the Depression years saw a need for more practical clothing as many people returned to a harder lifestyle to survive. They worked when they could, at what they could, and the fashion in those days reflected the need for sensible clothing. The 1930s also saw the first real separation between daywear and eveningwear. Simple skirts and blouses that were easy to move in were the choice of the day during the Depression, when women had more work to do around the home. In the evening, for those special occasions when time and money permitted, fashions made from metallic lame were the sought-after trend, while silk remained the mainstay of Parisian fashions. An improved synthetic rayon fabric rose in popularity during this time, and cotton started to be used in creating more chic clothing designs as well.

Popular thought during the Depression years was urged to be, “Spend what money you have wisely and don’t throw it away on folly.” After the joyful and, some would say, reckless years of the 1920s, women’s fashions suffered a blow in the 1930s as well. Less clothing was manufactured in the 1930s in comparison with the 1920s because of the hard economic times experienced by the country. Collecting vintage clothing from the Depression era is made that much more rare and valuable.

Women yearned for the frivolity and light-heartedness of the fashions from the 1920s. Hence was born the “high style clothing” of the 1930s. Due to the sadness in the era, and hot off the trail of the “roaring 20s” era, it was hard to take – this loss of glamour, excitement, and sex appeal. Hollywood came to the realization that it needed to make spectacular and dazzling movies, with beautifully attired actresses, wearing the glamorous gowns the average American women yearned for. Through movies, they could live the dreams they could no longer live in real life. They could escape the drudgery of surviving day-to-day, if only for a little while.

During the hard times of the Depression years, people needed some fun put back in their lives so they could continue to cope with the everyday pressures of existing. Therefore, the dark days of the 1930s that began with more conservative and traditional clothing, led to some of the most beautiful and dramatic gowns and fashion designer marvels of the day. They brought happiness and hope for better times to everyone who viewed them. Collecting vintage apparel today should be seen through the eyes of understanding – understanding the people living through years that the world seemed turned on its end.

Alana Morgaine
Alana’s Cherished Treasures

Our Vintage Sewing Patterns

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