Why Wartime Weekend?
Although a relatively recent trend 1940s’ weekends and events are held across the country and embraced by people of all ages. It’s a bit of a puzzle why they they should be so popular (more so that any other decade) as in reality it was a time of war and with all the hardship and drama that that brought, for example, food and clothes rationing, nightly blackouts and for some, sleeping in air raid shelters. Even when war was over it was followed by many years of austerity with rationing still in place until 1954!! So, the draw maybe it was the ‘Dunkirk Spirit’ that people focus on as it was a time where there was a real sense of camaraderie and community spirit with neighbours, towns and villages all pulling together
Lytham has it’s own 1940s’/Wartime weekend and it’s personally MY favorite as the whole town seem teaming with what seems like extras from a 1940 drama with handsome Forces personnel, chippy land girls, elegant ladies with gloves and furs, dashing gentlemen doffing their hat as they walk by, recently evacuated children playing chase still wearing labels and carrying their government issue gas masks , homely housewives wearing their best aprons and headscarves carrying baskets on their hips, army jeeps, land rovers by oh and is that Mr Churchill over there, somewhere in the distance there is the haunting sounds of ‘We’ll meet again’ and the world has turned to sepia.(Could be exaggerating the last bit)
With the Lytham Wartime Weekend back soon, here is a little taster of 1940’s style. You dont HAVE to dress up, but it’s fun to do so. If you dont have time this year, there will be stalls selling vintage clothing and accessories both original & repro. Plus the charity shops in town, have been ‘hoarding’ 40’s stuff all year. Whatever you want to do, it’s a GREAT people watching opportunity.
Ladies Fashion
For the first time in the 20th century hemlines went up! It wasn’t some much a risqué move but a fabric saving one. There was still rationing as most material was used in making military and volunteering clothing. From 1941 you needed coupons for all types of clothing including children’s clothing so you had to spend them wisely. You needed money as well as coupons and with both thin on the ground there was a ‘Make Do and Mend’ campaign which a great deal of women embraced making their own clothes and even underwear made from the military parachute silk!
In the stores the look was masculine militant look lots of buttons & shoulder pads, and as any style savvy woman and Gok Wan knows that wider shoulders gives the illusion of a narrower waist.
Necklines could be just about anything High collared, boat neck, slit, shirt style, and sometimes overly fancy but not revealing much skin! Skirts could be flared, A-line and narrow, but not the big circular skirts, it took to the excesses of Post War 1950’s for those to be in vogue and the fabric available. Prints were tiny floral patterns, tartan, stripes and checks. Colours where for day clothes, on the whole drab and muted, saving the best silks and satins for eveningwear .
Image from FANTASTIC resource for historical dress bloshka.info/
Shoes were chunky heeled or wedge, and from the sturdy lace ups for day wear to embellished with leather bows or flowers. Copied from the men were the two tone brogues but .with a heel to wear with skirts and flat to wear with wide trousers
Accessories included gloves of all fabrics including crocheted, hats of all shapes and sizes, beret, pill box, peaked and brimmed, or copied from the men eg Trilby. Some girls raided their mothers (and grandmothers) wardrobe for her fur coats or wrap, very often with the poor animal still dangling from it!
Great video on YouTube
Hair & Beauty
Even with ALL the external pressures, rationing, air raids, factory working & volunteering, women were encouraged to always ‘look their best’ ‘Beauty was a Duty’ to keep up morale for both sexes!! Even the land girls would NOT been seen without lippy!! Make up was not rationed BUT very expensive, but resourceful girls could always use beetroot juice for lip stain, gravy browning or cold tea for the illusion of stockings with a ‘seam’ draw in by a friend with a steady hand!
Popular hairstyles during the ’40s, were rolled either up or under (like the Victory Rolls) and almost always wavy or curly, and positively ornate in a lot of cases. Hair was always clean and shiny even though shampoo at some point was in short supply! Unlike the wash & go of today, hair washing and styling was quite a performance, using pin-curls whilst hair was wet and keeping in all night to be taken out in the morning and hence the ‘excuse’ I can’t go out I’m washing my hair was born! Beauty salons were everywhere, private and public and even in your place of work!. If you didn’t have time (or money) for all this, thank goodness for scarves, hats & even turbans!
How intricate is this?
And for Men
Throughout the War the majority of men where in uniform and some of the leisure wear that came later was heavily influenced by it, like bomber jackets and trench coats. When leaving the forces, men were issued with a ‘Demob Suit’ that was a mass produced item & therefore not well fitted and normally in drab colours. The suit was worn for almost every occasion and if not the Demob Suit, Jackets were either double or single breasted with wide legged, high waisted trousers. The extreme of these trousers were ‘Oxford Bags’. ‘Personality’ was added to the boring & dull ‘uniform’ by way of ties, braces and mostly handknitted vests (tank tops), knitting patterns were in demand, and many wives, mothers and girlfriends spent their spare time making something for their loved -ones. Shoes (when not in Forces Boots) where lace up Brogues and ‘Oxfords’ that are still a classic today, and the more daring were two tone.
Of course you were never fully dressed without a hat and Fedoras & Trilby’s were de rigour
Hair products were massively popular with lotions, potions, pomades (not even sure what they are?) and the ubiquitous Brylcreem. Grooming extended to shaving and it was clean shaven all the way apart from pencil moustaches, they always remind me of the Spiv in Dads’ Army!!
Resources
A few places to look online prettykittyfashion.co.uk tagareen.co.uk/ vivienofholloway.com/
Great website for historical perspective (American) vintagedancer.com/
For fabulous original knitting patterns very cheap on ebay.co.uk/str/wooltimefun
Hope to see you in Lytham