How We Used to Dress

I've recently re-read a most fascinating diary, the legacy of a Derbyshire school teacher called May Smith. 'These Wonderful Rumours' covers the years of the second world war, when May was in her late 20s. As a single girl about town with an income of her own, she spent quite a lot of time and money on clothes. Her frequent mentions of the various components of her outfits offer a glimpse into how lower middle class women obtained clothes in the 1930s and 1940s. 

Early diary entries, before the declaration of war in September 1939, see May frequently bobbing off to Burton-on-Trent or Derby to visit clothing shops. Although later diaries show that she does possess some needlework skills, May does not make her own clothes. She has a full time job teaching young children which was no doubt tiring. So she used her earnings to purchase ready made off the peg clothes. 

April 6th 1939

"Mother, Auntie Nell and I go to Derby in search of a new coat. Go to Bracegirdles. [try on] a nice blue edge-to-edge coat...then try on frocks to match, though really cannot afford one."

May loved new clothes so much and was frequently flat broke as a result. Pay days were characterised by the settlement of debts then the purchase of new items of clothing - using up all her money meaning she would be forced to borrow until the next pay day. It seemed to be a never ending cycle for her. These were the early days of being able to purchase chain store clothing but we are still a long way from the mass market fast fashion that is destroying the environment today...More than once, May reports on the superior attitude of clothes shop workers, making her feel inferior. Buying clothes in shops seems to have been something reserved for the upper echelons.

Later on in 1939, May introduces us to her "Mrs W". Mrs W is the local dressmaker, apparently much in demand. This was a step down from buying your clothes ready made. The customer would provide the fabric, consult with the dressmaker about what they wanted and the style and then wait until they were able to find time to make it up for you.

October 7th 1939

"Dashed to Mrs W to consult with her about making up my 2 lots of material, and as usual, she vowed she was very busy and couldn't possibly do it for a fortnight..."

This tallies with stories that I have heard from my mother's youth in the 1950s. Any woman with dressmaking talents could set herself up with a front-room business as the local dressmaker. If she was good, she could secure more business than she could potentially manage. As more women moved into the workplace and had no time to make their own clothes - but still limited funds to buy from shops - the local dressmaker thrived.

Wartime restrictions eventually brought clothes rationing, which severely curtailed May's purchasing of both shop bought and locally made clothes. The days of buying nice frocks and coats every pay day was over for the time being.

February 28th 1942

"Bracegirdles is crammed...a young inexperienced girl shows me horrible coats that I hate on sight...They aren't even anxious to make a sale either these days, knowing people will buy anything and pay anything."

May would continue to hanker after good, shop bought clothes - no matter how good the local dressmaker, she was second best.

May 20th 1942

"Am getting tired of home made clothes."

But the desire was still there to have new things to wear, especially as the old ones wore out. May's own dressmaking skills had to be brought into use. She mentions making her own underwear towards the end of the war. It seems she spent all of her coupons on her main clothes and skimped on what people couldn't see.

March 6th 1944

"Feel anew pangs of dismay for the last state of my underwear"

Yet on the same page...

March 11th 1944

"...buy a Utility blue and white striped blouse for £1 0S 10d."

I'll bet she laid awake at night calculating her coupons....

I really recommend this diary - informative, human and very humorous.

If you like 'These Wonderful Rumours' you might like 'Temporary Accommodation' - click here to find out more

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Postcards from Past Lives: From Jan to Glynis 1969

Image
Postcards can be windows into past lives - I'm interested in them as an illustration of female friendships in the 20th century. This postcard of Tower Bridge was sent from Jan in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire to Glynis in Sudbury, Suffolk. It was written on 29th January 1969. I bet Tower Bridge looked a lot greyer then than on this Photographic Greeting Card Company production. Here's the message: This pair are obviously established penfriends - a lost art. I have had many penfriends in my time but one-by-one they fall away as modern life takes over and makes too many demands. It's so easy - too easy - to send quick online messages. Factor in the price of stamps these days and the effort and cost of writing a letter is making this artform almost obsolete. Except among those of us who persevere. It's a shame because it is an art to write an engaging letter- one that makes the recipient want to reciprocate. I love to read collections of letters between well known corresponde...
Read more

The Impossibility of a Life of One's Own

Image
I  watched an episode of 'The Good Life' on BBC4 the other night dating from 1975. Margo stars in a local production of 'The Sound of Music'. Cue many jokes about bad amateur dramatics. The nub of the story though is this - because Margo is playing Maria for two nights, she's unable to entertain a client of the business that Jerry works for. As a consequence, Jerry is sacked. Wives of senior businessmen seem to have therefore been seen as an extension of their husband. Margo has no wages for her entertaining duties and seemingly no rights to a day off - or presumably to being sick. She's at the beck and call of Jerry's boss and has no employment contract of her own. What a situation to be in! Yes, Jerry has a good wage and she has an expense account - but none of it in her name despite the work that she puts in. Some people look back at this kind of life with a wistful smile. Ladies who lunch. Ladies of leisure getting their hair done every week. But it was ...
Read more

Spitfire Weeks

Image
The national Spitfire Fund was set up in May 1940, and was put under the control of Lord Beaverbrook. The government had asked him to help speed up aircraft production, so that Britain was better equipped to face the Luftwaffe. In a great first move, the cost of a Spitfire was priced up – one of the basic rules of fundraising is to show exactly how much you need. Then when people have contributed to a definite total, they feel better about their donation. It was announced that each plane cost a total of £5000, and the component parts were also given a price – a rivet cost sixpence and a wing cost £2000. It was then possible to send out certificates to show exactly what had been bought with funds raised. One school that had raised a certain amount were told that they had bought a tyre. This kept the children interested as they would then stand in the playground and watch the planes passing overhead, and wonder whether that was their tyre!  Spitfire Weeks began to be held that summer...
Read more