A one page article explaining what fabric rationing was and how it effected the fashion landscape of 1940s America.
Read a 1940s fashion article about fabric restrictions and the War Production Board.
Here is a an Elizabeth Hawes (1903 – 1971) fashion review covering some of the hats for the autumn of 1942. They were all the creations of John-Frederics (1902 – 1993) - some are simply fantastical while others are a tad less dramatic, but not lacking in style.
Click here to read about the hats of 1947.
A well-illustrated article from the home front fashion-filled pages of Click Magazine that served to document the contradictory days when wartime button-rationing coincided with a wide-spread yen for decorating with buttons:
"In a frantic bid for individuality, fad-loving women are rediscovering the decorative button. Buttons are no longer just a practical devices for holding clothes together. They pep-up simplified silhouettes and restyle dated fashions.
When home heating fuel had to be rationed during the Second World War, a page was borrowed from Granny's play book and women once again began to sport crochet wraps, shawls and booties around the house. Two short, gossipy paragraphs from a Hollywood literary magazine printed early in the American home front experience concerning women war-workers, fabric rationing and the long-standing debate between ready-made uniforms vs custom-made uniforms: "Feminine uniforms are causing great dismay. Women of small means complain that while they would like custom-made uniforms, they can't afford them. Nevertheless, designers are doing a capacity business, turning out ultra-chic numbers for those in the money..." Click here to read an article about women's uniforms during W.W. I. When the general appearance of women's uniforms prescribed for voluntary war work by various charitable organizations were deemed unfashionable, uncomfortable or simply embarrassing, the well-known fashion stylist and costume designer Irene (Irene Lentz, 1900 - 1962) stepped up to the plate designing an all-purpose green wool suit, topped-off by a beret:
"The noted Hollywood stylist, Irene, performed a real service for defense when she designed her all-around defense suit. Of sturdy gabardine, worn with long cotton service socks and plastic shoes, it is nevertheless as attractive as any civilian suit, and more practical than most. In this outfit, women war workers will not feel self-conscious and ill at ease." | 
