Menu
On The Homefront: Fashion
Do you have photographs of your ancestors in Ipswich from the 1940s to the 1953? Help our collection of fashion for this period to grow by contributing historical photographs from your families precious memories.
Fashion in the 1940s
New regulations were implemented in July 1942 announcing that " women could make their own clothing at home, and will not be bound by any fashion styles, but dressmakers employed in the home of another person must abide by the new regulations. The government determined to simplify clothing to secure economy of materials, and to eliminate non-essential adornments. The conservation of materials was not meant to limit or unnecessarily restrict the range of essential garments.
Actually, new ideas will transform the limitations into a new expression of fashion. The new styles will give designers and manufacturers scope to display ingenuity and originality, and the public will find the same scope for individual choice of garments. All that will be missing in the new clothing ranges are the fripperies and the unnecessary bits and pieces that previously used up so much valuable material and workers' time without doing much else.
