JFK+50: Volume 7, No. 2369
AMERICAN WOMEN ASKED TO ABANDON FASHION DURING THE WAR
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, July 13, 1917, the United States government asked women to "abandon styles during the war."
The defense council women's committee asked women to...
"wear the clothes you have so manpower now engaged upon fashion fads...may be released for real war service at home or abroad."
The committee also advised women to avoid khaki because "it puts women in competition with the government for millions of yards needed for the troops."
A social leader here in the Nation's Capital, Mrs. Josephus Daniels, said "American women ought to be ready to sacrifice everything to help win the war."
According to Dolores Monet of Bellatory,
"During WWI...women took on jobs formerly filled by men. Many of the occupations demanded the wearing of uniforms, including trousers. A military look crept into fashion designs as well. Women wore less jewelry, and the lavish clothing of the Edwardian period fell by the wayside."
SOURCES
"U.S. To Women: Abandon Styles During the War," The Chicago Daily Tribune, July 14, 1917, http://archives.chicagotribune.com
"Women's Fashion During World War I: 1914-1920," by Dolores Monet, Bellatory, www.bellatory.com/
AMERICAN WOMEN ASKED TO ABANDON FASHION DURING THE WAR
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, July 13, 1917, the United States government asked women to "abandon styles during the war."
The defense council women's committee asked women to...
"wear the clothes you have so manpower now engaged upon fashion fads...may be released for real war service at home or abroad."
The committee also advised women to avoid khaki because "it puts women in competition with the government for millions of yards needed for the troops."
A social leader here in the Nation's Capital, Mrs. Josephus Daniels, said "American women ought to be ready to sacrifice everything to help win the war."
According to Dolores Monet of Bellatory,
"During WWI...women took on jobs formerly filled by men. Many of the occupations demanded the wearing of uniforms, including trousers. A military look crept into fashion designs as well. Women wore less jewelry, and the lavish clothing of the Edwardian period fell by the wayside."
SOURCES
"U.S. To Women: Abandon Styles During the War," The Chicago Daily Tribune, July 14, 1917, http://archives.chicagotribune.com
"Women's Fashion During World War I: 1914-1920," by Dolores Monet, Bellatory, www.bellatory.com/
