Figure 1.-- "

We have less information about clothing at this time. The Army needed 64 million flannel shirts , 165 million, coats, and 229 million pairs of trousers. As a result, civilian consumption needed to be curtailed to make sure that supplies of cotton and wool would be sufficent. The War Production Board (WPB) mandated stylistic changes to conserve raw material. A "Victory" suit was promoted with narrow lapels and trousers without cuffs. Witmen's dresses and skirts were made shorter and skirts were made without pleats. Two-piece bathing suits were ceated. [Goodwin, p. 355.] The shorter skirts without pleats also affected girl's clothes. We are less sure about boys' clothes. We note that knickers for the most part disappeared during World War II. We suspect that the WPB was partly responsible, but we can not yet confirm this. At any rate they were already decling in popularity berfore the War. I do not believe that clothes, for the most part, were actually rationed, but the availability of civilian clothing was very much affected. Certain fabrics like silk or synthetic fibers were not available for civilian use. Shoes were rationed in America because they used both rubber and leather, critucal wat materials. Stamp 17 in War Ration Book 1 was good for one pair of shoes until June 15. (Probably about every 3-4 months). Families could pool the coupons of all members living in the same household. Even sneakers which had become popular in America were hard to get because that had rubber soles. Rubber at the onset of the War was a major problem because the Japanese seized Malaya and Borneo (February 1942), the chief sources of the world's rubber supplies. Only a crash program to produce synmthetic rubber kept America in the War, but civiolian access to rubber wassharply curtailed. Manufacturers stopped producing them sneakers. The WPB attempted to curtail the production of girdles because of the rubber involved, but there was such an outcry from the country's women that girdle production continued.

Clothing

We have less information about clothing at this time. The Army needed 64 million flannel shirts , 165 million, coats, and 229 million pairs of trousers. As a result, civilian consumption needed to be curtailed to make sure that supplies of cotton and wool would be sufficent. The War Production Board (WPB) mandated stylistic changes to conserve raw material. A "Victory" suit was promoted with narrow lapels and trousers without cuffs. Witmen's dresses and skirts were made shorter and skirts were made without pleats. Two-piece bathing suits were ceated. [Goodwin, p. 355.] The shorter skirts without pleats also affected girl's clothes. We are less sure about boys' clothes. We note that knickers for the most part disappeared during World War II. We suspect that the WPB was partly responsible, but we can not yet confirm this. At any rate they were already decling in popularity berfore the War. I do not believe that clothes, for the most part, were actually rationed, but the availability of civilian clothing was very much affected. Certain fabrics like silk or synthetic fibers were not available for civilian use.

Footwear

Shoes were rationed in America because they used both rubber and leather, critucal war materials. Rubber was of course needed for tires, but an amazing number of small parts were and still are made from rubber including hoses and washers. And keather also had nany used including boots, jackets and like rubber, many small, but critical items. Stamp 17 in War Ration Book 1 was good for one pair of shoes until June 15. (Probably about every 3-4 months). Families could pool the coupons of all members living in the same household. Even sneakers which had become popular in America quickly became impossible to get because that had rubber soles. Rubber at the onset of the War was a major problem because the Japanese seized Malaya and Borneo (February 1942), the chief sources of the world's rubber supplies. Only a crash program to produce synmthetic rubber kept America in the War, but civilian access to rubber had to be sharply curtailed. Manufacturers stopped producing them sneakers. The WPB attempted to curtail the production of girdles because of the rubber involved, but there was such an out cry from the country's women that girdle production continued. Men’s rubber boots and rubber work shoes were placed under rationing (September 30, 1942). Men could obtain a new pair, but had to apply to the local ration board, prove he needed the shoes for essential industry (and not for sport) and turn in the old pair for recycling. Galoshes and overshoes were not rationed because they used less crude rubber. Leather rationing came mext. The United States began rationing leather shoes (February 7, 1943). It was not a strict rationing program, but there were compalaints. Every man, woman, and child could purchase up to three pairs of leather shoes anually. There were designated stamps in War Ration Book One and subsequently in Books Three and Four. To simplify the whole system, only six shades of leather were produced during the War. Military demands increased as the U.S. military grew. The supply of leather thus got increasingly tight. Authorities cut the ration to two pairs of leather shoes annujally (March 20, 1944). There was no exceptions made for children despite the fact that thry have rapidly groing feet. . Pediatricians and podiatrists complained in the press that shoe rationing would produce a generation of 'foot cripples'. This of course was nonsence, we suspect from many of the same people who had opposed the war in the first place. No one needs more than three pairs of shoes a year, even children. And during the Depression, many children were lucky to get one pair of shoes a year. Families pooled their stamps so that the most critical needs could be met. Adults often made do with fewer shoes to make sure the children got waht they needed. Soon after the the Japanese surrender, shoe rationing was ended (October 30, 1945).

Sources

Goodwin, Dorris Kerns. No Ordinary Time. Franklin and Elenaor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (Simon &Schuster, 1994), 759p.

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[The 1840s] [The 1900s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s]
[The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s] [The 1990s]

Created: 3:14 AM 8/19/2013
Last updated: 3:14 AM 8/19/2013