1940s Fashion - Utility scheme
#SUBHEADING# Restriction Orders introduced #SUBHEADINGEND# The utility scheme was introduced into Britain by the Board of Trade on 1st June 1941 to ensure low and medium quality consumer goods were produced to high standards at reasonable prices. Utility applied to furniture and other consumer goods as well as clothes. Clothes were made from Utility cloth, which was defined in terms of minimum quality levels (weight and fibre content per sq.yard) and maximum allowed retail prices. #IMAGE# Clothes were identified by the CC41 label. Once manufacturers had met their utility clothing quota of production - 85 % of total production - they were then permitted to make clothes using non utility cloth, but still had to follow the same style regulations. To further economise, the Making of Civilian Clothing (restriction orders) was passed in 1942. This forbade wasteful cutting of clothes and set list of restrictions that Tailors and dressmakers had to work to. For example, dresses could have no more than 2 pockets, 5 button, 6 seams in a skirt, 2 inverted or box pleats or 4 knife pleats and no more than 4 metres of stitching. No unnecessary decoration was allowed. #SUBHEADING# Dress Restrictions - Yes : Fashion Restrictions - No #SUBHEADINGEND# To demonstrate that these limitations didn't necessarily signal an end to style and fashion, London's top fashion designers were asked by the Board of Trade to create a year-round collection. The focus was on line and cut, and the collection was elegant and simple. This tailored and slim line silhouette, with pronounced shoulders and nipped in waists became the standard wartime look. Jackets were short and boxy, or long and lean. Skirts were straight with a kick pleat or gently flared, and hemlines were 18 inches from the ground, just below the knee. Surface interest was created by imaginative placement of pockets or buttons which sometimes featured the CC41 utility motif. Some designs copied the military style with breast pockets or belts and small collars. Utility clothing also extended into children's wear, which also bore the same CC41 label. #IMAGE# Shoe designs were chunky and solid, with wedges or low 2" heels. Open toe shoes were banned as impractical and unsafe. Men's shoes adhered to the usual formula of hard wearing Oxfords or Brogued lace-ups. Civilian clothing for men became less formal, with many opting for open necked shirts, pullovers and cord trousers. Styles in men's clothes were also restricted under the utility rules. The waistcoat was abolished making it a 2 not 3 piece suit, pocket flaps eliminated, turn ups on trousers and braces.
Flirty Flapper Fashion
The 1920s saw a radical change to the fashionable silhouette. In contrast to the previous decades, the tightly corseted shape was abandoned in favour of the slim line boyish figure. Read on to explore the radical fashion of the daring twenties.
The Mitchell Collection of Costume
The Mitchell Collection is one of the most extensive and impressive collections of costume Hull Museums' own. From corsets to capes and bodices to boots, the collection contains many exquisite examples of historic costume. Explore the history behind the collection and how it came to be in Hull Museums.
1940s Fashion - back to 'Civvie' Street
War time shortages had a big influence on fashion in the forties. Read on to discover how the term 'The Full Monty'' originated, and why Christian Dior's New Look caused such a stir after the war time restrictions placed on fashion.
1940s Fashion - Rationing and Making do
War time shortages had a big influence on fashion in the forties. Discover how the government introduced a clothing rationing system, which meant people had to 'make do and mend' with the clothes they already owned.
1940s Fashion - 'Keep young and beautiful'
War time shortages had a big influence on fashion in the forties. Discover how women managed to keep looking young and beautiful, and what hairstyles and make-up were popular during the wartime years.
Singer sewing machine
No museum social history collection would be complete without one! It may be common, but its invention was a miraculous time saving device in the home. Read on to find out the history behind this 1917 Singer Sewing machine.
Restrictive Fashion
For over 200 years women were required to wear corsets to mould their bodies. Find out how corsets were made and why corsetry and whaling were very intimately connected.
Madame Clapham: Hull's Celebrated Dressmaker
Madam Clapham was Hull's most celebrated dressmaker. She established her business in 1887 in Kingston Square, and continued until her death in 1952. Read on to discover how she developed her dress making business, when she reached the height of her fame and how she became a Court dressmaker.
Costume and Fashion
Clothes and fashion are a part of our every day lives. The costume collections at Hull Museums contain over 6,000 items, ranging from bodices to boots and Gents waistcoats to whalebone corsets. The collection represents every major historical period; from the Georgian period to the last decades of the 20th century. This section explores the diversity and development of fashion, showing what we used to wear, where we used to wear it and how we used to live.
1940s Fashion - Hard times for fashion
War time shortages had a big influence on fashion in the forties. Discover the restrained and austere styles of the forties, looking at the main fashion features of the period.
