Liberty Cuffs

Over the summer I was fortunate to acquire several Navy dress blue uniforms.  All are from the Vietnam War era, specifically the USS Towers, and in great condition.  I was excited to have a pair of the pants to wear this winter.  I already have a pair of WWII wool Army slacks, and they are amazing!  Made of wool.  Why wouldn't they be amazing?  But as I looked over the jumpers more closely (the Navy tops), I was excited to find gorgeous embroidered patches inside! 

King Neptune and seahorses

These embellishments are known as "liberty cuffs" date back to the 1890s.  Originally they were had hand-stitched on silk by Asian tailors; later they were mass produced.  The patches were available in numerous designs including dragons, mermaids, ships and various animals. 

a pair of cuffs I removed from a worn jumper

The long rectangular patches or embroidered ribbons were sewn inside the cuffs of the jumper.  When the sailors were on shore leave, or "liberty," they rolled their cuffs up to show off the designs.  This was against regulations and seen as an act of defiance.  But when back on ship, with the cuffs buttoned down, their uniforms appeared standard issue.

1940s Wartime Hat

A few weeks back I bought a navy blue, wool felt hat at the local antique mall.  While I'm not sure of the actual vintage of this hat, I definitely got a 1940s war-era vibe from it.  The short brim and close-fitting crown seem 'no nonsense.'  I immediately pictured a gal headed off to the munitions factory.

the impact of Pearl Harbor

All of us know the story of Pearl Harbor.  "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked..."  As children we learned about it in school.  As adults we saw the sweeping  Jerry Bruckheimer movie starring Ben Affleck.  A lucky few among us may have even visited the memorial site shown above. 

This past Veteran's Day I was inspired to do further research on some of the names I heard connected to the day's events.  I read about the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo, a direct retaliation for the bombings.  I researched the status of the United States' air and naval power, both before and after the attack.  I checked out Tom Brokaw's book, The Greatest Generation, from the library.  But is that all Pearl Harbor is now?  Interesting reading? 

The United States was struck down to its knees by the Japanese invasion.  However, when Congress declared war the following day, the Nation collectively dusted itself off and rolled up its sleeves.  Roosevelt's administration put the policies in place to ready the country.  Industries stop making cookware and started making bullets.  Men enlisted.  Women enlisted.  Those on the home front set up fund raising events, planted Victory Gardens, and ran scrap drives.  The Nation mobilized and never slowed down for four years.

So I got to wondering, do we still have that spirit within us today?  Would each of us be willing to sacrifice, bear the responsibility, and work together towards a common goal?  Now I'm sure there were plenty of complaints in the 1940s when folks really started to feel the effects of rationing.  And I'm sure there were some who profited on people's patriotism.  But it really must have been something to be part of such a profound national movement.

Now maybe it's due in part to the holiday season that my thoughts turn towards my charitable obligations.  After all, this is the season of red buckets.  But in one short month those ringing reminders will be off the streets.  Soon we'll all be back to our regular routines of immediately saying "thank you but I'm not interested" to all those unsolicited phone calls from the Cancer Society and the Special Olympics.

So this year I am challenging myself to look back on history and recapture that feeling.  The feeling that swept the Nation in 1941.  A feeling of determination and responsibility.  A need to step up and make a difference.  In the past I've volunteered time to run the children's story hour at the library every week.  And I chaperone school field trips.  I bake desserts for the funeral dinners at church and sing in the choir.  But somehow this seems lacking.

I'm not sure what it is yet, but I want to do more.  Maybe the Boys and Girls Club?  The local food pantry?  Or maybe I'll start by visiting my elderly next door neighbor a bit more often.  Small things count, and one by one, they all add up.  And if each of us extend a hand or volunteer an hour, we could transform our communities into the kind that the Greatest Generation fought so hard to preserve. 

So how about you?  Are you doing your part?

Honoring All Who Served

Friday morning I went to my children’s Veterans’ Day Program at school.   The local VFW and assembled veterans were seated at the front of the room while the children sat on the floor facing them.  

The mother in me was moved by all those high-pitched, little voices trying to hit the high notes in the National Anthem.  I’m always surprised how quickly my eyes well up where my children are involved.

The daughter in me teared up as I thought about my father.  At the age of eighteen, he was drafted into the Army and spent two years overseas during the Korean War.  His jacket hangs in my closet; his portrait in my dining room.  He was dashing.  And though he never talked about those two years, he was fiercely proud.  He passed away five years ago.  

The historian in me mourned the inevitable loss of the collective human experience over the last seventy years.  The veterans passed the microphone down the line, stating their names and ranks.   “I fought in the Battle of the Bulge.”  “We bombed Hanoi.”  “I was a radio operator in a B-24.”  “Medic, Vietnam.”  “U.S. Army Infantry, third generation Veteran.”  These men had countless stories of duty and valor, heartache and fear, but we would not hear them.  If they are anything like my father, they don’t talk about it.  They are seen as Grandfathers and kindly old neighbors, the audacity of their youth softened by time.  Their recognition comes but once a year, on Veterans’ Day.  

I left that elementary school gymnasium and headed straight for the library.  I checked out Tom Brokaw's book, The Greatest Generation.  I'm on page 114 tonight, and I may just pass up the new episode of Upstairs, Downstairs to continue reading.  As Brokaw states, these were ordinary men and women who were asked to do extraordinary things.  

They should continue to be honored every day.  

We should never forget.

My father, 1950.

Elvgren : Art and Inspiration

Gil Elvgren (March 15, 1914 – February 29, 1980) is perhaps the most widely recognized pin-up artist of his era.  Best known for his iconic calendar prints produced over a 30 year span for Brown and Bigelow, Elvgren's work has come to define the ideal female form.  Below are several shots of his art and inspiration from those years.

In studying the photos versus the drawings, you can see how he repositioned the girls' shoulders or feet just slightly to make a more flirty, if not physically feasible, posture.  Bosoms are angled to reveal more cleavage, and chins are tipped to give a more coy glance.  Ironic that today we are so up in arms about magazines that airbrush models while it seems that touch-ups are nothing new!  But then isn't beauty almost always an effort to achieve the ideal?

Garment regulations by the numbers

We've all heard the WWII slogan, "Make Do and Mend."  And of course this was the most noticeable within the garment industry.  In the pre-war years, it is estimated that 50% of American women were sewing clothes for their families.  By 1944, this had increased to 82%.

Various booklets and patterns were produced for the home sewer.  Women could choose from the Singer Make-Over Guide, or the Butterick Remake Booklet.  A man's suit could be cut apart and made over for his wife with help from the Make & Mend for Victory booklet.  The Campfire Girls were addressing the younger generation with their "Serve by Saving" campaign.

A huge campaign was launched by the War Production Board to regulate and restrict home sewers in an effort to channel needed materials towards the war effort.  In 1941, approximately 8000 tons of metal was being used for fasteners, zippers, hooks & eyes, and buttons.  War restrictions stipulated that buttons be made from ceramic, shell or glass.  All silk and nylon was reserved for ammunition bags and parachutes.  Wool and cotton was in short supply for civilians being replaced with rayon and acetate.

 

 

In April 1942, the War Production Board imposed General Limitation Order L-85 on the garment industry and single-handedly changed the look of wartime fashions.  The new regulations were as follows:

72 ins - maximum sweep of skirts                25 ins - maximum length of jackets             2 ins - maximum depth of hems                 2 ins - maximum width of belts

  *one pocket per blouse

* no bias-cut sleeves (such as dolman or leg-of-mutton)

  *no patch pockets on jackets

  *no cuffs on trousers

* no pleats on trousers

* no vests required with suits

The Red Cross had a huge influence on home front support for the war.  Tapping into the growing number of home sewers, the Red Cross approved and printed a series of thirteen patterns.  These were basic, simple styles designed for men, women and children.  Women were encouraged to sew and donate these clothes to the Red Cross which would then deliver them to those in need.  The program was very successful and continued to run after the war.  By 1948, forty million garments had been distributed to war-torn countries in Europe. 

If you are interested in more information on the home sewing industry, I highly recommend Blueprints of Fashion: Home Sewing Patterns of the 1940s, by Wade Laboissonniere (2009, Schiffer Publishing).  The book begins with a concise history of the home sewing industry and the development of pattern companies.  It explains about the sewing classes, store promotions, and marketing plan used to promote the industry.  The latter half of the book includes hundreds of pattern envelope illustrations, chronicling the style changes throughout the1940s. 

Hometown Rosie

 
Having just finished my wool '49er jacket, I couldn't help but think about the girls that served state-side during WWII.  We all know the iconic Rosie the Riveter.  Every Rosie that picked up a lunchbox in 1941 was a wife or mother or daughter, wearing their men's overalls and work pants, belted in and cuffed up.  Their shirts rolled to the elbow, curls carefully tucked away in bandannas and headscarves.  What a thrill it must have been to be released from the confines of the kitchens, the offices, the classrooms and hospital wards!  These women were entering arenas that their mothers had never dreamed of.  These were the factory floors, the assembly plants and the shipyards where once only echoed the shouts of men.  But no longer.  There was a new order.  Those walls were now ringing with the laughs and calls of Rosie's girls.  Pride in every rivet.  Sweat in every weld.  Rosie proved her worth for four long years.

 

 

 

 

 

Please take a minute to visit the website for the Rosie the Riveter / WWII Home Front National Park located in Richmond, California.  Dedicated to preserving the nation's home front efforts during the war years.