‘Fashion on the Ration: 1940s Street Style‘ is an exhibition starting at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in March 2015 looking at how fashion survived and even flourished under the strict rules of rationing in 1940s Britain, often in new and unexpected ways.
London College of Fashion Archives have some interesting objects and images from the second world war.
Wooden and canvas sandals from the Cordwainers Shoe Collection. Wood was a stylish alternative to leather during the war.
Wooden sandal c1943 from the LCF Archive
Below is an image from the 1940s from the Gala Archive held in the London College of Fashion Archives of a model drawing a seam line down her leg with ‘Seam Stick’.
Painting on artificial stockings 1941. LCF Archives
This image was used in ‘Vanity Fayre’ 2 Aug 1941 and ‘Model Houskeeping’ July 1942. A similar image promoting Liquid Stockings was used in Mayfair Magazine Sept 1942 and ‘Good Taste’ Aug 1941.