| Government enforced restrictions of textiles and clothing, diverted to clothe the troops and support the war effort during WWII, resulted in shortages and hardships for consumers, but also inspired creativity. My thesis proposes that the current generation can learn to reduce over-consumption, curtail excess, and increase sustainability through analyzing the creative practices developed to deal with these restrictions. At the outbreak of war, in the early 1940s, most people had much less in the way of clothing than people today. Clothing was more expensive in relationship to income and, therefore , had to be treated with extra care to prolong its service life. Civilians, predominately women, were forced by the harshness of the war restrictions to find creative methods to increase the longevity and wearability of their precious possessions. I have gathered data through interviews and diaries of women who experienced a variety of wartime restrictions while living in the United States and various European nations. Alongside archival research in this multi-method project, their fascinating stories of dealing with shortages of fabric, shoes, and material items during five long years of war and deprivation are an inspiration. Current clothing consumption has become focused on over-abundance, low cost, and ignorance of the environmental impact of apparel manufacturing. However, realization that the earth's resources are limited and that human activity has a negative effect on the environment has mandated the need to rethink consumption levels. My research proposes that the practices of "deprivation fashion" developed during WWII can inspire new thinking about sustainable consumption. |
