Style Me Vintage by Liz Tregenza

Author:Liz Tregenza
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781910496831
Publisher: Pavilion Books
Published: 2015-04-08T00:00:00+00:00

Even after the war German women were facing extreme shortages. This image from 1946 shows two Berliners modelling dresses made from curtain fabric.

Rosy wears an early 1940s German cotton dress printed with traditional motifs.

PARISIAN FASHION DURING THE WAR

In June 1940 German forces occupied Paris. It was essential for the city’s economic survival that the couture industry was allowed to continue despite the adversity of war and occupation. Fantasy and extravagance continued to dominate French couture despite shortages. Parisian couturiers coped with fabric shortages by making a far smaller number of garments rather than limiting either the workmanship or the amount of fabric that went into each individual garment. Evening dresses looked as if they had been designed for romantic films, with cinched waists and long full skirts.

To ensure that women were still able to purchase couture garments Lucien Lelong (president of the Chambre Syndicale who controlled French couture) negotiated with German authorities. The result was the ‘couture card’ (plus additional luxury tax). People with a couture card received only half the number of coupons than those who relied upon rationed clothes received. They also did not receive coupons with the letter A or B, which French consumers could use to exchange two older garments for one newer one.

Life in occupied Paris for the average woman though was tough, and like her Allied sisters she had to make do with what she could find. Parisian women showed off the Parisienne sense of chic no matter the adversity, making the most of the French rationing system by exchanging old yet wearable garments for new, and re-using old garments in clever ways whenever they could.

Key features of Parisian wartime style

• Extravagant and beautiful hats – pièces de la résistance – demonstrating the imaginativeness and inventiveness of Parisennes.

• Garments similar to British and American, but with more exaggerated elements. Think bigger padded shoulders and more detailing (rouching, draping, exaggerated peplums etc.).

• High clompy shoes, preferably with wooden platforms.

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