Spring 1944 was a particularly lean time for British shoppers. The preparations for D-Day meant that most manufacturing and imports were destined for the armed forces not civilians.
Picture Post Article March 1944 Page 1. Click for bigger picture.
Picture Post Article March 1944 Page 2. Click for bigger picture.
Hats, while not rationed had become very expensive and many were price-capped (sorry) to prevent exhorbitant profits.
Jacoll Stitched Beret with maximum price stamp.
Shoes were simply very hard to come by and Ursula Bloom the Agony Aunt of several middle class womens magazines quotes a story that shoppers had to have a ticket merely to join the queue at the shoe shop!
Low wedge by Lotus with golfing fringe. March 1944. Click for bigger picture.
Rayne Courts for Marshall & Snelgrove. March 1944. Click for bigger picture.
Wooden soled shoes were promoted throughout 1943 and 1944 but were not very popular.
In the north of the country wooden soled clogs were the garb of mill girls and were a marker of social class. Mill girls wanted leather soled shoes as a signifier of betterment and the middle classes would not wear them for similar social reasons. Others said the hinged sole let in the rain and that they were difficult to wear. Some magazines had tips on how to walk in them.
Clarks shoes with hinged wooden sole and fleece lining. February 1944. Click for bigger picture.
Picture Post Article March 1944 Page 1. Click for bigger picture.
Picture Post Article March 1944 Page 2. Click for bigger picture.
Hats, while not rationed had become very expensive and many were price-capped (sorry) to prevent exhorbitant profits.
Jacoll Stitched Beret with maximum price stamp.
Shoes were simply very hard to come by and Ursula Bloom the Agony Aunt of several middle class womens magazines quotes a story that shoppers had to have a ticket merely to join the queue at the shoe shop!
Low wedge by Lotus with golfing fringe. March 1944. Click for bigger picture.
Rayne Courts for Marshall & Snelgrove. March 1944. Click for bigger picture.
Wooden soled shoes were promoted throughout 1943 and 1944 but were not very popular.
In the north of the country wooden soled clogs were the garb of mill girls and were a marker of social class. Mill girls wanted leather soled shoes as a signifier of betterment and the middle classes would not wear them for similar social reasons. Others said the hinged sole let in the rain and that they were difficult to wear. Some magazines had tips on how to walk in them.
Clarks shoes with hinged wooden sole and fleece lining. February 1944. Click for bigger picture.
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