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We wore “sloppy sweaters [and] tweed skirts”: Apparel for Wartime College Co‐eds with a Case Study of College Towns in Oregon

2016; Wiley; Volume: 39; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/jacc.12531

1542-734X

Jennifer M. Mower, Elaine L. Pedersen,

Cultural Industries and Urban Development

The Journal of American CultureVolume 39, Issue 2 p. 193-211 Original ArticleFree Access We wore "sloppy sweaters [and] tweed skirts": Apparel for Wartime College Co-eds with a Case Study of College Towns in Oregon† Jennifer M. Mower, Jennifer M. MowerSearch for more papers by this authorElaine L. Pedersen, Elaine L. PedersenSearch for more papers by this author Jennifer M. Mower, Jennifer M. MowerSearch for more papers by this authorElaine L. Pedersen, Elaine L. PedersenSearch for more papers by this author First published: 06 June 2016 https://doi.org/10.1111/jacc.12531Citations: 1AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat In August 1943, almost two years after the United States entered World War II college-age women who read McCall's magazine were told that "every good college wardrobe starts off with a boxy coat," one suit, one skirt "and all the sweaters you can lay your hands on." Other "must-haves" included "two dresses, one in crepe and one in wool, slacks, an extra jacket, warm sleeping pajamas, a woolly robe, and for housework, a pinafore" (Corey 93). Two years later, in August 1945, with the war in Europe over, readers of Vogue magazine learned little had changed with regard to their college wardrobe: "One, two or three skirts you love and adore; with as many, and as different, changes of tops as you can manage with your clothes allowance ("Campus Changes" 130). After the United States went to war in December 1941, rationing, saving, and making-do became important to the home front war effort (Blum 94). In some contrast to the comments from a 1943 McCall's, quoted above, young people were told to conserve their clothing and to "mend rips and restore dangling buttons and snaps to their proper places. It isn't sissy to sew a button on your coat—soldiers and sailors are required to have their own sewing kits" (Allen & Briggs 17). In August 1942 a writer in the Ladies' Home Journal told young female readers that "Clothing must be purposeful… Government regulations have not limited fashion or freedom of choice, but we must ration ourselves—buy every article with an eye to many uses" (Cushman 24–25). Although the number of men decreased on campuses during World War II many of the regular college activities continued, and clothing was needed for multiple occasions, events, and seasons. Writers of student publications advised an increasingly female student body on the appropriate or inappropriate attire for class, dances, and other campus events (Oregon State College AWS Handbook Co-ed Code 1943–44 41; "Susy Co-ed Gives Tips To Rookies for Game" 1). College women continued to be recognized as an important consumer group for the apparel industry during the war. Magazine editors, retailers, and apparel manufacturers recognized that these young people had specific clothing needs. If a young college-age woman was to page through the August college editorial section of women's magazines or Sunday August newspapers she would view multiple styles and types of clothing. Thus, these young consumers faced mixed messages about apparel consumption; should they purchase the appropriate clothing items for the multiple college events or should they be patriotic and thus frugal and "make-do"? Scholars have examined the influence of World War II on apparel styles and the textile and apparel industry. This has included investigations on patriotic fabrics and scarves (Atkins; Boardman), changes in newspaper editorial policies that impacted the fashion industry (Buckland & O'Neal), and the use of fashion to help support the war effort (Buckland). However, there has been little discussion on college women and their clothing choices during World War II. The researchers explore the tensions and ambivalences that co-eds from colleges and universities in western Oregon faced in order to better understand how this home front consumer market was influenced by American participation in World War II. College women carefully selected occasion-specific clothing; some was purchased, some home sewn, and some kept from previous years, in their attempt to balance between social expectations of appropriate dress and patriotism in their clothing choices. Three institutions of higher education in western Oregon were selected as a case study of co-ed dress and consumer behavior during World War II as a result of interviews conducted with women about their wartime consumer behaviors. During those interviews it was discovered that ten women had been college students in the Mid-Willamette Valley.2 The three institutions, Oregon State College, Oregon College of Education, and Willamette University, experienced wartime challenges similar to reports on other higher education institutions across the United States during the War. These challenges included the loss of male students and faculty, new classes and programs, changed living quarters, and rationing (Schreier 36–50; Blum 141–43). Although these institutions faced similar challenges to other higher education institutions, they are located in cities and towns that appear to have fewer impacts from demographic changes that influenced major metropolitan cities such as Portland, Oregon and cities elsewhere in which there was war-related population growth.3 Historical Context During the 1920s, teenagers and young adults were recognized as an important fashion customer market. This demographic group began at this time to identify more with their peers than with other groups (Farrell-Beck and Parsons 57–58). During the 1930s, in the midst of the Depression, this consumer group, particularly young women, gained recognition by the apparel industry, and products were specifically designed for them (Farrell-Beck and Parsons 84–85). Some colleges had dress codes in which the correct apparel for specific events and activities was prescribed (Hall 257). By the late 1930s some consumers started to embrace "the idea that under-consumption was one of the causes of the great Depression, and, therefore, the way out of it should be the opposite—increased consumption" (Medvedev 40). Given the clothing norms which directed specific types of dress for specific occasions it is possible, had World War II not intervened, that college coeds might have been directed not only to purchase/wear specific items for specific events and occasions but they also might have been directed to "purchase, purchase, purchase." Advice for the pre-War wardrobe does not appear to have been that different from wartime styles, although in 1940, the Co-ed Code advises readers that they splurge on formal wear and "can go hog-wild and indulge in all the fads" (Co-ed Code, 1940–41 34). Splurging would not have been part of the language of apparel advice during the war. The consolidation of the ready-to-wear market for teenagers and juniors "was fully accepted in the early 1940s" (Emery 156–157). Magazines like Glamour, Mademoiselle and Seventeen were aimed specifically at this younger audience (Massoni 28–29), and magazines like Vogue, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and other women's magazines included wardrobe advise aimed at teens and college-age readers. Marketers also appeared to have targeted young consumers using "gimmicks and promotions to create a shopping environment" (Clemente 36). The United States became officially involved in World War II in December 1941 and slowly the textile and apparel industry began to feel the influence of the war. A variety of federal mandates required adjustments to business as usual. Worker shortages, material shortages, and record keeping are among the impacts felt in the industry (Farrell-Beck 27–33). In April 1942 L-85 apparel restrictions were announced. The L-85 order placed restrictions on women's and children's clothing styles by limiting the amount of fabric and other materials that could be used by apparel manufacturers for civilian clothing to aid in the war effort ("General Limitation Order L-85" Section 2). By the Fall of 1942, designers had incorporated fabric saving measures into the new styles for that season. These changes, although relatively subtle, were pointed out to readers in descriptions of the apparel for college women pictured in women's and fashion magazines. For example, in August 1942 Ladies' Home Journal pictured "new-length jackets" and a gown with a "four yard regulation skirt" (Cushman 24–25). In August 1943 McCall's pictured a jacket for a checked suit that was single breasted "in accordance with the new L-85 regulations" and pants that were "correctly cuffless" (Corey 93). This media attention served as an opportunity for some American designers to showcase their designs to the public (Matheson 32; Buckland and O'Neal 33–41). It is apparent from studying extant apparel from this period along with apparel advertisements in magazines and newspapers that the L-85 regulations may not always have been strictly followed (Mower and Pedersen 45). However, retailers and manufacturers needed to at least appear to support limited consumer spending. Therefore, apparel retailers, manufacturers, and magazine editors urged co-eds to spend their money on high-quality garments, to buy clothing that could be worn "around-the-clock" and restyle existing wardrobe pieces (e.g., Cushman 24–25; Packard 80). For college women, clothing needed to go from day to evening or be worn for multiple occasions or seasons. Descriptions in student and local publications and national periodicals portrayed clothing for co-eds as "smart," "efficient," "durable," "practical," "long lasting," "versatile," "purposeful," and "conservative." (see Figure 1).4 Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint "Looking Toward the Practical," Daily Barometer, April 1, 1942, 3. "Durability, quality, usefulness, conservativeness—what utterly tiresome nouns those words can be. But they needn't be. Look at the three costumes above—but what college girl wouldn't prize them! Yet they're practical as they are smart. Good buying leads to long time satisfaction, especially in these times when things are going to have to last a while." College Women: An Important Consumer Market Buckland in her investigation of "Fashion as a tool of World War II" reports on pressures placed on women during World War II. Women preferring to keep their traditional role as homemaker were pressured in consumer publications to support the war effort, as women were needed to fulfill jobs in war-related businesses (Buckland 143–144). This time could be described as a period of ambivalence as women faced decisions related to how they would support the war; even in marketing cosmetics women were reminded that maintaining their appearance supported "the nation's morale" (Buckland, 145). College co-eds, similarly, were faced with the decision to continue their studies or join the war effort. However, college girls were also, unlike their mothers, urged by retailers, manufacturers, and fashion magazine editors to stay in school rather than take high-paying factory jobs, possibly because they were aware of the many extracurricular activities and campus events that required specific items of dress.5 Retailers and apparel manufacturers picked up on students' conflicted feelings, as can be noted by suggestions in clothing advertisements on "appropriate" clothes for college students or career women (see, e.g., Figures 2 and 3). These dual-purpose garments mostly included dresses and suits rather than sweaters and skirts, the latter were identified as the "uniform" of college women. Figure 2Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Irene Karol advertisement, Glamour, September 1942, 29. Figure 3Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Arnold Constable advertisement, Glamour, September 1944, 11. The industry clearly recognized this consumer group had "definite ideas about their clothes," and manufacturers and retailers were "now conduct[ing] high-school and college advisory boards and fashion forums to help crystalize their customers' ideas" ("College Girl 1942 Model" 45). An organization called the Campus Originals Guild was created in 1941 "to buy designs from college girls and sell them to manufacturers. Under this plan, only one department store in each city would be franchised to sell clothing under this label" (Whitaker 280). In Oregon, Meier & Frank, a Portland department store, published a promotion that featured their "College Board," a committee made up of thirty-one female students from colleges throughout Oregon and Washington. This retailer publication included clothing advertisements, garment descriptions, and prices. Models, the students themselves, were pictured in various "college-life" scenes (Meier & Frank's College Board, Donna Dinsdale papers, ACC 2012:094). World War II College Women Consumer Conflicts More opportunities existed for female college students during the war than previously, yet these opportunities remained structured in the existing culture of "acceptable roles" for women in the 1940s. Snelson, in examining societal concerns about some groups of high school-age young women and their behavior, discusses the influences of society-wide tensions about changing women's roles during World War II. Concerns about the potential loss of traditional women's roles because women were working in "men's jobs" conflicted with the war time needs for more employees in war-related industries. From high school- and college-age young women to working women there were conflicting discussions in the media. Women were encouraged to work and be feminine, even sexy while at the same time "they were scolded… for shunning their 'biological role' of motherhood" (Snelson 875). Many of these college co-eds continued to go to school for degrees in fields traditionally held by women. But there were students involved with programs and other activities related to the war ("New Courses Designed To Train OSC Co-eds" 1). Before the war female students tended to major in home economics, secretarial science, or education, acceptable fields for women in the 1940s. However, the drop in male civilian enrollment not only meant a change in wartime student demographics but also changes in departmental programs and the curriculum as well. While many female students continued to take courses in the traditional female fields, some higher education institutions, such as OSC, offered courses during the war years designed to train co-eds in engineering, premedics, pharmacy, medical entromology, automechanics, airplane maintenance, and other traditionally male-dominated fields ("New Courses" 1 and 4; Hartmann 104; Clemente 58; Schreier 36). Even with new options, for female students wartime college life did not differ that much from pre-War life.6 Although there were wartime activities such as competition among sororities for "rolling bandages, selling war stamps" and so forth (Clemente 102; University of Washington [UW] Tyee Yearbooks 1942–1944), there was still the all-important "freshman week" or other freshmen activities that included assemblies, lectures, a freshman pledge convocation, physical examinations, registration, and receptions (Auburn University Glomerata Yearbooks 1942–1944; Co-ed Code, 1943–44 35; Schreier 37; UW Tyee Yearbooks 1942–1944; Western Michigan College Brown and Gold Yearbook 1943). Although sometimes fewer in number than pre-War times, a variety of dances, both formal and informal were held throughout the year (Auburn University Glomerata Yearbooks 1942–1944); some of the dances were fund-raising events that were held at sororities and other women's group dormitories. For example, at Oregon State College (OSC) the Nickel Hop; men paid a nickel to dance with a girl for a few songs ("Hop-To-It" 1). In Western Oregon during the 1943–44 and 1944–45 school years, male "civvies" were replaced by ROTC and Army Specialized Training Unit (ASTU) soldiers. The soldiers, stationed at Camp Adair which was located almost exactly between Oregon State College in Corvallis and Oregon College of Education (OCE) in Monmouth, were often bussed over for campus dances from Camp Adair to OSC and OCE. Although specific types of events varied at campuses across the country there is a similarity in events for freshmen, social events across the school year, and so forth. Other campus events, on any given campus, might include Rush Week, Sadie Hawkins, carnivals, formals, plays, dinners, hikes, picnics, rodeos, and so forth (Auburn University Glomerata Yearbooks 1942–1944; OSC Beaver Yearbooks 1942–1945; Clemente 66; Schreier 37). These were standard traditions, events and activities from pre-War years, albeit, in a modified form. As college women attended these multiple social events appropriate clothing was expected. While not every female college student attended formals or sorority picnics or spent money on acquiring "suitable" clothing for every social event, it is clear that college women were expected to and did own a variety of garment styles for different occasions (Clemente 55; Diedesch 7; Schreier 45). Prescriptive advice on clothing rules was available from many sources. Authors of etiquette books like Behave Yourself: Etiquette for American Youth (revised in 1945) suggest that dress and appearance was a concern. Allen and Briggs urge readers to Avoid extremes in clothes. Not only do they date you in this day of rapidly changing styles, but they usually stamp you as ordinary. Follow the prevailing fashion, but not too slavishly. If the latest fad makes you look a bit foolish, sacrifice fashion for suitability every time. (Allen & Briggs 19–20) There was also prescriptive advice on behavior and clothes presented in women's and fashion magazines, in newspapers, and in college publications (Schreier 42). For example, in the 1943 OSC publication Co-ed Code, students were advised to consult fashion magazines for general apparel styles and trends but urged readers to "ask a veteran Oregon Stater to give you some hints" (Co-ed Code, 1943–44 43). On October 3, 1942 the Barometer found it necessary to advise freshmen on appropriate football game attire; "there is no reason for a few to come drooling into the grandstand looking like a campus hangover in dirty saddles, anklets and campus clothes" ("Susy Co-ed Gives Tips To Rookies for Game" 1). Ruthanne Thompson in Willamette University's Collegian advised female readers on January 10, 1942 to spend a little on "mid-season pick-ups for your wardrobe. A new suede belt, a white 'fluff and duff' collar, a bright pin or clip—every little accessory helps in the final round-up and will do wonders for has-beens" (4). Fashion and consumer magazines such as Look, Vogue, McCall's and Glamour contained a college issue or college-focused articles and advertisements in their Summer/August issues. While a sweater and skirt combination was typically associated with college woman, fashion editors suggested other items of dress to help round out the wardrobe. In the August 15, 1942 issue of Vogue, a variety of campus-appropriate ensembles were featured, often with captions describing the garments, cost and where the items could be purchased. One such advertisement featured the "1942 choice for that odd campus jacket. … Of pure wool tweed, gay cotton-lined, cut like a cardigan (thus, thriftily, conserving wool)." The advertisement also lists a "wool flannel waistcoat; $7. Flannel skirt' $9. Silk Glentex scarf; $3. All, Lord and Taylor" ("Scottish Cardigan" 47) in case readers also wanted to purchase the total look. In the August 1944 issue of McCall's, one author writes "the time will come when you need a new coat, a dress, or a jumper that you can't borrow!" ("Back-to-school wardrobe" 100). While magazine editors and advertising copy promoted fashionable clothing and having a variety of clothing for the many campus activities the war and war-related needs were not ignored. Thus, in addition to providing advice on the specific types, variety, and quantity of garments that college women "must have," women's and fashion magazines also included patriotic dress-related articles focused on ways to get the most out of the clothes one already owned, and writers suggested ways to update pre-existing garments and ways to care for clothing. For example, in August 1942, Ruth Mary Packard reported in The Ladies' Home Journal that one college junior at Cornell wanted to update her "two tailored suits, a navy-blue wool dress, a white jersey, a pale blue tweed coat." Suggestions to update the co-ed's wardrobe included: "Dye your coat and make a hood collar of plaid wool; put felt or velveteen revers buttons or pocket flaps on your suits, plaid ribbon down the front of a wool dress; make a patchwork wool skirt" ("Wear Last Year's Clothes for a Change" 80). In August 1943, Ladies Home Journal featured a young woman who made "six major garments." The purchase of fabrics and patterns amounted to $70, and she made an all-purpose coat, corduroy suit, a two-piece dress, flannel jumper, an afternoon dress, and a dinner/evening dress (Packard 92–93). Women's magazines, such as McCall's and Ladies Home Journal tended to have more information on care of clothing and clothing budgeting than did the fashion magazines, which might instead focus on new types of multipurpose garments. In August 1945, a writer in Vogue suggested that "all you need for campus is Campus Changes. One, two or three skirts you love and adore; with as many, and as different, changes of tops as you can manage with your clothes allowance…. Dressing this way takes in all your old stand-bys and some new partners" ("Campus Changes" 130). College women were also provided with a variety of possible budget scenarios regarding the costs of their college wardrobe. According to Look in 1942, the average college girl came from a family with an annual income of $3,200 ("College Girl 1942 Model" 45) and, in Design for Living: The Magazine for Young Moderns it was reported that college girls spent $240.33 a year on clothing ("'Miss Average College Girl' in 1941"). However, in that same issue Look magazine also featured sisters Jane and Ann who both attended Purdue, "College Girl 1942." The sisters each spent about $110 a year on clothing. In 1942, a Vogue editor explained that with $100 you should own two suits, one tweed and the other red cotton corduroy; one wool and rabbit's hair dress; one wool coat; two sweaters, one brown and one gray; one rayon sharkskin dickey; one yellow Paisley square [kerchief]; and one broadcloth blouse ("Campus Wardrobe" 58). If a co-ed happened to have money left over, she was advised to augment this wardrobe [with an]… extra skirt, brown jersey or gray flannel. A silk dress, beige, mustard, or lime-green. Spare sweaters, or blouses, or an odd jacket. All could augment, harmoniously, this wardrobe—which, even unaugmented, is well-nigh campus perfect. ("Campus Wardrobe" 58) Thus, college women during World War II followed pre-War clothing norms and expectations and were told specifically what to wear—to not only be fashionable, most frequently by the fashion magazines but also in campus publications, and to wear appropriate apparel for each specific occasion, season, and so forth. But, this advice was often in conflict with the wartime prescriptions for patriotic apparel consumption—continuing to wear what was currently owned by reusing, mending, and remaking, and when making a purchase being sure the garment was multifunctional. Consumers' Experiences: Oregon Case Study Researchers conducted oral histories with ten women who attended college in the Willamette Valley in Oregon during the War. College catalogs from three universities in the Willamette Valley, along with college newspapers, yearbooks, and other relevant written material from the colleges were studied and analyzed. These sources reveal information about what was worn and reflect changes over the duration of the war. Newspapers from the towns in which the colleges were situated and from Portland, the largest Oregon city, along with national consumer magazines and fashion magazines were reviewed. Local and regional newspapers include advertisements and other information about the retailers in the area as well as aides in our understanding of mid-Willamette Valley society and culture. Nationally read periodicals include information about dress, appearance, and gender expectations for a mostly middle and upper class, white audience. Newspapers had a strong influence on consumers and were vital to the support of the war effort (Buckland 143–45). During the War, magazines on the one hand, helped communicate cultural messages (e.g., patriotism and conservation), yet on the other, they were designed as marketing tools that promote consumption. Katherine Hill Winters explains that "though fashion was more utilitarian during World War II…, women still conformed to certain standards of dress and propriety" (Winters 156), and the media with its dual function helped create the tension and ambivalence concerning decisions to support the war effort and decisions to purchase and have appropriate and fashionable apparel. In interviews with the ten former Oregon college students none of them remembered the L-85 limitation order, but some did remember a general "make-do" philosophy. For example, Judith, a former Willamette University student, explained that she "belonged to a sorority and … had to go to parties … and my mother made those dresses. She got a pattern, and she just got it to fit me and then she just took off from there and [would] usually … just change the … ornamentation of something."7 In 1940 there were 16,141 students enrolled in higher education institutions throughout the state of Oregon (9,769 males and 6,372 females) (Statistical Abstract of the United States 142). By 1942, enrollment of undergraduates dropped 8.4 per cent to 14,788 (8,408 males and 6,380 females) (Statistical Abstract of the United States 136). These figures represent a microcosm of what was happening elsewhere (Schreider 39). Three Willamette Valley colleges, a public, land grand college; a public, teaching college; and a private university are used as a case study into college life and dress during World War II. These institutions, located in Salem, Monmouth, and Corvallis, are within a forty-mile radius of each other in the Willamette Valley of Western Oregon. Salem, the capital city, had a population of 30,908 in 1940. Monmouth, a bedroom community to nearby Salem, had a population of approximately 965, and Corvallis had a population of approximately 8,393 in 1940 (US Census Bureau "Number of Inhabitants" 17–18). Oregon State College (OSC, now Oregon State University) was a public, land grant college located in Corvallis, Oregon (1942 OSC Catalog 57). In Fall 1941, student "enrollment reached highest total in history of the College—regular session, 5,117" but dropped over 7% to 4,743 in 1942, largely due to male students enrolling in the armed services (1943–44 OSC Catalog 54). It was reported in the student newspaper, the Daily Barometer, that female enrollment "more than tripled" from December 1941 to December 1942 ("New Courses" 1). Oregon College of Education (OCE, now Western Oregon University) was a public teaching college in Monmouth, Oregon. There were 959 students enrolled during the 1940–1941 academic school year (733 women and 226 men) (1941–42 Oregon College of Education Catalog 69). Enrollment of women dropped over 67% to 308 by the 1943–44 school year; there were only three male students, male enrollment dropped 98.7% that year (1945–46 Oregon College of Education Catalog 57).8 Willamette University was a private institution in Salem, Oregon, that focused on liberal arts education, law, and music. There were 809 students enrolled during the 1940–1941 academic school year (412 women and 465 men) (1941–42 Willamette University Catalog 102). Enrollment of women increased slightly to 442 for Fall 1944; male enrollment dropped 56% to 260 for Fall 1944 (1944–45 Willamette University Catalog 104). For the women who were students at these three Willamette Valley Oregon colleges, advice on appropriate apparel was provided from a variety of sources, indicating the national social and cultural importance placed on dress and appearance. For example, prescriptive information was shared with "Rookesses" or freshmen who were advised in student publications on what was appropriate or not appropriate to wear to class, dances, and other campus occasions. This information enabled new students to conform to social expectations on campus. Fashion and prescriptive information sometimes was discussed together. OSC's Co-ed Code was a pamphlet9 that guided freshman women on campus events and appropriate dress, and in the 1941 publication, the author advises readers to consult VOGUE and MADEMOISELLE for general style trends; then if you still need help, ask a veteran Oregon Stater to give you some hints. (Co-ed Code, 1943–44 43). In a September 1941 issue of OCE's student newspaper, the Lamron, Betty Clanton remarks: "Isn't this week exciting? Somewhere to go just every minute. We hope you're not worrying about what to wear, but if you are, just remember:Tea, Wednesday afternoon—Dress up a little if you like—silk stockings, a hat if you want.Registration dance—You'll find most everyone in campus clothes.Get- Acquainted Mix, Friday—s