By Terri Jo Ryan

Tribune-Herald staff writer

To be stylish in the early 1940s, one had to be crafty and resourceful to deal with wartime cloth rationing and material shortages.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without” was the national motto of the day. Women had to be adept at taking older garments apart and reworking them with fabric remnants, much as they did during the Great Depression.

Gloria Marshall of Waco recalls that before nylons were introduced in 1940, women wore either silk stockings or baggy rayons.

“We wore them above the knee, with an elastic garter to hold them up, and there was the problem,” she said. “Each time you bent your knees, they slipped down, so we constantly had to yank them up. The new nylons were so sheer and pretty, and they didn’t stretch.”

Marshall, whose family moved to Waco in 1941, noted that the seam down the back of the leg was almost impossible to keep straight.

“We either looked knock-kneed or bow-legged, depending on which way the seam slipped,” Marshall said.

However, nylons joined the list of rationed goods because of their wartime applications. So when word got out about a rare shipment to local stores, she recalled, gals would line up and wait for hours in the hopes of snaring a pair.

“A couple set up a work table on the sidewalk on Austin Avenue in downtown Waco and were able to mend nylons so they looked new again. I took my one pair to them for repair several times,” Marshall said.

Shortages of wool, cotton and silk led the War Production Board to promote the production of artificial fibers. The two most common, viscose and rayon, were derived from wood pulp. These fabrics were found somewhat lacking as a substitute, because they weren’t very warm and had a tendency to shrink.

During the war, the feminine silhouette became refined and unadorned, and consisted of a jacket with boxy square shoulder pads and a short straight skirt. After the war, it was another story: Skirts became fuller and used luxurious fabrics. Narrow waists were accented as hips were stylish and hemlines fell. 

Men’s plain, utilitarian styles changed radically after the war as well. After years of shortages, fuller-cut pants and long coats were available in a rainbow of hues. Hand-painted ties came into vogue, featuring themes like pin-up girls, exotic foliage, Western scenes and tropical sunsets.

Sources: LipstickVogue.com, VintageBlues.com, Sensability.com, Fashion-Era.com, CostumeGallery.com, National Parks Service, Harry S. Truman National Historic Site.