Dress
autumn 1942 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In 1942 the British Board of Trade commissioned ten members of the recently formed Incorporated Society of London Designers to create a collection of regulation day wear under the auspices of the Utility scheme, an austerity measure introduced by the Board of Trade during the Second World War, when clothes were rationed. Smart yet practical, this shirtwaister - a kind of tailored shirt-dress - was the only black garment in the designer Utility collection.
The rayon crepe dress has all the characteristics of wartime clothing - broad shoulders (shaped by heavy flock pads), a skirt length just below the knee and a square silhouette, but it also has also eye-catching details, such as bold lapels and a roomy pocket set diagonally on the left hip.
The rayon crepe dress has all the characteristics of wartime clothing - broad shoulders (shaped by heavy flock pads), a skirt length just below the knee and a square silhouette, but it also has also eye-catching details, such as bold lapels and a roomy pocket set diagonally on the left hip.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Rayon crepe, with buttons |
| Brief description | Black rayon with buttons, Utility, London, England, 1942 |
| Physical description | Black day dress |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by the President of the Board of Trade |
| Production | Original inventory label found in dress pocket, initialled C for Creed. (other garments in collection also ID'd by initials on these tags) |
| Summary | In 1942 the British Board of Trade commissioned ten members of the recently formed Incorporated Society of London Designers to create a collection of regulation day wear under the auspices of the Utility scheme, an austerity measure introduced by the Board of Trade during the Second World War, when clothes were rationed. Smart yet practical, this shirtwaister - a kind of tailored shirt-dress - was the only black garment in the designer Utility collection. The rayon crepe dress has all the characteristics of wartime clothing - broad shoulders (shaped by heavy flock pads), a skirt length just below the knee and a square silhouette, but it also has also eye-catching details, such as bold lapels and a roomy pocket set diagonally on the left hip. |
| Bibliographic reference | Mendes, Valerie. Black In Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1999.
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.60-1942 |
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| Record created | February 19, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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