Corsets for Victory?
And speaking of lady’s undergarments, as I believe we were, I can’t resist sharing this tidbit:
When America entered World War I in 1917, chairman of the War Industries board Bernard Baruch asked women to stop buying corsets to conserve steel, part of the wider program of rationing, conserving and allocating materials important to the war effort. Thanks to the cooperation of patriotic women, some 28,000 tons of steel was diverted from corset manufacturers to wartime industry. Enough to build two battleships.
Some things you can’t make up.
Oh wait, what? Did this actually lead to fashion experiments with dropping them altogether? Some kind of perfect storm with getting the vote in 1920? Rabbit hole…
My guess is the real impetus for fashion change came with women taking on new jobs during the war. A female version of “How ya gonna keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?”
But what’s going to hold their organs in place?
*snort*