WWII Rationed Clothes and Shoes

Clothing

We only have scarce information on clothing during the World War II period, in which the army needed up to 64 million flannel shirts,165 million coats & 229M pair of trousers. Consumption by civilians at the time had to be reduced to ensure that there was enough cotton and wool. The War Production Board (WPB) had to authorize stylish changes to preserve scarce raw material by producing military ‘’Victory’’ suit that had small collars and cuffs on their trousers had to be eliminated. On the other hand, women dresses were produced shorter than the initial ones and were not made with pleats. Also, the two-piece bathing suits were created. These short skirts with no pleats affected girls’ clothes, and it is not clear whether these changes also affected boys’ clothes.

Footwear

Footwear such as sneakers disappeared during this period, and it is thought that the WPB had a hand in this, though it is not confirmed, even though the sneakers were already subsiding even before the war had begun. It might not be true to state that clothes in other parts were being rationed but it is true that the civilian clothes were affected, as fabrics such as silk and or synthetic fibers were only reserved for the military.

It’s true that shoes were out of stock in America, since rubber and leather were used in their manufacturing, and these were considered critical war materials. Rubber was to be saved as it was used for tires, hoses, and washers. On the other hand, leather was used for making boots, jackets and other small but vital items. And as in War Ration Book One ‘was good for one pair of shoes until June 15. (Probably about every 3-4 months).’ Families could not afford to purchase them for each family member. Men’s rubber boots and works shoes got rationed on September 30, 1942. For men to obtain a new pair of shoes, they first had to apply to the local ration board and demonstrate that the shoes they needed would only be used for industry task and not for sport. He would then be asked to give back the old pair he had for recycling. The next material to be rationed was the leather. Galoshes and overshoes stayed un-rationed since less crude rubber was used in their manufacture.

How Shoes rationing started and ended

When the US started rationing leather shoes on February 7, 1943, the rationing was not as strict; however, people felt the pinch and complained to the government. During this time, everyone was allowed to only buy a maximum of three pairs of shoes per year. There is some evidence of this in the book War Ration, book one, three and four. Only six shades of leather got produced throughout the war period. As the U.S military grew, the demand for leather also escalated, and leather supply too became tight. This had an effect on the earlier rationing, and thus the leather shoe rationing was further stiffened, and now, authorities demanded that anyone could only buy two pairs of shoes from free pairs annually, starting March 20, 1944.This was final, and neither children, despite their feet growing rapidly throughout the year were exempted. Not even the complaints by pediatricians and podiatrists on the press arguing that the rationing would produce a generation of ‘foot cripples' were enough to change the government policy. It was thought that these were among the many that were against the war and insisted that everyone needed at most three pairs a year. The depression got even uglier, and most families had no choice but to pull their stamps and sacrifice more so that they could meet their family’s critical needs, luckiest children would own only a pair of shoes a year. This was the norm until October 30, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered, and the shoe rationing came to an end.

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