“Say, ladies, don’t you know there’s a war on?” Indeed, they did. Women considered it their duty to dress and adorn themselves as best as they could at all times during the war, to cheer the men up and remind them of what they were fighting for. It cannot have been easy to do so. Many ordinary amenities and various sundries were missing from store shelves, and most family incomes were drastically cut back. At one point, governments even became involved in how long a woman’s skirt could be or if it could have buttons or pleats—all to conserve on fabric and other products. That’s if you could find fabric at all. Many old curtains and sheets were suddenly repurposed into a new outfit.
But always, always they looked their best. It was their duty—to the men and to themselves. Contrast that with today and . . . well, perhaps you don’t even want to go there. I am all for being natural and realistic. You will not find me always primped or painted. But I must say that sometimes a brilliant façade is all people have. Sometimes you have to “fake it ‘til you make it.” Sometimes you hold on to tradition and remnants of beauty because they are all that’s left, and those things get you through the dark times to better days. And there will always be better days.
