Utility dress - late Forties or early Fifties?

emmapeelpants

emmapeelpants

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I really love this dress, mainly because of the history behind it and the fact that I guess at the time, this was the nearest any British woman could get to the 'New Look' due to continuing rationing. I'm not entirely sure when clothes rationing ended, early Fifties I believe. So I'm not entirely sure whether this dress is late Forties, an immediate response to the New Look or whether it's early Fifties? What say you?

<img src="http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i161/emmapeelpants/ebay/cc41-2.jpg"><img src="http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i161/emmapeelpants/ebay/cc41-3.jpg"><img src="http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i161/emmapeelpants/ebay/cc41-4.jpg">
<img src="http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i161/emmapeelpants/ebay/cc41-detail.jpg"><img src="http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i161/emmapeelpants/ebay/cc41-label.jpg">

Thanks!!

Liz
 
Oh, I am jealous! I've not got a CC41 part dress, lol!

"Rationing ended on the following dates:- Clothes - February 1949, Tea - October 1952, Sugar - 1953, Butter, Margarine and Cheese - 1954. Sweets and chocolate came off the ration temporarily from April to August 1949, but began again and ended completely on 4th February 1953."

I believe the utility mark scheme (including furniture et al) finally ended in 1952.

I think it's early 50s, but you know me - I always like a second opinion!
 
I think clothes rationing ended 15 March 1949 (1953 food).
My that dress is to drool over, not wonder you like it . Is it in your size!


Rationing time line

I did here some fashion houses put away some fabric in the war years then .. hay presto they founded it again! for the new era styles.
Paul
 
Thank you!! Early Fifties it is!

Paul, alas it's really rather teeny tiny - not that I NEED another evening dress I have no occasion to wear....;)

Does anyone know why the Utility scheme carried on beyond the end of clothes rationing?

Liz
 
PS - Had manufactures and retailers resorted to pre-war prices / profit margin, nobody would have been able to afford them; so self-imposed restrictions may have been the only way to survive.
 
You do tend to think just because the fighting had ended then things got back to normal fast. As Deborah
says the economy was in a bad way here in the UK at least. Also there were still millions of troops in Europe, Far East etc, which all had to be supplied with food fuel etc, so transport was still scarce and stock of clothes might not be moved around as fast.
 
Oh I knew things were pretty bad until the mid Fifties, I just thought that the Utility scheme was only there because of rationing. I didn't realise that it continued after rationing ended as an affordable source of clothes etc. Thanks everyone!!!

Liz
 
CC41 utilty clothing and rationing are not the same thing. That much I am sure. Not all clothes were CC41 utlity grade. Items marked as CC41 were not subject to tax and even though employment in England during the war was near 100% the pay was lousy, so the purchase of clothing was dear. Items like hats were not on a utility scheme nor were they rationed, so you could buy hats galore if you wanted, but they were also VERY expensive and heavily taxed, so most English women went without, adopted scarves, remade old hats, or took on simple hats and turban styles (like Clementine Churchill did)

Although clothes rationing was ended in 1949, I haven't found a date for the end of CC41, although its rules were loosened up considerably in 1947 and things like cuffs returned to pants, double breasted jackets reappeared and skirts became longer and fuller. I suspect that CC41 ended the same year as clothing rationing, but I don't know for sure. I will find out... some day.
 
Thanks Harriet. THe problem is I can't find any official documentation for CC41 clothing ending in 1952 and it may apply to furniture and textiles rather than clothing. However, it might be 1952. That black dress of Liz's certainly looks early 50s so maybe 1952 is correct for CC41 utility clothing ending.
 
When I was looking into something else utility related the lady at Bath suggested I contacted the Geffyre Museum in London, as they had held an exhibition on utility (principally furniture, but all under the same scheme so you'd think they would be able to help with clothing related queries) in 1974. When I looked the musuem was not online but was due to be later in the year- may be something in their research for that which could clear this one up? Not sure if they are now online, I shall check later.
 
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