By Amy, placement student at Mass Observation
In 1947, as Europe was recovering from the Second World War, there was uproar on both sides of the Atlantic. Was this a reaction to a political scandal? Was this caused by the economic fallout of the war? The answer may surprise you. Read on to find out how a post-war fashion controversy captured the attention of the media, and how these debates are actually being echoed today.
I was recently lucky enough to have an internship at the Mass Observation Archive. Mass Observation has documented society, first from its foundation in 1937 through to the mid-1950s, and again from 1981, by using regular ‘directives’ (the term used by the researchers for a questionnaire), which asked a panel of volunteers about everything from dreams to prejudices. Searching through these responses uncovers fascinating stories from these years, including long-forgotten controversies. During my internship, I had the opportunity to explore these documents and was particularly struck by one directive from September 1947. It asked observers to comment on the ‘current fashion controversy’, referring to the ‘New Look’, led by the French fashion designer, Christian Dior.
A ‘New Look’
Clothes rationing in Britain began in June 1941, aiming to save materials and free workers up for war work, and remained until March 1949. During this time, the British government introduced the Utility Clothing Scheme. Utility clothes were under strict regulations to limit the amount of material and labour required for production – dresses could only use 1.8 metres of fabric, with a maximum of two pockets, five buttons, and four pleats, and there were similar restrictions on suits. In comparison, a day dress in the ‘New Look’ style required around 15 metres of fabric on average, with an evening gown needing almost double. Even after the end of the war, production levels and the country’s economy took time to rebuild, so the ‘New Look’ emerged at a time when clothes rationing and concerns around overconsumption were commonplace.
Dior’s ‘New Look’, launched in Paris in February 1947, was a vast move away from the clothing worn during the Second World War. It emphasised and over-exaggerated the female form with a narrow waist and wide skirts over the hips, falling to just above the ankle. The shape is reminiscent of Victorian and Edwardian fashions, and Dior himself noted the influence of past fashions on his work as well as natural influences (the shape of his skirts was meant to mimic an upturned flower). Today, Dior’s designs are celebrated as a revolutionary moment in the fashion industry but, in the years immediately following the Second World War, many saw them as unnecessarily extravagant, and the media was quick to whip up a frenzy of outrage.
Mixed Reactions
Mass Observation swiftly picked up on the controversy. The September 1947 directive asked about a range of topics, including local newspapers, neighbours, and the public’s current perceptions of the people of Germany, with the final line on the page reading ‘Stop Press: What is your reaction, if any, to the current fashion controversy?’
Responses to the directive varied greatly, demonstrating just how controversial this new fashion was in Britain at this time. Some favoured the change, with one volunteer saying ‘…I much prefer the longer skirt and ‘new line’ as it suits my figure very much better’. For some, there was relief, a sense that the war was over and normalcy was returning. One observer writes ‘…my heart longs for something new and if the longer skirts are the answer, then bless them…’. After six years of rationing, masculine shapes and Utility suits, it is clear why the New Look, with its exaggerated female silhouette, was a breath of fresh air.
Most respondents, however, were strongly opposed to it. Concerns varied greatly. One male observer argued, ‘I feel that women should keep their skirts short (1) to save material (2) so that men can see whether they have pretty legs’. Both of these concerns were frequently mentioned. The main issue for many volunteers was the use of material, with the increased use of wool being described as ‘absurd’, ‘preposterous’ and ‘odd nonsense’. For men, the lower hems removed what many saw as the ‘thrill’ of seeing women’s legs, and for women, there were concerns that the new fashion was simply ugly. For one observer, the new skirt length was ‘… a horror! A most unbecoming length which looks positively dowdy…’.
The public also seemed to feel that they were being manipulated by clothing designers. One respondent said, ‘I have a sneaking feeling it is part of the scheme to make women buy new clothes…’, and another asserted, ‘a lot of fashion crazes are started by sellers’. However, for others, the new fashion had a deeper impact on women. A response describes fashion as ‘…the last chain around women…’ and argues that the war allowed women to find their own personal style. Similarly, a particularly indignant observer noted, ‘…my most marked reaction to the whole business is one of resentment that rich and ridiculous old women shut up in Paris fashion hot-houses should seek to lay down the law about clothes to the women of this democracy which has just won a few battles for individual liberty.’
Protests against the ‘New Look’ were not confined to Britain. In the United States, a group called the Little Below the Knee Club argued that women should have freedom in dress, and were concerned that the longer, more impractical skirts represented a step back in the women’s movement. In Paris, people horrified by the amount of fabric used in the new fashions ripped dresses off of Dior’s models in the street.
A Change of Heart?
A year later, in September 1948, volunteers were again asked to comment on the ‘New Look’, a method often used by Mass Observation in order to track change over time. In many ways, public opinion seemed to soften towards the change in fashion. One response said, ‘My feelings have certainly changed – such is the effect of advertisement!’ Another, who had described the fashion in the 1947 directive as a waste of fabric, now felt that it ‘…looks more artistic than the old.’ Even the leg-loving men found themselves appreciating the change, with one saying, ‘…somehow the really smart girls manage to look attractive whatever the fashion’.
For other commentators, however, the problems of the ‘New Look’ were just as clear as ever. Many women had simply not adopted the new fashion, with it being described as ‘dowdy’ and ‘unbecoming’. The issue of women’s rights had also not disappeared. One observer was concerned that it had a direct impact on women in the workplace, arguing, ‘…the change is in the direction of dress less suited to active work…’, and that this ‘…must tend in the direction of discouragement for employment, domestic or otherwise’. In March 1949, the researchers at Mass Observation used the evidence that they had collected to write a report on the New Look, and concluded that this new fashion seemed to send a message – that capable, active, and strong-willed women were now out of fashion.
Modern Parallels
While reading this material, I couldn’t help but think how modern many of these debates seemed. Worries about overconsumption and the power of big brands are very common in the modern world, albeit due to concerns about the climate crisis rather than postwar austerity. For me, however, the clearest parallel to the modern day can be seen in the spread of the ‘tradwife movement’, and the resulting controversy surrounding it.
‘Tradwives’ or ‘traditional wives’ are women who adopt traditional patriarchal gender roles. Generally, tradwives aspire to a 1950s-style aesthetic, often wearing dresses with long, flowing skirts and traditionally feminine silhouettes, and argue that a woman’s role is to be a stay-at-home mother and a submissive wife. Although the concept of a ‘tradwife’ dates back to at least 2015, there has been an explosion of popularity in the term since 2020. High street shops have noted the influence of ‘tradwife’ fashion, stocking more vintage-inspired clothes. It seems clear that periods of global uncertainty or tragedy, such as the Second World War or the Covid-19 pandemic can lead to both fashion and politics harking back to a (largely imagined) time of nostalgia, in which women’s rights are quietly chipped away.
However, much like the ‘New Look’ controversy, the tradwife fashion and lifestyle have a broad range of critics. Tradwife influencers have been criticised for their right-wing politics, including anti-vax and pro-gun opinions, and they have also been challenged for claiming to encapsulate ‘traditional’ values whilst simultaneously making money through their social media posts. This Vogue article explains some more of the concerns that people have of tradwife culture.
Fashion, then, can cause just as much debate today as it did eighty years ago. Aside from the political implications of new fashions for women’s rights, concerns about overconsumption and the pressure to keep up with trends in the midst of difficult economic conditions are ideas that can equally be seen in 1947 and 2026. For me, this is the real beauty of the work done by Mass Observation – highlighting how, in so many ways, people in the past have similar ideas, feelings and concerns as people today. It gives direct access to the voices of the past, making you feel so much closer to history.
Suggested Further Reading:
‘About Mass Observation’, Mass Observation, https://massobs.org.uk/about-mass-observation/. [Accessed 30 April 2026].
‘Directive Questionnaire, September 1947’, Mass Observation Online, https://www-massobservation-amdigital-co-uk.ezproxy.library.qmul.ac.uk/Documents/Detail/directive-questionnaire-september-1947/19595735. [Accessed 30 April 2026].
‘Everything You Need to Know About Christian Dior’s New Look Silhouette’, Vogue, https://www.vogue.com/article/everything-you-need-to-know-about-christian-diors-new-look-silhouette. [Accessed 30 April 2026].
‘FR 3095 – The New Look; Current Fashion in Clothes’, Mass Observation Online, https://www-massobservation-amdigital-co-uk.ezproxy.library.qmul.ac.uk/Documents/Detail/fr-3095-the-new-look-current-fashion-in-clothes/19713305?item=19713312. [Accessed 30 April 2026].
Jill Fields, An Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie, and Sexuality (University of California Press, 2007).