Fashion Under the Occupation

Miriam Kochan, Dominique Veillon

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French

Berg
01 September 2010

Fashion design & theory; History; European history; Second World War; Fashion & society

Before the outbreak of WWII, French fashion represented the very pinnacle of style, and French women the epitome of chic.

At home and abroad, couturiers wealthy clients eagerly awaited the latest collections, and design houses throughout the world looked to Paris for inspiration. Unparalleled for glamour and elegance, all things French were noted and emulated - and especially French fashion.

One morning in September 1939, into this idyllic world of haute couture and Caf society came the shattering experience of war, followed by the German Occupation. French women, determined not to give way to the inevitable austerities, sought innovation: hats made from blotting paper or newspapers - the latter signalling political allegiances - and blouses made out of parachute silk, often obtained through dubious means.

Not only did life go on, but creativity flourished - culottes, which enabled stylish bicycle journeys, became the vogue, and couturiers capitalized on deprivation with wit - dubbing designs Coal and Black Coffee, or naming an entire collection after Mtro stops.

Fashion under the Occupation provides the only in-depth history of these blackest years in French history, long overlooked by fashion history because of the impoverished industry and deprivations that affected design. Widely acknowledged as the authoritative work on fashion during this period, it is available in English for the first time and will be essential reading for anyone interested in fashion, French cultural history, and particularly the German Occupation of France.

By: Dominique Veillon
Translated by: Miriam Kochan
Imprint: Berg
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 12mm
Weight: 356g
ISBN: 9781859735480
ISBN 10: 1859735487
Pages: 222
Publication Date: 01 September 2010
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents Preface Acknowledgements 1 The Last Good Days 2 New Formulas for New Times 3 Hard Times 4 Making Do and Looking Smart 5 Fibranne, Rayon and Ersatz 6 Haute Couture on German Time 7 Fashionable Paris Dresses Up 8 Vichy, Fashion and Women Conclusion Appendices Bibliography Chronological Landmarks Notes Index

Dominique Veillon is Director of Research, Institut d'histoire du temps prsent, CNRS. Translated from the French by Miriam Kochan

Reviews for Fashion Under the Occupation

It is only now, with the publication, in Paris, of Dominique Veillons La Mode sous l'Occupation, that we learn how valiantly French womens impulse to express themselves in the clothes they wear adapted itself to their straightened lives, and how narrowly the French fashion industry escaped extinction. * The New Yorker * This rich work (and good read) dedicated to a new subject, will enrich our knowledge of the war-time economy in a significant way. -- Jean-Pierre Le Crom * H-France * Her study is a highly accessible account of the legislative and political restrictions imposed by the Vichy regime on the fashion industry in France, particularly in Paris ... Veillon's study is rich in details of how the occupied population managed not just to clothe themselves but also to make cultural statements through their apparel. -- Carole Sweeney * Journal of Romance Studies *