‘Clothes shall mark the man’ : Wearing suits in wartime Australia, 1939–1945

Journal article

Cramer, Lorinda and Bellanta, Melissa. (2022). ‘Clothes shall mark the man’ : Wearing suits in wartime Australia, 1939–1945. Cultural and Social History. 19(1), pp. 57-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780038.2022.2031424
AuthorsCramer, Lorinda and Bellanta, Melissa
Abstract

This article aims to extend the ways in which the experiences of Australia’s Second World War civilians and returned servicemen are understood, through a close reading of four men’s suits. These suits reveal a dynamic wartime sartorial transformation that was shaped by cloth and workforce shortages, government intervention and social pressure, patriotic consumption, masculine duty and dignity. The suits shine a light on the cultural meanings of home front masculinities when men were marked by their clothes, drawing a line between men’s attentiveness to their dress and their concerns, anxieties and desires.

KeywordsSecond World War; Australia’s home front; men’s suits; consumption; civilian duty; demobilisation
Year2022
JournalCultural and Social History
Journal citation19 (1), pp. 57-76
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1478-0038
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/14780038.2022.2031424
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85123848798
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range57-76
FunderAustralian Research Council (ARC)
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online25 Jan 2022
Publication process dates
Deposited09 Jun 2022
ARC Funded ResearchThis output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001
Grant IDARC/DP190103341
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