大象传媒

I don鈥檛 remember having a lot of clothes during the war, nobody did. But the war meant that you made the most of what you had. If you knew someone who could make clothes for you it was a real benefit. Usually You had to use clothing coupons but if you already had some material or old clothes that could be remodelled then you could save your coupons up for something special.

Most of my clothes were handmade. Although I did sewing at school some of my clothes were made by a professional dressmaker. The mother of the young boy who had been evacuated to live with us was a very good tailoress and I remember she made me a lovely coat and two beautiful dresses.

The coat was very tailored with pleats in the back and one of the dresses was navy blue with a small white spot on it. The front was all smocked by hand from the neckline to the waist and was made from some material that my mum had stored away for years saving it for a rainy day.

The tailoress lived in Birmingham so we had to go up there for fittings. I鈥檓 not sure if we paid her, or how much or whether they were made as a favour.

We also spent hours unpicking old jumpers and re-knitting them to the latest patterns.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Sue Broome of the CSV Action Desk at 大象传媒 Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Kathleen Robinson (Nee Jennings) and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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