Post-war fashion tips in the popular fashion press in Poland: A source of psychological support in the 'struggle for femininity'

Abstract

Abstract Social conditions in Poland were harsh at the conclusion of World War II. Surprisingly, interest in fashion revived quickly after the war, giving rise in 1945 to a hugely popular fashion press, avidly read by Polish women. The independent magazine Fashion and Practical Life (Moda i Życie Praktyczne), launched in December 1945, was the first of its kind in Poland after the war, and quickly gained a large readership of urban and rural women (and significant numbers of men). It centred on fashion tips – from practical advice on how to remodel existing material into new clothing to more aspirational ideas, crossing over from the necessities of dress or clothing into the more imaginary realm of 'fashion'. Unlike readers of the fashion press before the war, the readership of this magazine was not leisured or highly literate, but largely 'ordinary' women trying to deal with the realities of their circumstances and to find relief from them. Letters from readers were the centre of the magazine in its early years. They shared their experiences and solutions. This article explores the phenomenon of a genre of publishing for women in Poland through analysis of Fashion and Practical Life from its inception into the early 1950s. It examines the contexts in which it operated and its role in the representation and self-identity of Polish women within this time of transition. The article identifies two key typologies for fashion tips: 'poor fashion' (how to make available materials into liveable garments) and 'imaginary fashion' (the aspirations that Polish women had but could not attain at that time). It also shows that apparently emancipatory trends for women were short-lived. By the early 1950s the narrative of the fashion press reinscribed Polish women back in the home, as housewives.