By May 1942, American participation in World War II was in full swing—offshore and on the home front. Even for those far from the front lines, the war effort affected unexpected aspects of everyday life, including those unmentionable undergarments. Brassiere manufacturing was decreased to ration materials for the military. But with droves of hardworking women entering the American workforce, women were not about to easily give up their essential equipment: the bra.
Artist Ayun Halliday illustrates the peculiar intersection of unmentionables and patriotism in her comic “I Dreamed I Won WWII…In My Maidenform Bra.”
Sources:
“Glossary of Army Slang.” American Speech. Vol. 16, No. 3 (Oct., 1941), 163-169.
Burgess, Anthony. “Politics in the Novels of Graham Greene.” Literature and Society. Spec. issue of Journal of Contemporary History 2.2 (1967): 93-99.
Farrell-Beck, Jane and Colleen Gau. “Dutiful Brassieres.” Uplift: The Bra in America. University of Pennsylvania Press: 2001.
Keating, Lindsay. “Pigeons in Bras Go to War.” O Say Can You See? Stories from the American Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Web.
Snyder, Jennifer and Mimi Minnick, August 1997-July 1999; revised Jennifer Snyder, 2002; revised Alison Oswald, 2003; revised David Haberstich, 2005. “MAIDENFORM COLLECTION, 1922-1997 #585.” Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Ward, Larry Thomas. Truth, Justice, & The American Way: The Life And Times Of Noel Neill, the Original Lois Lane. Lawrence: Nicholas Books, 2003.
