Sprecher, D. 2020. Demob Suits: One Uniform for Another? Burtons and the Leeds Multiple Tailors' Production of Men's Demobilization Tailoring after the Second World War. Costume. 54 (1), pp. 108-130. https://doi.org/10.3366/cost.2020.0145
| Title | Demob Suits: One Uniform for Another? Burtons and the Leeds Multiple Tailors' Production of Men's Demobilization Tailoring after the Second World War |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Sprecher, D. |
| Abstract | This article focuses on the key role played by the Leeds multiple tailors in the production of tailoring for British servicemen demobilized after the Second World War. The government provided each man demobilized with a full outfit of clothing, including underwear, shoes, a hat, coat and tailored wool suit – — the latter commonly described as a ‘demob’ suit. The article explores the significance of demob suits and how they were received by the men who had to wear them, highlighting men’s concern about what they wore. The public rhetoric around the provision of demob suits will be considered within the context of the government restrictions on clothing of the 1940s and the way the suits were produced. The article argues that men’s experience of the made-to-measure system of tailoring by the Leeds multiples influenced many servicemen’s expectations about what constituted acceptable tailoring, fashion and standards of dress for their demob suits. |
| Keywords | tailoring, menswear, demobilization, suits, Montague Burton Ltd, men's fashion, masculinity, Second World War |
| Journal | Costume |
| Journal citation | 54 (1), pp. 108-130 |
| ISSN | 0590-8876 |
| 1749-6306 | |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3366/cost.2020.0145 |
| Web address (URL) | https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/cost.2020.0145 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 01 Mar 2020 |
| Funder | AHRC (Arts & Humanities Research Council) |