Berlin
Practically Family
- Messages
- 510
- Location
- The Netherlands
Obviously this is rather dependant on where you came from at the time. Holland being occupied would be a bit different to England that was getting bombed to America where these things didn't happen. Look at photos and within any crowd of any country there are people who look smarter than others, likely to do with wealth as much as anything. As Lizzie says, generally people did not wash their clothes as much as people do now. Sometimes with soap rationing, that wasn't even possible! Many War-time diaries mention difficulty of getting hold of soap or having to choose between soap for clothes or yourself.
Thing is, depends what you are doing - Re-enactment is different to wanting to wear a certain aesthetic just because you enjoy it. Most of us aren't going to not wash just because it's more 'authentic'!!! As said earlier, you have to be comfortable in your choices. This to me applies as much to cleanliness as the clothes themselves.
Isn't that exactly what I am saying? By the by, the book, is from England, and the veteran was from Canada. So no Holland involved.
When I said; "often wore clothes which were old, faded, and repaired" I don't mean you shouldn't wash your clothes just because it's more authentic, but I meant that you barely pull off an authentic look, with the clothing lines LadyDay mentioned, because they simply look too new and too good. The clothes back then were quite simple and not too glamourous looking.
Ofcourse re-enactment is different than wanting to wear a certain aesthetic because of enjoying it, but at the end we all want the same. And that is to pull of the correct look for the correct era. (With exceptions ofcourse).
I am sorry if you misunderstood me because of the language barrier
Last edited: