How much stuff did these 40's guys own?

[Martinis at 8]

Great thread! Points out the need for keeping life simple.

M8

 

[Fletch]

I believe the average height in the 1940's was 5'3" for men and 5' for women.

?! Maybe in Japan...what's your source here?

 

[John in Covina]

Closets and space were at a minimum.

here's a thought on this thread... Most houses built before the 1920's did not have closets in the bedrooms. They had one small "coat" closet by the front door.

***********
But a fair share of people had an amoire or perhaps trunks and dressers for clothes. With that, I still doubt that people had a change of clothing for everyday and the sense of personal cleanliness was different too.

 

[Lincsong]

?! Maybe in Japan...what's your source here?

There's a lot of short old men around here.

 

[Mid-fogey]

Most men...

...in the 1930s (if that is what we are talking about), worked with their hands. Farmers, factory workers, etc. The thread's "Sunday Suit" comment is right on. It wasn't too long ago when every man had at least one suit for weddings, funerals, etc.

My Grandfathers fell in the working man class with only dress clothes for Sunday.

For everyone else, a half dozen Summer suits and an half dozen Winter suits (if you lived in a place that required a difference) would have been plenty. I still remember everyone putting away out of season clothes.

I remember a quote from Truman on suits lasting. The purpose of the quote was to show he hadn't gotten fat, but the upshot was that he was indicating he was getting over 10 years life out of a suit (two pair of pants I'm sure).

I think people would be suprised how few clothes they needed if what they wore would suffice for work, leasure, church, and nearly everything else they did.

 

[LizzieMaine]

As far as I know, my grandfather, a fairly typical working class man of his time, owned only one suit in his life -- he was married in it 1933, and he was buried in it in 1980. He had one topcoat, one good hat, and maybe four ties. Most of the time he wore work clothes -- green Texaco uniforms -- and had several sets of those that were replaced as they wore out. I don't think I ever remember him owning sports or leisure clothes -- he might mow the lawn in his undershirt, and pull on a well-worn grey wool sweater when it got cold, but otherwise he lounged around in the same clothes he wore at work. When we packed away all his personal effects after he died, they fit neatly in one cardboard box.

 

[John in Covina]

Dad was born in 1922.

He usually had 1 to 2 suits and one sports jacket or blazer at anytime, he had a lot of white dress shirts. He was a machinist and wore either wool dress pants or khakis, a short sleeved dress type shirt for summer or flannel shirt in winter for work under a shop coat of what was a heavy twill and always black navy oxford shoes for work. Sometimes a heavy weight woolen vest or sweater when it was cold in the shop.

I have never seen my dad wear dungarees / blue jeans ever! I don't recall ever seeing him wear shorts, and only seen him go swimming (with swim trunks) about 3 times in my entire life.

When my dad came home if he did not work in the home shop, he would change his shirt to clean ironed long or short sleeved white dress shirt. He usually worn a regular t-shirt or underwear type wifebeater shirts unless it was pretty hot.

He liked hand made Italian silk ties mostly.

When he was older he liked slip on hush puppy shoes to relax around the house in and never wore pajamas to bed.

He always wore some type of hat in the winter and wore his fedora regualry until about 1964. He was big on scarves and gloves for the winter too.

He did not have a lot of clothes really, until later in life as they accumulated since he worn stuff out and did not toss them out until my mom objected to them. He got a fair amount of clothes as gifts too by that time.

 

[Foofoogal]

My father was born in 1914. I was raised by depression era parents. They could make a penny scream. My father prided himself on 2 pairs of shoes and that they had to last at least 20 years I am sure. If we left on a light oh my or left open a door we had to go back and forth opening and closing at least 10 times.
My mother saved I think every bread bag and piece of tinfoil she ever had and twisties.
They did have 11 children but still were like this even when children left home.
My dad lived in West Texas in tents during the depression and my mom in Louisiana on a family farm so she fared much better. Finding oil in West Texas was why my dad and family was there.
My grandmothers house in West Texas till 1972 I don't even remember a closet of any kind. Only chifferobes they called them.
Probably why I have gathered so much stuff as a dealer. I went the complete opposite and have too much. Probably why many of us later generations did this. In 1950s after the war and depression it was a great source of pride to give family all they did not have. I am sure they were stunned by hippies rejecting materialism. Now we have swung back around again IMHO. I know we gave our children way too much stuff but we even made them do "gasp "chores which I can say many did not do.
Created monsters. lol

I remember an old lady recently talking to me and telling me she had a store during the depression and she held under the counter sugar for her most loyal customers. Can you imagine. :eusa_doh:

 

[Mike Hammer]

My granddad, who worked on Grand Coulee Dam, mined gold, picked apples, and did who knows what else through the depression to feed his three kids and Grandma, wore blue chambray work shirts, "Big Mac" denims, heavy yellow work boots, and a straw fedora in the summer. In winter, he wore heavy flannel or wool shirts and a felt fedora along with the rest. He had one suit for church or other social occasions, and that's....it. Half a dozen shirts, four or fives pairs of pants, one suit, a heavy winter coat, a windbreaker, couple of hats, assorted underwear/socks.
My ex-wifes grandfather wore khaki work clothes everywhere except church or social functions.

 

[Foofoogal]

fftopic: Oh funny story. My dad wore khakis to work every day. Ironed ones at that.
When I got married in 1975 my honey was wearing them also. He was like Clint Eastwood and still is man of few words. Anyone one day he finally asked me politely to please not iron his khakis. Seems in the port a potti on the construction site someone had wrote best dressed couple and put his name and someone else. :eusa_doh: lol Made my day for sure. Hilarious and no more ironing for me.

 

[Tourbillion]

?! Maybe in Japan...what's your source here?

I don't know about his sources but the average height for US WWI recruits was something like 5'7" and for WWII a bit above 5'8" (I believe women averaged 5'3"). So, a little bit shorter than the average today.

Still the lack of closet space is dire in my 1920's home. One coat closet and a small built in for a two bedroom place. I believe that seasonal items were commonly packed away in trunks though. So, there would be more room in the armoire.

All the same, in all of my family photos, there is a good variety of different clothing. The men are wearing a variety of suits and sport clothes, and the ladies seem to have plenty of dresses (or in the case of my great-aunt a large variety of swim suits). Even if a guy could only buy 1 suit a year, that is still ten 40's suits (which still probably wouldn't fit in my closet).

 

[Fletch]

I'll buy 2 suits and an overcoat
Like a millionaire
Just 2 suits and an overcoat
And then when things get better, I'll buy underwear

-If I Ever Get A Job Again, Sam Lewis & Abel Baer, 1932

 

[Fletch]

one day he finally asked me politely to please not iron his khakis. Seems in the port a potti on the construction site someone had wrote best dressed couple and put his name and someone else. :eusa_doh:

There would be a couple, wouldn't there? lol

I'd imagine many men on the FL, as boys in all-boy environments, got the news in written form that they'd been Linked Romantically to some other boy. I know I did in boarding school - twice.

 

[dhermann1]

My mom told me that when my dad got out of the service in 1946, and started working at a commercial art studio in Manhattan, he went to Brooks Brothers and bought two suits. One was brown, the other grey tweed. They cost $45 and $60 respectively, I believe. He may have had a couple other sport coats and slacks from before the war that he cycled through, but working at a high paying office job ($7,500 a year, woohoo!) he was good with only 2 suits. In the years before the war, I think it was common for a man to own two white shirts. One to wear, and one in the wash. I think they took real good care of their clothes, and probably their washing methods made them wear out less quickly. They didn't use dryers then, it was almost all line hung laundry. Dryers destroy clothes faster than any other thing. I think also they brushed themselves off a lot. I saw a Hopalong Cassidy flick from about 1936 where Lucky brushes the dust off himself at great length before going in the house. It occurred to me that this must have been a very standard routine before coming into the house.

 

[Gary Crumrine]

I'm an appraiser. When I inspect between-the-wars houses, it seems those in original condition have very small closets. I've always concluded that the earlier owners had little to store.

 

[Foofoogal]

two white shirts

Though I was from a large family my mom insisted most anyone could afford a bar of soap. She was adamant and quite vocal about poor people who didn't keep clean. She always said after coming out of depression that there was no excuse. If a woman owned 2 dresses she could always wash one and wear the other and keep house tidy and self tidy also. She gave me an etiquette book when I was 12 for Christmas and I still have it.

 

[Martinis at 8]

My mom told me that when my dad got out of the service in 1946, and started working at a commercial art studio in Manhattan, he went to Brooks Brothers and bought two suits. One was brown, the other grey tweed. They cost $45 and $60 respectively, I believe. He may have had a couple other sport coats and slacks from before the war that he cycled through, but working at a high paying office job ($7,500 a year, woohoo!) he was good with only 2 suits. In the years before the war, I think it was common for a man to own two white shirts. One to wear, and one in the wash. I think they took real good care of their clothes, and probably their washing methods made them wear out less quickly. They didn't use dryers then, it was almost all line hung laundry. Dryers destroy clothes faster than any other thing. I think also they brushed themselves off a lot. I saw a Hopalong Cassidy flick from about 1936 where Lucky brushes the dust off himself at great length before going in the house. It occurred to me that this must have been a very standard routine before coming into the house.

I think this is correct, and the dryer comment I know to be correct. Custom shirtmaker Alexander Kabbaz warns about the uses of dryers on shirts and offers advice on washing them so they don't wear out. Since adopting his advice (though I don't own any shirts he has made), I have noticed that my shirts look less beat up.

M8

 

[Lincsong]

My mom told me that when my dad got out of the service in 1946, and started working at a commercial art studio in Manhattan, he went to Brooks Brothers and bought two suits. One was brown, the other grey tweed. They cost $45 and $60 respectively, I believe. He may have had a couple other sport coats and slacks from before the war that he cycled through, but working at a high paying office job ($7,500 a year, woohoo!) he was good with only 2 suits. In the years before the war, I think it was common for a man to own two white shirts.

Wow! That was around $3.60 an hour back in 1946. Pretty darn good money.

 

[dhermann1]

My Dad

He had a brilliant career ahead of him. But tragically he developed brain cancer in 1949 and died in 1953.

 

[Ecuador Jim]

Most people that made it thru the Deppression and then the rationing of the war years tend to be frugal to some extent.

Here is a telling item, if you have a party and people bring food to the party in disposable aluminum oven trays, if the mom in the house lived thru the Depression those "disposable" aluminum trays are washed and returned. Born later, they are tossed in the trash.

(I can't tell you how many times I have seen this.)

Tough times don't last, but tough people do.

I concur. My parents would have tears repaired or "re-woven". It was a use-it-up, and wear-it-out generation. My mom used to keep the rubber bands that came with the newspaper in a jar.