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H ISTORISKA INSTITUTIONEN

Stitching the Silver Screen

Dressmaking Patterns, Hollywood, and the Second World War .

Master’s thesis 45 Credits Poppy Strange

Thesis Advisor: Mikael Alm:

Semester: Spring 2021

Date of Submission: 2021.05.17

Date of Defence: 31st May/1st June 2021

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Contents

List of Tables List of Figure Abstract

Acknowledgements Abbreviations

Introduction 1

Chapter 1. Emulation and the consumer dream- 3

A theoretical and methodological outline

Thorstein Veblen and Emulation 4

Walter Benjamin and the Reproduction of Art 6

Colin Campbell and the Creation of Fantasy and Desire through Objects 10

Material Cultural Methodology 13

Chapter 2. Dressmaking Patterns, Hollywood and the Second World War- 20 A historical perspective

Hollywood Pattern Company and its Origins 20

Dressmaking patterns historical development 24

Hollywood, The Studio System and the Star System 25

The Second World War and Wartime Restrictions 29

Chapter 3. Dressmaking Patterns as objects of desire 35

Brochures and Catalogues 35

Batchelor’s Six Steps: Idea, Materiality and Manufacturing 41

Pattern Design and Usage 45

Chapter 4. Star gazing and stitching the silver screen 54

The impact of war on the glamour of clothes 54

Patterns and Films: The changing relationship 74

Shattering the dream 84

Conclusion 93

Glossary 96

Appendix 1 Origins of Patterns Examined 99

Appendix 2 Pattern 864 – A modern garment from a 1930’s pattern 105

Appendix 3 Number of Patterns by Actress 106

Sources and Literature 108

Published Sources (Patterns) 108

Literature 109

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List of Tables:

Table 1 Overview of sources examined. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 2 Number of patterns giving fabric suggestions, by year. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 3 Patterns suggesting silk fabrics. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 4 Silk types suggested (out of 41 patterns suggesting silk). Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 5 Patterns suggesting woollen fabrics. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 6 Woollen Types Suggested (out of 37 patterns suggesting woollen fabrics) Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 7 Patterns suggesting cotton fabrics. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 8 Cotton types suggested (out of 47 patterns suggesting cotton fabrics). Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 9 Patterns suggesting Rayon fabrics. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 10 Rayon types suggested (out of 44 patterns suggesting Rayon fabrics). Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 11 Hem allowance exceeding L85 limits. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 12 Swing or width exceeding L85 limits. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 13 Findings. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 14 Number of associated patterns by Film Studio. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

Table 15 Number of Patterns associated with Stars by Year. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see appendix 1.

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List of figures.

Figure 1: Front and Back Envelope. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, Phyllis Brooks, RKO Radio Year 1940, Pattern No. 425. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1940.57.URI.

Figure 2: Design Options. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc, RKO Radio, Year 1942. Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 3: Film Star Photograph. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942.Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 4: Pattern Size and Price. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942.Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 5: Colour Branding Stripe. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942. Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 6: Pattern Pieces and Garment Description. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942. Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 7: Back View Sketch. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942. Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 8: Fabric Suggestions. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942. Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 9: Fabric Requirements. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942. Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 10: Findings List. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, June Havoc RKO Radio, Year 1942. Pattern No. 889. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.121.BWS.

Figure 11: “Typical of ‘Before and After’ Style Change Conforming To WPB Limitation Order L85.” Women’s Wear Daily, April 8, 1942 in Mower and Pedersen 2013, pg 40.

Figure 12: Pre L-85 Order Styling. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, Joan Fontaine, RKO Radio, Year 1939, Pattern No. 1862. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1939.124.BWS.

Figure 13: Post L-85 Order Styling. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress, Maureen O’Hara, RKO Radio, Year 1941, Pattern No. 1142. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1941.2.JSE

Figure 14: Fabric Comparisons With and Without Nap. Hollywood Pattern Company, Waistcoat and Skirt, Priscilla Lane, Warner Bros, Year 1941, Pattern No. 654. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1941.141.BWS.

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Figure 15: Fabric Suggestions. Hollywood Pattern Company, Jacket, Slacks and Bra Top, Wendy Barrie, RKO Radio, Year 1942, Pattern No. 635, Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1942.254.URI.

Figure 16: The impact of the L-85 Order of Fabric Suggestions and Requirements.

Hollywood Pattern Company, Skirt, Blouse and Bolero Simple Sew, Betty Rhodes, Paramount, Year 1943 Pattern No. 1211. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1943.114.BWS.

Figure 17: The Impact of the L-85 Order on Fabric Suggestions and Requirements.

Hollywood Pattern Company, Skirt, Blouse and Skirt, Susanna Foster, Paramount, Year 1943 Pattern No. 1121. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1943.1.JSE.

Figure 18: Front Cover Image. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress and slip, Ellen Drew, Warner Bros, Year 1942 Pattern No. 846. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1942.3.JSE.

Figure 19: Hems and Hem allowances. Hollywood Pattern Company, One piece dress and slip, Ellen Drew, Warner Bros, Year 1942 Pattern No. 846. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1942.3.JSE.

Figure 20: “Authorized Measurements for Daytime Dress.” Women’s Wear Daily, April 8, 1942, “Authorized Measurements for Evening Dress.” Women’s Wear Daily, April 8, 1942 in Mower and Pedersen 2013, pg 41

Figure 21: Pattern Branding. Hollywood Pattern Company, Lucille Ball, RKO Radio, Year 1939, One piece dress and bolero, Pattern No. 1773. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1939.98.BWS.

Figure 22: Pattern Branding Changes 1944. Hollywood Pattern Company, Hollywood Pattern, Year 1944, Red Star Branding, Pattern No. 1345. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1944.93.KLS.

Figure 23: Pattern Branding Changes 1945. Hollywood Pattern Company, Hollywood Pattern, Year 1945, Black Calligraphy Branding, Pattern No. 1583. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1945.72.KLS.

Figure 24: Incorrectly dated Pattern. Hollywood Pattern Company, Ann Miller, RKO Radio, Petticoat or Slip, Year 1945, Pattern No. 1753. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1945.37.JSE.

Figure 25: Foreign Hollywood Actresses. Hollywood Pattern Company, Brenda Marshall, Warner Bros, One piece dress and jacket, Year 1941, Pattern No. 658, held in authors possession.

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Figure 26: Foreign Hollywood Actresses. Hollywood Pattern Company, Danielle Darrieux, Universal, Year 1939, Coat, Pattern No. 1906. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no.

1939.129.BWS.

Figure 27: Foreign Hollywood Actresses. Hollywood Pattern Company, Franciska Gaal, Paramount, One piece frock, Year 1939, Pattern No. 1774. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1939.103.URI.

Figure 28: L-85 Order Style Changes. Hollywood Pattern Company, Shirley Patterson, Columbia Pictures, Two Piece Suit, Year 1942, Pattern No. 1024. Commercial Pattern Archive, archive no. 1942.138.BWS.

Figure 29: Two-tone Dresses. Hollywood Pattern Company, Wendy Barrie, RKO Radio, One piece dress, front envelope, Year 1942, Pattern No. 873, held in authors possession.

Figure 30: Two-tone Dresses and Fabric Consumption. Hollywood Pattern Company, Wendy Barrie, RKO Radio, One piece dress, Year 1942, Pattern No. 873, held in authors possession.

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Abstract:

The 1930s and 1940s were a time of political and social upheaval, focused mainly on the events of the Second World War. As a result of this global event many aspects of women’s lives in particular were affected. No aspect of life was unaffected, from industrial production to clothing to Hollywood, all industries felt the impact of the war which in turn impacted on the lives of American citizens. This is examined in depth in this thesis by considering how the War affected dressmaking patterns produced by the Hollywood Pattern Company. The thesis mainly aims to uncover how dressmaking patterns at this time were impacted by Hollywood and the second World War and the influence this had on women’s experiences through them. The Theories that will be utilised are Thorstein Veblen and emulation; Walter Benjamin and aura of objects; and Colin Campbell and fantasies and desire. These theories are explored via a material cultural analysis using R Batchelor’s six step methodology. This thesis will cover the issues of the war and its impact, the relationship between the parties involved with dressmaking patterns (Hollywood, the pattern company, and its female customers), and the impact of these aspects on women’s ability to emulate and create fantasy. The thesis exposes how wartime restrictions affected attributes of dressmaking patterns, as well as the relationship between the Hollywood Pattern Company and Hollywood. These aspects together impacted on women’s ability to create, emulate, and fantasise about Hollywood actresses through dressmaking patterns and clothing.

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Acknowledgments

Writing my independent research study in the midst of a worldwide pandemic has been challenging.

Limitations around travel, visiting museums and libraries and searching archives presented difficulties in accessing sources and other research materials. For every problem there is usually a solution, although this has meant that some of my research plans for the thesis had to change, a digital world has meant that I have been able to access resources which at first seemed impossible.

Overall, the process has been challenging, interesting, stressful and rewarding.

I would like to thank Karen Morse, Director of Distinctive Collections at the Commercial Pattern Archive, Rhode Island University, USA. Karen was immensely supportive and scanned many dressmaking patterns for me, so that I could use the electronic copies in my analysis. Without Karen’s efforts I doubt that this thesis would have been as rich in exemplar and detail as it is.

Thank you to my supervising tutor Mikael Alm, I am grateful for his academic guidance, patience, and emotional support when most needed. Mikael kept me on task, and most importantly allowed me to believe in myself.

Finally, I am forever grateful to my loving family for their continuous support through late nights of study, self-doubt conversations and endless proof reading.

Poppy Strange

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Abbreviations:

COPA: The Commercial Pattern Archive OPA: The Office for Price Administration WPB: The War Production Board

HPC: The Hollywood Pattern Company

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1

Introduction

This thesis examines and considers the impact of Hollywood and the Second World War on dressmaking patterns, as well as how these two phenomena impacted women’s ability to emulate, create fantasies and produce clothing during the period 1939 to 1945. To quote George Orwell, in

‘The Road to Wigan Pier’,

You may have three halfpence in your pocket and not a prospect in the world, and only the corner of a leaky bedroom to go home to; but in your new clothes you can stand on the street corner, indulging in a private daydream of yourself as Clarke Gable or Greta Gabo, which compensates you for a great deal.1

The sources of this thesis are dressmaking patterns produced by the Hollywood Pattern Company, particularly that subset of patterns produced by the Hollywood Pattern Company that specifically featured a Hollywood actress and studio as part of their branding and promotional material, during this period. These patterns are important because they embody and demonstrate the relationship between Hollywood and dressmaking pattern companies. The Second World War had an impact on dressmaking patterns through fabric restrictions and stylistic changes, under various mechanisms (especially the L-85 Order), which changed that relationship.

The thesis will be divided into 4 major sections. The first section focuses on the theories of Thorstein Veblen, Walter Benjamin, and Colin Campbell. These theories will be built on each other to create a 3 layered approach to the theory that will be used to understand and analyse the sources, their purpose, and their impact at the time. This section also introduces the material cultural approach employed by Ray Batchelor in considering objects of material culture of study, which utilises six steps in analysing an object. As part of the methodological introduction, the parameters of source selection and research difficulties are also discussed. Alongside this, the research questions are introduced these are:

1. How did the war impact on women’s fashion and dressmaking?

2. What changes in the relationship between the Hollywood Pattern Company and the Hollywood studios can be detected by an examination of the patterns of the Hollywood Pattern Company during the period 1939-1945?

3. How did the war time changes in fabric restrictions and clothing styles, alongside branding, studio and actress representation throughout the Second World War affect

1 Orwell, 1962, pg 79.

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2

the construction and continuation of fantasy driven desires, imagined community, escapism between the actresses and the audiences?

The second section deals with the contexts in which the Hollywood Pattern Company existed at the time. This section explores the history of home dressmaking patterns from the 1850s to their wider spread development and the history of the Hollywood Pattern Company itself. It also details the history of Hollywood and the Hollywood studios and star systems (both of which fed and created the status of Hollywood actresses as consumable commodities, in which every aspect of their lives was up for public consumption. The final section of context focuses on the impact of the Second World War and the stylistic and fabric changes that came about as a result of the L-85 Order and how this impacted both the patterns themselves and women’s ability to emulate and create garments. Alongside the context there will be incorporated the aspect of the literature review, with each context section detailing the key authors and texts that informed each section.

The third section brings together and synthesises the abstract theory and methodological concepts introduced in Chapter 1 as well as examining how the other products produced by the Hollywood Pattern Company played a role in advertising the patterns produced and impacted on the way women were able to initially buy and eventually consume them. This is examined through dollar store brochures and department store catalogues, these catered to different segments of the potential buying public based on purchasing power of the shopping clientele. The impact this had on consumption and the ability of emulation is also discussed. The section also expands on the role Batchelor’s six steps approach plays in this thesis, by indicating the aspects of the patterns that fit with and can be examined each step.

The final chapter deals with answering the research questions posed in Chapter 1. Each question is dealt with separately, and the sections of pattern information that contribute to answering the questions posed. This section moves from a brief quantitative presentation of pattern information (the presentation of pattern information on the broad scale) to a more detailed qualitative presentation of pattern information, with in depth references to specific patterns and how they demonstrate the changes observable in patterns of the period as impacted on by Hollywood and the Second World War.

The thesis is an attempt to begin to understand the impact of home dressmaking in the lives of women, how certain companies sought to exploit opportunities that presented themselves to provide women with the practical means to emulate and bring to life celebrity fantasies through emulating their clothes.

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3

Chapter One: Emulation and the consumer dream- A Theoretical and

methodological outline:

This chapter will present and discuss the nature and perceived usefulness of the theoretical and methodological approaches that will be applied to the sources (Hollywood Pattern Company dressmaking patterns from 1939 to 1945) throughout the duration of this thesis. From a theoretical perspective, there are three levels of theory that will be applied and form the structure through which the patterns and their impact will be examined and understood. The theories themselves are broadly drawn from the sphere of economic theory but coming from a more sociological viewpoint rather than a pure economic perspective, drawing on ideas around consumption, and the needs that drive consumption, emulation, and desire. The theorists utilised here will be, firstly Veblen and his ideas of pecuniary consumption and emulation.2 His theories will form the base layer of the economic theory used in this thesis. Secondly the theories of Benjamin surrounding the auras of objects and the changes that take place when mass production produces numerous copies.3 Thirdly Campbell’s ideas of fantasy and desire as drivers of consumption and the formation of escapism provide the final layer for examining dressmaking patterns from the 1930s and 1940s.4 These theories will build upon each other, interlinking and complementing to provide a theoretical perspective that will be implemented later in the thesis to provide a nuanced examination and interaction with the Hollywood Pattern Company and its products.

The methodological approach is that of a material culture approach which is appropriate for the study of objects, their historical usage, composition and importance or value throughout the past.

Utilising various aspects of the material culture approach, including the developing of and utilisation of observation, categorisation and analysis of objects, their appearance and stylistic characteristics, helps unpack and facilitates the examination of dressmaking patterns as an important historical source.5 The material cultural approach links well with the theories used as both concern objects, their consumption, production and usage by society and how they are representative of the culture of the time. In this instance the examination of the material culture approach will consider the pertinence of using it for examining dressmaking patterns, the steps taken to develop the methodological procedures and questions to be asked of it, the issues of dressmaking patterns as a source as well as the analytical perspective to be taken in later chapters in extracting and analysing the patterns.

2 Veblen, 1899, pg 16.

3 Benjamin, 1998, pg 1.

4 Campbell, 2018, pg 141.

5 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 1.

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This chapter will present the theoretical and methodological structures as separate sections;

however, they will also be presented as linking and building on one another to be used conjointly to analyse the sources that form the core for examining home dressmaking as impacted by Hollywood, the celebrity cult of the time and the Second World War.

Thorstein Veblen and Emulation:

Veblen’s work that will be utilised in forming part of the theoretical approaches is that of ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class’.6 This is an important work in economic theory and was published in 1899; throughout this work Veblen develops his ideas around the drivers of consumption, linking to ideas of class and status, including two key points that of “pecuniary emulation” and

“conspicuous consumption”.7

As stated earlier, Veblen’s ideas provided the basis for the socio-economic theory employed in this thesis, as a way of understanding ideas of drivers of consumption upon which the Benjamin and Campbell ideas can be layered. Veblen initially starts with examining what he considers to be the development of the idea of ownership, which is largely associated with the development and progress of society.8 Veblen goes on to develop his ideas about how this progression in societal development began to lead to ideas about the link between social status and the ownership of objects or goods, particularly around ideas of private property “wherever institutions of private property is found… the economic process bears the character of a struggle between men for the possession of goods”.9 Here Veblen is clearly talking about how the development of the economic progress and process that comes about as society develops fosters the need for possession of goods (in order to carry on the economic process) but that this continually creates a point of contention between men, a need to be better or ‘possess’ more than those around them.

Veblen goes on to examine and develop ideas about what this drive of economic process in creating and continuing consumption, essentially the beginning and development of capitalism in driving consumption.10 He talks about the hierarchy of wants and needs that consumption meets at initial levels, but that capitalism drives- striving for the next level.11 Veblen conceptualises this as

“Consumption may be conceived to serve the consumer’s physical wants and his so-called higher wants spiritual, aesthetic, intellectual etc. latter class of wants served indirectly by an expenditure

6 Veblen, 1899, pg vii.

7 Veblen, 1899, pg vii.

8 Veblen, 1899, 20.

9 Veblen, 1899, pg 21.

10 Veblen, 1899, 22.

11 Veblen, 1899, pg 22.

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5 of goods”. 12For Veblen, the initial wants that consumption meets, those of the physical wants, are driven by societal development (and economic development as capitalism develops) to begin to fulfil the criteria of non-essential wants, which can often only be achieved by, as Veblen says, paying for objects. It is this meeting of non-essential wants, that drives the struggle for possession of goods- driving increasing competition and consumption (of objects, resources, and materials).

Veblen begins to develop this into ideas of emulation of aspects of society (that are tied to class), thus he asserts “The motive that lies at the root of ownership is emulation”.13 For Veblen this is at the heart of the key ideas surrounding the theories of the leisure class, that of emulation and its role in consumption.

Veblen, in introducing ideas of emulation as being key to ownership, states that

The possession of goods, whether acquired aggressively by one’s own exertion or passively by transmission through inheritance from others, becomes a conventional basis, of

reputability.…Wealth is now itself intrinsically honourable and confers honour on its possessor.14

He espouses the idea that the ownership of objects becomes the indicator of wealth (valued by capitalist societies), which in turn is an indicator of honour and status within society. He develops this theory further in his chapter on pecuniary (monetary) emulation.15 As such pecuniary emulation becomes a driver across capitalist society for consumption for a specific reason, that of competition and emulation of social status across society. So, Veblen indicates that individuals in society are constantly wanting to emulate those around them, this applies to those of the same social status and those above in standing16. Veblen argues that…

So soon as the possession of property becomes the basis of popular esteem, therefore, it becomes also a requisite to that complacency which we call self-respect.…In order to his own peace of mind, that an individual should possess as large a portion of goods as others with who he is accustomed to class himself.17

In participating in emulation of society, the ownership of objects confers status and becomes the marker of community respect but also self-respect, to maintain or gain social standing, a person must emulate through the possession of objects that confer status.

In discussing the maintenance of pecuniary emulation through object consumption, Veblen affirms that because of this an individual can never be satisfied, either with emulation or their social

12 Veblen, 1899, pg 22.

13 Veblen, 1899, pg 22.

14 Veblen, 1899, pg 24.

15 Veblen, 1899, pg 20.

16 Veblen, 1899, pg 25.

17 Veblen, 1899, pg 25.

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status.18 This continual dissatisfaction, even when successfully achieving emulation continues as Veblen indicates

As long as the comparison is distinctly unfavourable to himself, the normal average individual will live in chronic dissatisfaction with his present lot… this chronic dissatisfaction will give place to a restless straining to place a wider and ever widening pecuniary interval between him and this average standard.19

Veblen indicates that this dissatisfaction with social standing happens regardless of whether the people are on the same social standing or not. Veblen says this continues to drive consumption and thus emulation because of the “Power conferred by wealth also affords a motive to accumulation… describing comparison of persons with a view to rating or grading them in respect of relative worth or value.”20 For Veblen, the power and status that comes with consumption, and the ownership of objects cannot simply be solved by emulation, people are continually driven to strive for the next level, to achieve and strive to constantly emulate those around them and above them, thus they are never satisfied with the objects they accumulate, driving further consumption.

Veblen’s theories of pecuniary emulation of social standing and respect along with how this drives the capitalist consumption of objects are a good base theory for examining the patterns produced by the Hollywood Pattern Company, that were associated and tied with specific actresses and studios. Veblen’s theories can be used to examine what these patterns were allowing the women who purchased them to do, that of emulating the clothes of their favourite actresses, imitating the look and feel of haute couture clothing; whilst these patterns were not aimed at the absolute poorest in society, they were aimed at ordinary women with some disposable income and leisure time in which to create the garments. This idea of emulating the look and feel of this style of clothing is important as the aura associated with these actresses with- the status of power, beauty, and the prestige of someone worth emulating, the patterns were allowing everyday women to access or associate with some of that status by creating garments presented as being similar to those which Hollywood actresses wore- however this would only occur because the actresses were worth emulating.

Walter Benjamin and the Reproduction of Art:

Benjamin and his article ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ which was published in 1935, is the second theorist to be utilised as part of this thesis21. His theories provided

18 Veblen, 1899, pg 26.

19 Veblen, 1899, pg 26.

20 Veblen, 1899, pg 26-27.

21 Benjamin, 1998, pg 1.

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7 the next level in terms of delving deeper in examining consumption of objects applicable to the examination of the Hollywood Pattern Company. Benjamin’s broader theories are aimed at examining art.22 Particularly he is focused on the way society views art and its reproduction, dissemination, production, and reception.23 Benjamin’s particular focus is that the arrival of mechanical reproduction techniques (such as Lithography, photography, and film) adversely affected the authenticity of the ‘auras’ of objects of art.24 Indeed, Benjamin describes the artistic aura as “that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction”.25 Benjamin goes on to explore the reasons for this and its impact on society.

Benjamin exploration of the role of mechanical reproduction in the loss of aura of art is connected both to the arrival of the modern age as well as what Benjamin refers to as process reproduction (the mechanical reproduction process of the title).26 This process reproduction is that of mass production, Benjamin argues that it can “bring out aspects of the original that are unattainable to the naked eye”.27 However, process reproduction creates a degradation in the aura of objects of art due to the fact that “technical reproductions can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of place for the original itself”.28 Consequently Benjamin argues this contributes to the loss of the aura imbued in the original in the reproduced copy. Due to this reproduction and of putting copies into situations where the objects would not normally have been, Benjamin argues that “it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence”.29 The creation of the copies then according to Benjamin simply creates degradation in the objects uniqueness due to having gone from being the ‘only one’, to the creation of many copies- which means the aura of original is not maintained nor acquired by the copies.

Benjamin also argues that this degradation of object aura’s affects the way that society produces and views art, but that this also further drives the changes in aura.30 He states that

the social bases of the contemporary decay of the aura is driven by the increasing significance of the masses in contemporary life … their desire to bring things closer spatially and humanly- removing some of the distance that makes auras of historical and natural objects unique.31

22 Benjamin, 1998, pg 3.

23 Benjamin, 1998, pg 3-4.

24 Benjamin, 1998, pg 4.

25 Benjamin, 1998, pg 6.

26 Benjamin, 1998, pg 5-6.

27 Benjamin, 1998, pg 5.

28 Benjamin, 1998, pg 5-6.

29 Benjamin, 1998, pg 6.

30 Benjamin, 1998, pg 8.

31 Benjamin, 1998, pg 8.

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For Benjamin it is the public’s need for ownership (and perhaps on a related note emulation) that drives the mass production of copies because they want to bring art that previously was inaccessible to them (or only accessible through public spaces such as museums) into a format or for a price that is accessible, but for Benjamin the “mechanical reproduction of art changes the reaction of the masses toward art”.32 For most people, as Benjamin has proposed this only happens when copies are made. However, this need to bring art closer, the mass process reproductions, and the changes in the way people view art creates a spiral of sorts. This spiral is the need of ordinary people to continually have access to mass reproductions, to feel as if they are bringing the new desirable art closer, so this continues to create new reproduced pieces of art- continuing the spiral of aura degradation of the original pieces and the primary, secondary, and tertiary copies.

With Benjamin’s ideas about the degradation of auras of objects of art and how people seem to continue to want or need to access this, there are two authors who have illustrated how this idea can be applied to other areas. Firstly, Arthur Asa Berger in his book ‘What Objects Mean: An introduction to Material Culture’ demonstrates the variety of objects that Benjamin’s theory can be applied to besides art- (so in that sense all desirable unique objects hold an ‘aura’).33 Berger argues that “Benjamin’s notion about auras can be applied, with a slight twist, to all manner of artifacts, especially name brand ones like watches, handbags, perfumes, and clothing”.34 In particular when talking about clothing, Berger specifically references the aura of branded goods, because the original branded clothes (many of which are associated with certain celebrities) have an ‘aura’ about them.35 As Benjamin has indicated about artworks, these types of clothing are susceptible to being reproduced en masse.36 This fact means that multiple copies are produced of objects that are highly desirable to consumers around the globe, however they lack the aura of the original and in consequence the aura of the original and the subsequent copies can enter a spiral of decline.37 As Berger indicates on this “For the people who use these knock offs, the fact that they are using imitations is of little concern”.38 So for Berger, people who use copies of the high branded clothes do not necessarily care that they are using imitations, for them all they care about is the look and feel of the clothes and the status that having a branded object brings even if it is not authentic (which suggests that copied branded clothing in particular has some aura, otherwise there would not be such a market in it and people would not spend money purchasing it). Berger’s interpretation of Benjamin’s ideas can be applied to the Hollywood Pattern Company and their products as this

32 Benjamin, 1998, pg 21.

33 Berger, 2016, pg 85.

34 Berger, 2016, pg 85.

35 Berger, 2016, pg 85.

36 Berger, 2016, pg 85.

37 Berger, 2016, pg 85.

38 Berger, 2016, pg 86.

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9 is what they are allowing women to do, create clothing that gives the look and feel of haute couture clothing (the patterns are effectively copies of what the celebrities were wearing). These women probably did not care that what they would end up wearing was not the true haute couture clothing of the stars, as long as it gave them the ability to emulate the look and feel of high end clothing, that was what mattered. The decline in the ‘aura’ can itself be part of the process of driving emulation in that people who style themselves as trend setters or influencers in the modern parlance must look for new exclusives to distinguish themselves from everyone else, which then in turn gets emulated.

The second set of authors to utilise Benjamin’s theories are Stephen Gundle and Clino T.

Castelli in their book ‘The Glamour System’.39 Gundle and Castelli discuss Benjamin’s theories in relation to the rise and popularity of cinema in the 1930s, particularly in relation to the glamour of the film industry and film stars.40 When discussing Benjamin’s ideas, Gundle and Castelli argue that the loss of aura affects imagination “The problem is without aura, imagination is impoverished and commercial potential undermined”.41 This is particularly problematic for Hollywood- being an industry that thrives and drives consumption of both its films and tie in products. Gundle and Castelli are arguing that a consumer’s ability to interact and created imagined scenarios is directly linked to the aura of an object, for without the aura the imagination cannot interact with the object in the same way, and this affects the desirability and consumption of these products.42 However, Gundle and Castelli indicate that Hollywood created a way round this lack of aura in the copies of objects they created, Gundle and Castelli argue that “Glamour therefore is the manufactured aura of capitalist society, the dazzling illusion that compensates for authenticity and reinforces consumerism as a way of life”.43 For Hollywood, Gundle and Castelli demonstrate that the creation of glamour made an object desirable, glamour provides the illusion and is located in its associations with actresses who are glamourous. The aura of glamour is inauthentic (as Gundle and Castelli say, manufactured) that can only come through mass reproduction but also through mass marketing- both phenomena associated heavily with the modern age. The glamour aura of the object is what makes the object desirable and thus consumable on a large scale, through glamour, as Gundle and Castelli indicate, Hollywood can emphasise consumerism and advertise their tie in products as holding the glamour consumers seek. The aura of the object fed off the glamour of the star and the glamour of the star was added to by the aura of the object.

39 Gundle and Castelli, 2006, pg 9.

40 Gundle and Castelli, 2006, pg 9.

41 Gundle and Castelli, 2006, pg 9.

42 Gundle and Castelli, 2006, pg 9.

43 Gundle and Castelli, 2006, pg 9.

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10

Berger, along with Gundle and Castelli s interpretations and usage of Benjamin’s theory of aura provide an important point for understanding the production, consumption, and usage of the Hollywood Pattern Company’s patterns. Women cannot buy the actual clothes worn by the stars (that are glamourous both because they are haute couture and because they are worn by actresses synonymous with glamour). Instead, the Hollywood Pattern Company is providing them a way of gaining access to the manufactured glamour aura of Hollywood, by allowing them to create close to copies (or outfits inspired by the stars) to gain access to that aura that they desire. These patterns do not have the actual aura desired by the women, but they are the ‘illusion’ that means their imagination is not affected through not being able to access objects with a glamour aura. Gundle and Castelli’s link between the lack of aura, the creation of the glamour aura and consumer imagination ties in very well with the theories of Campbell to be discussed next.

Colin Campbell and the Creation of Fantasy and Desire through Objects:

The final layer of theory is that of Campbell and his notions of consumption of objects as driven by fantasies, dreams and desire.44 For Campbell, desirable objects allow the owner to dream or imagine a better life, interaction with these objects create “the pleasurable dramas which they have already enjoyed in imagination”.45 So, in Campbell’s view the objects often create or sustain imagined dreams because of the objects symbolism or allow the owners to interact with in their mind. But Campbell argues that the relationship between objects and the imagination has to have specific interaction in order to work, “dynamic interaction between illusion and reality is key to understanding modern consumerism … tension between the two creating longing as permanent mode”.46 For Campbell the interaction between illusion and reality, the object and the imagination, is the key to understanding how modern consumers view and buy objects, via the demand created, indeed he further goes on to specify “concomitant sense of dissatisfaction with the ‘what is’ and yearning for ‘something better’’.47 Campbell is demonstrating that in driving and maintaining consumption, the objects need to be desirable to create the longing in consumers between what the objects promise them and what their lives actually are. It is important that the objects fuel the imagination thus driving the need in the consumers to ‘consume’ a particular product, the imagination is an as important part of the experience as actually owning and using the object.

However, what Campbell also indicates here is that you do not want the imagined fantasies and

44 Campbell, 2018, pg 141.

45 Campbell, 2018, pg 145.

46 Campbell, 2018, pg 145.

47 Campbell, 2018, pg 145.

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11 dramas (that bring pleasure to the consumer) to be completely fulfilled through buying the desirable objects, the fantasies need to be enhanced by the objects but not completed; for the companies producing the objects, it is about keeping the fantasies far enough out of reach that people keep on buying the products, but fulfilling them enough that consumers will buy the objects in the first place48. Campbell also seems to indicate that fantasy fulfilment and fantasy continuation are important to the consumer as it fuels the escapism and pleasure of object driven dreams.

Campbell’s idea of desirable objects creating in the mind of consumers dreams and fantasies that can only be partially fulfilled through purchasing particular objects is particularly pertinent for studying Hollywood, celebrity, and the Hollywood Pattern Company’s impact. Hollywood was a dream machine, it created desirable exotic fantasies, particularly focused on the people, experiences and places portrayed in its films, as well as in creating the aura surrounding the actresses of the studios. These women were the starting point, the original desirable consumable object, everything about the actresses was meant to be consumable, both on screen and off screen (particularly through tie in products). These tie in products exemplify Campbell’s ideas of objects creating desire and fantasies as they allow women to create and indulge in the fantasies of being like or looking like their favourite actresses through buying skin care, makeup and clothing advertised or bearing the image or promise of making ordinary women into film stars. The tie in products allowed some but not complete fantasy fulfilment, this created a drive to continue to consume the tie in products to maintain, sustain and continue to fuel the fantasy. In some sense each drives the other, consumption of the tie in products drives production, but the creation of the products and the creation of the star system and desirability of objects drives fantasies and consumption. These tie in products were allowing women to create and fuel fantasies of what their life might be, of achieving better lives, more money, more desirable partners, more glamourous clothes and even allowing the women to create associations and have things in common with the actresses, thus beginning to foster an imagined community between the actresses and their audience (even if this was only one way).

Part of this fantasy driven consumption relied heavily on the starting point, the actresses and how they were nurtured to become a desirable commodity. Purdy discusses an interesting point around consumption driven by sentimental literature in the Eighteenth-Century German Empire, particularly utilising Campbell’s idea of fantasy driven consumption.49 The sentimental literature achieved this through a discussion of the desirable consumable objects found in high society abroad (through societal journals) and in literature such as that written by Goethe.50 He raises the point

48 Campbell, 2018, pg 141, 144.

49 Purdy, 1998, pg 23.

50 Purdy, 1998, pg 24.

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12

how literature during this period encouraged and “provided a journalistic alternative to the stylistic examples set by the royal courts”.51 This idea can also be applied to Hollywood and their production of consumable goods and messages of consumption encouraged through their films and activities.

Hollywood was, as Purdy argued of sentimental literature, providing an alternative to previously aristocratically dominated ideas of taste and style particularly during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. In many senses Hollywood had created a new royal court that, alongside Paris, had become a trend setter and point of emulation in fashion.

Campbell’s ideas about objects driving fantasy, desire and the imagination which then drives consumption, when applied to Hollywood and glamour, link well to those of Gundle and Castelli about glamour and the inauthentic aura of glamour created by Hollywood during the 1930s. The glamour of the actresses was often faked, they often maintained little of their original life (with most changing their name, looks and accent once signed by a studio). Thus, the Hollywood Pattern Company seeks to benefit from the fake aura of Hollywood and the actresses, through creating imitations of their clothing (also the Hollywood Pattern Company is in itself creating a fake aura of glamour through its patterns by evoking the haute couture feeling of those garments worn by Hollywood actresses). The fake aura of Hollywood and that of the patterns provide the producer and wearer of the garments from the patterns with an association with the aura of the Hollywood actresses, thus creating the fantasy of feeling like a Hollywood actress (with everything that went along with that fantasy- even if they were only imitating or emulating the clothing) and fostering a sense of imagined community between the wearer and the actresses embodied on the pattern envelope.

The ways in which objects and the feelings they create have been examined by theorists as drivers of economy and consumption are important in providing the theoretical structure of this thesis. The important of patterns as objects and as sources of material culture will be explored in the subsequent section on the material cultural approach to studying sources. This section will cover what material culture is, how it is studied, what types of objects can be examined, the fields and areas of history that have best utilised this approach in relation to the sources of this thesis, as well as the research questions, an overview of the sources (the patterns) to be examined here, and the analytical approaches that will be utilised later in the thesis. This section aims to present how the methodological tools of studying material culture can be used in conjunction with theoretical approaches to analyses the impact of Hollywood Company patterns on American women during the Second World War.

51 Purdy, 1998, pg 26.

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13 Material Culture Methodology:

Material culture is the study of objects, especially those which have been produced over time by human cultures.52 The object record is studied in a variety of fields in order to elucidate and understand the past. In their research guide on material culture, Longair and Hannan indicate the important role of objects in society, “Objects influence our needs and define our aspirations- drives of consumption, status and progress”.53 As the authors are indicating here, objects influence our needs (and as Veblen demonstrated our wants as well), however because objects are things that can be owned they also have the ability to fulfil theses needs and wants, as the authors demonstrate this influence on the needs and aspirations of consumers actively drives consumption. They also indicate (as Veblen demonstrated) that objects can generate social status for their owners and allow them to gain social standing and progress.54 Longair and Hannan also argue that “objects also frame our experiences and are constitutive of them”.55 Objects are an important constituent in human experiences across time and can show how experiences have changed across time. These points by Longair and Hannan show why objects are important as a source of study, the objects can provide insights into the lives of their owners (what issues were important, what status they held or what status they aspired to hold) as well as expressing issues that were culturally important at the time.

Objects thus tell historians important things about the past, that might be more difficult to obtain from traditional source- for instance, those histories that are not captured in traditional historical records.

In examining the material record and gathering sources it is important to acknowledge the perishability of sources, and how this can affect the material record for certain sources. Indeed, Longair and Hannan indicate that there are several aspects that can affect the historical record for objects “There are two main factors that determine survival: material composition and societal value… different perceptions of value (economic, cultural, or social).”56 So, it is important to consider the materiality of objects and how this may affect their survival and state they are in.

Furthermore, an object’s social value determines its survival- people being more likely to protect what they value, and as indicated by the authors this value can fall into several categories (economic, social and cultural).57 However, it is important to note that the value of an object can change over time, so some objects may become collectors’ objects over time, which may affect their presence

52 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 1.

53 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 1.

54 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 1.

55 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 4.

56 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 4.

57 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 4.

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14

in museum collections or their availability for study.58 These issues in relation to the sources of this thesis (the Hollywood Pattern Company dressmaking patterns) will be discussed in greater detail later.

So why is the material cultural approach appropriate for examining dressmaking patterns as the main source of this thesis? The obvious main reason is because dressmaking patterns are manmade objects, they are designed for the creation of clothing at all levels of production. In that sense they are objects in their own right that are consumed and utilised (they serve a practical purpose for the owner) for the purpose of creating a final object (in this case the garment) that is in turn also consumed by the owner. Thus, dressmaking patterns can be regarded as a two-stage object or consumable good. Whilst dressmaking patterns are used at all levels of the clothing industry, these particular patterns were designed for home usage on the low scale of home production. However, dressmaking patterns of this type are mass produced objects designed for large scale sale and consumption - they give uniqueness to the wearer because the maker can choose the fabric and some variation in style when using the pattern.

As stated previously it is important to acknowledge the perishability of objects. This is particularly pertinent is studying dressmaking patterns, because unlike some other objects of material culture the dressmaking patterns are delicate. Dressmaking patterns for home use are made from paper- which is a highly perishable material.59 Everything about dressmaking patterns is made of paper, from the pattern envelope to the instructions and pattern pieces themselves. The pattern pieces are often particularly vulnerable as they are made of thin tissue paper, which is susceptible to rips and tears, common occurrences when using dressmaking patterns. Consequently in using dressmaking patterns, the pattern pieces are often damaged, particularly if they have been used many times over; it is also impossible to return the patterns to a pristine condition- as the pattern pieces will suffer damage and they along with the instructions are impossible to put back into the envelope folded exactly as they had been when created in the factory. As such most patterns have had some level of use and some patterns can be viewed in certain states of deterioration even in museums- containing rips, tears, missing envelope flaps or missing pieces or instructions. These aspects must be considered when handling, examining and analysing dressmaking patterns as sources.

Dressmaking patterns from the late nineteenth century onwards hold a cachet as collectors’

items. There is a large market in vintage dressmaking patterns, which are often considered desirable, by collectors- particularly from people interested in reproducing historical clothing. Historical

58 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 4.

59 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 134.

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15 patterns are consequently readily purchasable on websites such as eBay and Etsy (where the patterns held in the author’s personal collection came from). The perishability and desirability of dressmaking patterns can make identifying the number of patterns produced by the Hollywood Pattern Company exceedingly difficult. Even museums and archives (such as in the Commercial Pattern Archive in Rhode Island), do not have copies of all the patterns produced by pattern companies. This can present challenges in analysing the sources, since a rigorous statistical approach is not possible, however with this limitation in mind a degree of analysis will still be possible and should be able to elucidate the nature and impact of the patterns.

When considering the developing of the methodological approaches utilised in examining material culture it is important to consider several things. According to Longair and Hannan there are several ways a material cultural methodological approach can be driven.60 This can be done through the selection of a period or theme as the starting point, the selection of a single object as the starting point or choosing a group or type of objects as the driver of the thesis.61 In the case of this Master’s thesis, the starting point chosen was the type of objects that would be the sources- that is dressmaking patterns produced by the Hollywood Pattern Company between the years 1939 and 1945. In the case of looking at this type of object, a large number were selected in order to give plenty of opportunity for analysis and comparison.

In selecting this type of object as the starting point, it is also important to note that Longair and Hannan discuss how the material culture methodology can bring about new perspectives on established and new areas of period research through objects. They argue this can be done in several ways; through examining specific objects, symbolic objects, and research where exhibition is key in examining objects with culture. For the purposes of this thesis, it is interesting to consider the aspect of symbolic objects and the case study provided by Longair and Hannan.62 The case study they provide is by Matt Houlbrook, who looks at the symbolism of the powderpuff in newspaper reports of the trials of homosexual men in interwar Britain.63 Whilst Longair and Hannan demonstrate that Houlbrook does not directly look at the powderpuff as an object (he uses no direct examples of this object), he does look at what the powderpuff symbolised in trial reports and newspapers regarding homosexuality in this period.64 The patterns could also be viewed as symbolic, both of the actresses on the pattern envelope, as well as the fantasies and imagined community created through buying and using the patterns. These garments can be seen as symbolic

60 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 44-46.

61 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 44-46.

62 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 82-85.

63 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 83-85.

64 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 83-85.

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16

as those worn by the actresses as well as emulating the look and feel of the actresses and their clothing. This is in addition to their core use as a means of producing clothing to be worn.

Longair and Hannan also discuss how the material cultural approach has been utilised to give voice to experiences that otherwise have been left out of other more traditional records.65 Indeed, a field they say has utilised the approach well is that of women’s or gender history.66 This is important to the theoretical, methodological approaches used here, as well as the main focus of this thesis, because it is concerned with an area that is largely associated with women- that of home sewing and dressmaking patterns. However, this thesis is trying to analysis women’s deeper experiences of using dressmaking patterns, and it is examining the impact of these specific objects on women’s experiences and the agency that these objects gave women through fantasy and emulation- and as an embodiment of their yearning for a better life. These objects may also demonstrate how women bought into ideas of glamour, consumerism and fantasy during this period also considering how these aspects might have changed under situations of extreme duress, that of World War Two and the restrictions of the home front.

In developing the methodological approaches, it is important to have clear established research parameters guiding and shaping research and analysis. Longair and Hannan argue that between 2 and 3 overarching research questions should be enough to guide a material cultural approach, with smaller questions to structure and analyse the sources.67 In the case of this thesis, the overarching research questions are:

1. How did the war impact on women’s fashion and dressmaking?

2. What changes in the relationship between the Hollywood Pattern Company and the Hollywood studios can be detected by an examination of the patterns of the Hollywood Pattern Company during the period 1939-1945?

3. How did the war time change in fabric restrictions and clothing styles, alongside branding, studio and actress representation throughout the Second World War affect the construction and continuation of emulation, fantasy driven desires, imagined community, and escapism between the actresses and the audiences?

Other subsidiary research questions are:

4. How did fabric restrictions affect American women’s ability to produce homemade clothing?

5. Can a response to restrictions be observed in pattern design -were patterns created requiring less fabric to produce the same looks?

65 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 32.

66 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 32.

67 Hannan and Longair, 2017, pg 47.

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17 These questions will provide the structure of the analysis of the sources further on in the thesis as well as covering the major analytical and theoretical avenues to be examined from the evidence provided by the dressmaking patterns- on topics such style, fabric, fashionable inspiration, and the influence of Hollywood on consumerism, imagined communities and dressmaking during this period.

Additionally, in developing a material cultural methodology it is important to acknowledge the decisions that went into guiding the research and selection of sources. When researching the Hollywood Pattern Company, it became apparent that the company produced patterns that both did and did not contain images of the actresses on the front of the pattern envelopes. Those patterns that did not include actresses on pattern envelope are near impossible to analyse in relation to the impact of Hollywood and actresses (in relation to certain research question), beyond the fact that they were produced by Hollywood Pattern Company they lacked any direct industry ties. For this reason, in order to be able to try and answer the research questions- examining the impact of Hollywood and to limit the overall scope of the thesis it was decided to just focus on patterns in the Commercial Pattern Archive and those which could be purchased, which contained direct reference (through photography and naming) to actual actresses, films and studios.

Once having made the decision to limit the patterns that would be analysed to only those containing direct Hollywood references, it was appropriate to begin compiling in an Excel spreadsheet (for the purposes of listing and to be able to identify more easily categories of analysis), the patterns that would be of use as sources in this thesis. Through research on the online section of the Commercial Pattern Archive in Rhode Island, 195 patterns were identified and complied that met the requisite criteria. Obviously, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and 2021, had an impact on the research undertaken for this project. Whilst the author would have liked to visit several museums and private archives in the United Kingdom to conduct research, the pandemic rules and events meant that this was not possible in the end. Neither was a desired visit to the Commercial Pattern Archive in Rhode Island, which would have provided invaluable opportunities to directly interact with more patterns and to be able to ask questions directly of those archivists who had an in depth understanding of dressmaking patterns as a whole. This issue was overcome in several ways, firstly the author endeavoured to purchase some patterns personally, a number are held in the authors possession and thus directly accessible. Secondly, the author contacted Karen Morse, Director of Distinctive Collections at the Commercial Pattern Archive to see if they would be willing to scan requested patterns.

A total of 53 patterns were requested from the archive (as the online section only contains a photograph of the front of the pattern envelopes- meaning that a lot of crucial data is missing), to

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18

try and access the complete data for them which would help in analysis. Of these 53 patterns, the archive provided scanned copies of 36 patterns. The remaining 159 patterns will also be utilised to some extent in this thesis as they can answer questions regarding actresses, studios, and stylistic changes even if they cannot answer more nuanced questions due to lack of data. In addition to this there are 14 patterns that the author holds within their personal collection and a further 17 patterns were retrieved from the internet. These patterns will also be utilised in providing extra data to answer all the research questions proposed earlier on. The author is hoping that by using 226 patterns for analysis even if they are not all providing complete information will be sufficient to answer the research questions in a satisfactory way and to provide a thought-provoking insight into an area of research that has been neglected by most fashion historians. (See Appendix 1)

For those academics and interested parties who may be worried about the intricacies and difficulties of interacting with this number of patterns from a distance (given the preference in material culture analysis of directly interacting with the source material). The author believes that by interacting directly with 14 patterns held within the author’s collection that this will alleviate some of the difficulties in examining the rest of the patterns from a distance. Thus, allowing to develop the skills and mindset necessary of observing, detailing and analysis the requires patterns.

Table 1 below gives an overview of the number of patterns examined and their different characteristics by format.

Description Number

Patterns which met the thesis parameters on the

Commercial Patterns Archive (COPA) website 195 Patterns held in the author’s own collection 14

Patterns which met the thesis parameters accessed from the internet

17 Total number of patterns available for

examination at varying levels 226 Breakdown of Analysis

Scanned copies of patterns provided by COPA 36 Patterns held in author’s own collection 14 Total number of patterns examined in detail with

access to most of the pattern elements (Envelope front and back, envelope flap, instructions and

pattern pieces)

50

Patterns examined with limited access to some of the pattern elements e.g., no pattern pieces or

instruction sheets

17

Patterns examined where the only element is the

front of the pattern envelope. 159

Table 1 Overview of sources examined. Hollywood Pattern Company, COPA Archive, author’s own collection, see Appendix 1.

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19 When analysing the dressmaking patterns in answering the research questions it is important to apply a particular approach or protocol across all patterns to extract the necessary information. For this reason, the approach that will be taken in this thesis is that proposed by Batchelor, he proposed a six-step approach for analysing objects.68 Firstly, it’s important to identify the ‘idea’ of the object- what is it for.69 Secondly the material the object is made from.70 Thirdly the manufacturing of the object.71 Fourthly the marketing of object and its broadly contemporary cultural context.72 Fifthly, the decoration and design of the object, the role this serves for the object and the owner, and how this can be interpreted.73 Sixthly the use of the object, has the object since its creation to the modern day been used.74 These steps provide particularly important aspects for the analysis of the Hollywood Patterns, the sixth-step concerning whether the object has been used during its lifetime is important because many objects as well as being status symbols actually have a purpose, so it is important to acknowledge not just the use the object was made for but whether at any point it has fulfilled this direct use. Batchelor’s approach thus gives a set of more encompassing tools to be applied to the analysis of the patterns. In applying this approach, the first three steps will probably be discussed in relation to all patterns, as they are unlikely to change with each individual pattern.

The final three stages will be dealt with in sections and will be applied to each pattern individually as these are aspects of analysis that will vary with each pattern as different information will be presented in each pattern to fulfil each of the three steps.

The theoretical and methodological approaches presented in this chapter will frame the rest of the thesis sections- the socio-economic theoretical section (with its presentation of the theories of Veblen, Benjamin, and Campbell- as well as those authors who have implemented their ideas) in particular can also be utilised in understanding the context of the period as well as actually being a framework for understanding the patterns. The methodology will be of particularly importance once direct interaction and analysis of the patterns is discuss. The next section will build upon some of theoretical ideas and applied them to the contexts of dressmaking patterns, Hollywood and its operations, and the Second World War.

68 Batchelor, 2003, pg 140.

69 Batchelor, 2003, pg 140.

70 Batchelor, 2003, 140.

71 Batchelor, 2003, 140.

72 Batchelor, 2003, pg 141.

73 Batchelor, 2003, pg 142.

74 Batchelor, 2003, pg 142.

References

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