Daywear, 1942 and 1916

As a massive fan of 1940s fashion, I have decided to revisit the topic. This time, I decided to portray the more pragmatic and simplistic wartime fashion in the earlier years of the decade. World War II and the subsequent rationing caused clothing shortages, as a result many people recycled their older outfits. Thus many fashion trends of the early 1940s were in fact leftover items from the previous decade.

The first lady's outfit is an example of the recycled trends during World War II. Her simplistic shirt dress dates from the late 1930s, as do her tilt brim hat and shoes. Her shoes are sturdy lace-up, a style that was popular during the Great Depression and World War II, due to pragmatism. In contrast the next lady was more fortunate and able to obtain the latest trends. Her sheath dress, pillbox ha, and peep-toe pumps are the latest fashion of 1942.

The gentleman is wearing a charcoal three-piece pinstripe suit and matching fedora, typical of the 1930s and 40s. The final lady is a blend of chic and recycled trends. Although her peplum suit and hat are of the latest fashion for 1942, her pumps are from the 1930s.

In the previous World War, consumers were faced with the same problems obtaining clothing. Many people similarly recycled fashion from the earlier part of the decade. The first lady's dress dates from the early 1910s and is an example of this recycling, while the second was more fortunate to obtain a trendy one. Both are wearing a tea dresses or afternoon dresses. The tea dress or afternoon  dress was worn during the afternoon, for tea time, as its name suggests. It was lighter and more comfortable than a day suit, but less formal than an evening gown. However, due to the clothing shortages caused by the war, some practical ladies began wearing tea dresses to formal events as opposed to lavish evening gowns. This was similar to how some women during World War II wore suits instead of gowns to formal events.

The final lady and gentleman are wearing the respective day suits of the 1910s. The lady's suit consists of a jacket, ankle-length skirt, hat, and boots. Over the gentleman's suit, he wears a frock coat and accessorizes his outfit with a homburg hat. The lady is handing him a white feather, part of a government campaign to encourage young men to enlist. The program involved young women handing the symbol of a cock too weak to fight, a white feather to young men in uniform. The movement turned into a huge embarrassment, since many of the recipients were in fact wounded veterans and crucial war effort workers. The British government was considering launching the campaign again in World War II, but after the humiliation of last time, chose not to.

In other news, in time for the landmark Scottish decision to remain part of the United Kingdom, I have completed my depiction of the Battle of Bannockburn which I called Plains of Fire. Scottish historian Walter Bower wrote "Let Scotland’s warcraft be this: footsoldiers, mountain and marshy ground;
and let her woods, her bow and spear serve for barricades. Let menace lurk in all her narrow places among her warrior bands, and let her plains so burn with fire that enemies flee away. Crying out in the night, let her men be on their guard, and her enemies in confusion will flee form hunger’s sword. Surely it will be so, as we’re guided by Robert, our lord." I would like my scene from the Scottish War of Independence 700 years ago be a representation of how far the English and Scots have come.

800 years ago, another great battle of the Middle Ages was fought in France between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The King in Peril at Bouvines is a scene of a crucial moment from that battle. King Phillip II Augustus has been pulled from his horse and surrounded by Flemish pikemen, while two of his knights Pierre Tristan(right) and Galon de Montigny(left) hurry to his aid. Fortunately for the King of France, his armor protected him against the enemy's weapons and the two knights were able to save their downed sovereign.

Mongol Cavalry, 1219 and Greek Trireme, 480 BC

Above are some of the most formidable horsemen the world has ever seen: those of Genghis Khan’s Mongol horde. The term “Mongols” refers to a confederacy of Turkic and Mongolian tribes, first united in 1206 by Temujin, better known by his title the “Great Khan” or “Genghis Khan.” Their prowess as horsemen was evident in their conquest of the largest land empire in the history of the world. These horsemen are dated from 1219, when Genghis Khan invaded the Khwarezmian Empire in Central Asia.

First, is a heavy cavalryman. He and his horse are encased in armor made of iron strips laced together, known as lamellar. He is armed with a mace, although Mongol heavy cavalry were also armed with sabers, lances, and axes. He is also armed with a bow, like almost all Mongol cavalry, because the Mongol cavalry tactics involved withering their enemies down with arrows, before swiftly closing for close-quarters combat. He also carriers a shield, although it is likely that the Mongols only carried a shield for dismounted combat.

Two light cavalrymen are pictured next. The first is armed with a lance and like the heavy cavalryman his quiver is empty, as he depleted his arrows before switching to his secondary melee weapons. His lance has a hook, which was used to unhorse mounted enemies. Light cavalry could also be armed with javelins, as they preferred to avoid hand-to-hand combat. They normally only engaged in close-quarters combat after the heavy cavalry had delivered the coup-de-grace. They would only serve to follow through with the attack and then harry the retreating enemy.

The final rider is armed with the preferred weapon of the Mongol cavalry, especially light: the composite bow and arrow. The Central Asian tribes were renowned for horse archery and the Mongols were no exception. The Mongols used a composite bow, carried down from Ancient times. Although short, the composite bow was extremely powerful with its recurve action. The Mongols also developed a special thumb ring with a nock, this allowed the archer to pull the arrow back beyond his ear, giving the shot more accuracy and even greater power.

In a typical battle, the Mongol horse archers would begin by harassing the enemy, when the enemy pursued, the Mongol archers skillfully turned around in their saddles and shot their arrows back at their pursuers. Since this clever tactic was made famous by Parthians of Antiquity, it has become known as the “Parthian Shot.” If the enemy continued to pursue, they would lead them into an ambush. Such skillful tactics helped the Mongols conquer the greatest land empire in history.

Next, is the iconic vessel of the Classical World: the Trireme. This is a Greek, specifically an Athenian trireme from 480 BC, the year of the decisive naval Battle of Salamis.

The triremes are called what they are, because they carry three banks of rowers. The ship was primarily oar-powered. Although this trireme is pictured with its sails set, the sails were usually only hoisted for long journeys. In battle, they were lowered and relied entirely on oar-power.

A trireme had a crew of about 200: a trierarch or captain, a kybernetes(helmsman), two taxiarchs(lieutenants), a prorates(lookout), a keleustes(boatswain), a naupegos(shipwright), a pentekontarchos(qusrtermaster), an auletes(piper who sounded the rhythm of the oars), 10 hoplites and 4 archers serving as epibatai(marines), ten sailors to hoist the sails, and 170 rowers.

Contrary to popular belief, the Ancient Greeks did not normally employ slaves as oarsmen. Instead, the rowers were poorer citizens who could not afford to serve as fully armed and armored hoplites. In times of need, the epibatai hoplites were also employed as rowers. In rare instances of emergency, slaves were employed as rowers.

Three officers are shown on deck, while the kybernetes is at the stern operating the steering oars. On the front of the trireme is its primary weapon: a bronze ram. The ram could be used in a two main ways: they could ram the enemy ship’s hull or stern, sinking the ship or they could be used to destroy the enemy’s oars, immobilizing the vessel and then perhaps board the vessel. The Athenian triremes in the 4^th Century BC, Athenian triremes were equipped thirty spare oars to be prepared for the common dilemma of broken oars.

I featured triremes like this in my scene titled The Battle of Salamis, my depiction of the namesake watershed battle.

I also featured this scene, along with depictions of the concurrent land battles of Marathon and Thermopylae for an exclusive interview and co-commentary about the Greco-Persian Wars with my brother, an Ancient Greek enthusiast.

The video may be found here.