Making Do: Britons and the Refashioning of the Postwar World

Imagine a world in which clothing wasn't superabundant – cheap, disposable, indestructible – but perishable, threadbare and chronically scarce. Eighty years ago, when World War II ended, a textile famine loomed. What would everyone wear as uniforms were discarded and soldiers returned home, Nazi camps were liberated, and millions of uprooted people struggled to subsist? In this richly textured history, Carruthers unpicks a familiar wartime motto, 'Make Do and Mend', to reveal how central fabric was to postwar Britain. Clothes and footwear supplied a currency with which some were rewarded, while others went without. Making Do moves from Britain's demob centres to liberated Belsen – from razed German cities to refugee camps and troopships – to uncover intimate ties between Britons and others bound together in new patterns of mutual need. Filled with original research and personal stories, Making Do illuminates how lives were refashioned after the most devastating war in human history.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; 1. Victors; 2. Survivors; 3. Veterans; 4. Protestors; 5. Germans; 6. Workers; 7. Brides; Conclusion; Epilogue.

About the Author :
Susan L. Carruthers is Professor of US and International History at the University of Warwick. Much of her work focuses on war and the ways in which individuals, and societies more broadly, have made sense of conflict and its aftermath. She is the author of six previous books, including Dear John: Love and Loyalty in Wartime America (Cambridge University Press, 2022) and The Good Occupation: American Soldiers and the Hazards of Peace (2016).

Review :
'This is a necessary inoculation for anyone prone to nostalgia. Making Do is proof that clothing is always a reflection of the human condition - especially when those conditions are dire. Carruthers deftly brings the historic significance of wartime down to the human level, with entertaining interludes and well-researched stories that will make you question your own relationship to your garments.' Avery Trufelman, host and producer of Articles of Interest 'From Land Girl breeches to demob suits, austerity chic to Dior's New Look, Making Do follows the fascinating story of bodies in motion, through air raids, rationing and recycling, as a nation sought to dress the part for war and peace.' Alan Allport, author of Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War, 1938–1941 'Garments are our 'social skin'. This engaging, intimate history of the social and political life of clothing and footwear reveals human vulnerability, resilience, and adaptability in a way that changes the way we think of the postwar world.' Joanna Bourke, author of What It Means to Be Human 'brilliantly researched and beautifully written' Kathryn Hughes, The Sunday Times 'drawing on an impressive array of sources, Carruthers has written a book that is important and relevant to a very wide audience' BBC History Magazine