Vintage stylein the 1940s focused on a narrow waist worn withfull skirtsthat were pleated, flared or gathered and fell below the knee, with belts emphasizing an hourglass figure.

Sometimes these Land Girls expressed a preference for the type of work they would do, desiring to work particularly with the land, animals or machinery. For other women this type of work would have been entirely new to them. Despite the positive, jolly image of the Land Army we often see portrayed, the work itself was hard and often very physical.

Theland girlwould also swap out her regulation40s stylegreen sweater for a bobble-embellished or popcorn knit confection in bubble gum pink or sky blue, layered over her sensible brown overalls. The Women's Land Army (WLA) made a significant contribution to boosting Britain's food production during the Second World War.

There was a Land Army uniform of green jumpers, brown breeches or dungarees, brown felt hats and khaki overcoats. As the Land Army was not a military force, however, uniform was not compulsory. The WLA badge depicted a wheat sheaf as a symbol of their agricultural work. There was also an official magazine The Land Girl, and a special song: fashionranged from the glamour of the Hollywood pin-up starlet to the working wear of theland girl. Although the information on the cards is very brief – certainly more so than on a conventional service record – each of these small insights can start to build a picture of someone’s life and wartime service. When she was off duty,40s styleicon Rita Hayworth embodied androgynous40s fashionwith herhigh waistwide legged trousers worn over mannish button-down shirts, flat brogues and roguishly tilted berets. 40s Ladies FashionSilhouette

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The WLA had originally been set up in 1917 but disbanded at the end of the First World War. It reformed in June 1939. Women were initially asked to volunteer to serve in the Land Army and, from December 1941, could also be conscripted into land work. At its peak in 1944, there were more than 80,000 women – often known as 'land girls' – in the WLA.