Myth #1: Rosie the Riveter is the person depicted in the iconic ‘We Can Do It!’ poster created by a graphic artist J. Howard Miller.

No! Rosie the Riveter is a fictional character that represents all those women who worked in American factories and shipyards during the Second World War. It first appeared in a Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb 1942 song of the same name, which soon became a national hit. Norman Rockwell contributed to the popularity of the character by designing a female factory worker with the name ‘Rosie’ on her lunch box. After his image was featured on the Saturday Evening Post cover on May 29, 1943, women engaged in activities like welding, riveting, filling munitions, electrical work and other jobs traditionally carried out by men, were all referred to as Rosies.

Myth #2: The so-called ‘Rosie the Riveter poster’ was used to invite women to join the war effort.

Not at all. Westinghouse’s internal War Production Co-ordinating Committee assigned Miller to create several posters strictly for the company’s internal use. They were meant to encourage already hired female employees to work harder and boost production. After being displayed for a couple of weeks in February 1943, it vanished from sight for nearly four decades. Besides, the ‘We Can Do It!’ poster originally was not linked to any women nicknamed Rosie.

Myth #3: The authentic Rosie the Riveter look is the one that we see in Miller’s poster ‘We Can Do It’.

Not exactly. While Miller illustrates only one outfit, Rosie the Riveter look could be much more than just rolled-up sleeves and a red polka dot headband.

Rosie the Riveter look

To begin with, Rosie needed some hard-wearing work clothes. That meant she had to lay her delicate skirts and dresses aside. Because trousers were not a part of Rosie’s wardrobe, she initially adapted men’s clothes for her own use. However, manufacturers of workwear soon offered several models of denim trousers, overalls and coveralls designed especially for women. A short-sleeved button-front cotton blouse was perfect for wearing underneath the coarse overall or simply tucking in the denim trousers.

In addition, Rosie had to come up with an effective solution to keep her hair away from machinery and prevent it from getting any dirtier (soap was not easy to obtain). While many female factory workers adopted shorter hairstyles, most ladies simply covered their hair with headscarves, bandanas or snoods. These practical accessories also added some color to the dull uniforms.

The post Rosie the Riveter myths & look appeared first on 1940s Fashion.