Suit 1915-18 ca.
Women's day suit in wine-colored wool with black velvet inserts on the collar, c. 1915-1918, Camilla Colombo Collection.
The simple austere cut and details of the suit recall the military uniforms of the period.
Silk shirt with fine pleats and drawn thread work, 1915-1920, Camilla Colombo collection.
Details
Technical info
Women
Women in the First World War
With the outbreak of the First World War, men were forced to enlist and women, from all walks of life had to roll up their sleeves and abandon their usual feminine duties to adapt to the new situation. Many saw the war as an opportunity to gain more rights and independence. Women began to work in areas that were previously the exclusive domain of men: some became garbage collectors, postwomen, clerks, while others volunteered on the front line as nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers or translators. Despite this, salaries were not always sufficient to live on and not everyone was able to dedicate
themselves to these new professions. To make ends meet, they were also employed in the manufacture of war uniforms, which were in great demand and for which no systematic production was ever organised. Their efforts were limited to the period of the First World War, at the end of which many of the women who had undertaken essential work for the good of their country were forced to return to their domestic existence. All was not lost however as the war brought about irreversible changes in society.