A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
Appendix 3
AGE AT WHICH SUPPORTING GARMENTS WERE FIRST WORN
In order to provide some basis for estimates of new demand each year for supporting garments, the question was asked of all contacts:
“About what age did you start wearing supporting garments; corset or belt, not brassiere?”
It will be seen from this Table that apart from the under twenties a clear cut tendency emerges for the younger age group to begin wearing supporting garments earlier than the older people.
The under twenties show a strong tendency to give a very early age for beginning to wear supporting garments whilst the over forties have a large number beginning to wear garments at 13 year or less. It may well be that memory is inaccurate in the older age groups, and therefore the 20-29,30-39,40 and over, group have been recalculated with those only beginning at 14 years or more.
| Age Supporting Garments first worn | 20 - 29 | 30 - 39 | 40 and over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 34.1 | 36.8 | 43.0 |
| 15 | 18.7 | 19.2 | 19.0 |
| 16 | 21.9 | 18.6 | 16.0 |
| 17 | 10.0 | 7.5 | 5.7 |
| 18 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 4.5 |
| 19 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
| 20 or over | 5.8 | 9.3 | 9.7 |
Although a trend is still discernible, the figures for the different age group fall into a definite pattern, and this might be accepted as a reasonable basis for calculating expected new demand.
WARTIME SOCIAL SURVEY.
FOUNDATION GARMENTS.
New Series 6.
1. What type of supporting garment do you wear?
3. Do you keep in use more than one such garment at a time?
(Ring Code) (Ring Code) Write Total No. of other garments kept. Office use only.
Is this the type you usually wear?
4. Have you had difficulty in getting any type of supporting garment in the last few months?
Do not suggest any of the following answers. Simply read the question and ring appropriate code or note other reason.
| Brassiere | Corset | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | No difficulty | 1 |
| 2 | Have not tried lately | 2 |
| 3 | Prices too high | 3 |
| 4 | Type wanted not available | 4 |
| 5 | Coupon difficulty | 5 |
| Office Use. Brassiere | Any other reason: Corset | Office Use. |
| (Ring Code) | (Ring Code) | (Ring Code) | (Ring Number) No. of children: | ||||
| Age 40 & over | 1 | Class A | 1 | Married | X | 0 | 3 |
| 30 to 39 | 2 | B | 2 | Single | Y | 1 | 4 |
| 20 to 29 | 3 | C | 3 | 2 | 5 & more | ||
| Under 20 | 4 | D | 4 | ||||
For Housewife: Occupation of Head of House
Occupation Group of Women
1. Housewife.
2. Light Engineering.
3. Textiles.
4. Clerical.
5. Shop Assistant.
6. Other Factories.
7. Transport.
8. Agriculture.
Description of job
Town.........
Street........
Interviewer............