Original Title/Caption: “Safe clothes for woman war workers.”

Description: This black and white photograph shows a woman worker’s low-heeled work shoe.  This photograph was taken between 1942 and 1945.

Source: “Safe clothes for woman war workers.”  Photograph, between 1942 and 1945.  From Library of Congress: Farm Security Administration – Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Call number LC-USW3- 058286-C.  http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8d44129 (accessed March 20, 2007).

Historical discussion: Even footwear posed problems in the minds of many contemporary commentators.  Stylish high heels could cause falls and other injuries, so propaganda tried to make the low-heeled work shoe appealing to an audience of women workers. Commentators like, J. E. Walters, Vice President of Personnel and Labor Relations of Revere Copper and Brass Incorporated, believed, “Because American Women have always been very fashion-conscious, it has been necessary to require work clothes that are attractive as well as practical and safe” (Walters 61).

See J. E. Walters, "Women in Industry," Annals of the American Academy of Political Science and Social Science 229 (Sept. 1943), 56-62.