In the 1940’s, World War II broke out and wool was rationed to the general 
populous so it could be used to make uniforms for soldiers. Women’s clothing was made to be refined, and multi functional. The silhouette consisted of a boxy square shoulder padded jacket and short straight skirt. Clothes had to be practical and restrained. This was seen as being patriotic, as the women were adhering to the ration and having the cloth for the uniforms.
Nylon was also rationed as it was used for parachutes. Women of the day relied on nylon for stockings and when the material was rationed, stockings became scarce. Women had to repeatedly mead the stockings, try and befriend an American G.I. or make due with leg makeup and have a friend draw a straight line down the back of their leg. In the 1940’s stockings had a black line down the back of a women’s leg so when women had to use leg makeup, the drawn black line was made to mimic this.