This month we have decided to focus on the perennially popular subject of fashion. The Gazette devoted a column each week to ladies clothing illustrated with drawings of the garments, some of which are shown here. Going by these pictures the women of 1914 seem to have had tiny waists and tall statuesque outlines. Note also one very masculine look!
Home dressmaking was in vogue and female readers were encouraged to make their own clothes, buying the recommended patterns and materials from local haberdashery shops, of which Bideford had several. This was more economical than buying ready-made clothing from the shops as you could use the pattern several times and add your own personal touches. Clothing was showing some trends of the belle époque era; ladies spent their afternoons going out to see and be seen. Fans of Downton Abbey may recognise some of these outfits.

In 1914 clothing was moving away from the restrained Edwardian fashions towards more relaxed styles. Previously, women had been wearing heavily embellished dresses with tightly laced corsets underneath. As World War I broke out in Europe, these restrictions loosened. Men still dressed in traditional suits while children wore more practical clothes.
As regards underwear, most men, boys and girls wore "union suits". This one-piece snugly-fitted garment was often made of flannel. Children's union suits in 1914 had shorter sleeves and leggings. Also in 1914, the American Mary Jacobs patented the first bra. Women previously wore full corsets to provide shape and support under their rigid fashions. Now designers considered the bra as an alternative "foundation garment" when developing the new, looser styles that would continue in later decades.