War's Subtle Changes in New York Life

How did World War I change daily life in New York City, even for those who weren't fighting in the trenches?

• Women weren't wearing as fashionable clothing. "Fashionable social life expressed its lyric genius in a cumulative series of events designed to reveal feminine Spring in its most ardent mood. Not in 1917."

• People were rationing their food intake. "Eating has followed drinking as one of the pasttimes no longer in vogue."

• Knitting became huge. "This extraordinary popular activity has seized the feminine half of the community with a democratic disregard of classes. The servant and the mistress are alike obsessed."

• Theater took a hit. "All ordinary attractions fall almost instantly. In one week seven stars folded their tents on Broadway. Plays that might have prospered in some other season have no chance this year." [The simultaneous surging popularity of movies also played a large role.]

War's Subtle Changes in New York Life: Although the City Is Outwardly Moving in the Same Old Ways, There Are Marked Differences Just Beneath the Surface

From Sunday, November 25, 1917