I have decided to continue my growing tradition of being awesome feminist icons for Halloween (Nancy Drew and Samantha from Bewitched in the past few years, and yes, I once was Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the late 90s, and I'm trying to figure out how to be my biggest hero Mary Tyler Moore next year). This year I am going to be the woman from the above famous WWII Westinghouse "We Can Do It" poster.
A little background on the picture - we both know about the mass entry of women into the workforce on the homefront during the war. But did you know that the model's name was Geraldine Doyle and that she appears to have been a life-long Michigander. The poster was released in 1942, the same year that a song popularized the phrase "Rosie the Riveter" to describe woman factor workers at the time. Apparently this is not a Rosie the Riveter poster, but of course over the years it has become associated with Rosie and feminism! Feminist Halloweens are the best!
Making the red and white polka dotted head scarf work by good ol' Geraldine in this poster is going to be the first project I will make with my new sewing machine. Starting off nice and easy until I get used to the machine! Expect a picture of me all decked up as Ms. Doyle after this weekend...
