"I'm conserving wool, this bathing suit's painted on." (undated, c. 1942-1945, OWI)
Undated: NARA gives no date; c. 1942-1945 from the OWI series. A woman in a two-piece bathing suit walks on a beach beside a startled man in uniform; the caption has her say her swimsuit is painted on to save wool. The tell is humour: a rationing and conservation message is carried by a risque joke rather than an instruction, and the technique fit is weak.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Charles Shows)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, Economy and finance, Gender and suffrage
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives, RG 208, OWI Cartoon Artworks and Mockups (NAID 535594), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-1084 (NAID 535701).
Text on the object
"I'M CONSERVING WOOL, THIS BATHING SUIT'S PAINTED ON." Charles Shows
