When I taught school most teachers used masking tape for an emergency hem. Our heels got caught in the hems and oops. I have also used a stapler. Quite unnoticeable on a long skirt.

Things some people will do amazing./Lillian

As a girl I had a school dress with dolman sleeves that neatly ripped right down to the hip as a full skirt started there. Each morning before assembly I would staple the dress together so it appeared decent and as the day wore on the staples fell out...

Thanks Carolyn, this brought back a lot of memories.
In the late 40s textile was no longer on coupons but still hard (and expensive) to come by, suits had to last a long time and 'things' happened. My mum was in hospital for a couple of months in the winter '48/49 and my father used a stapler to do hems and seams when he had a mishap at the office and used paperclips to put on a button, opened it up, put it through the button holes and jacket and bent it at the back. Much to my mum's horror when she found out when she came home.