1946 Silk Parachute Wedding Dress

Off-white silk parachute wedding dress. Shaped front neckline with upper section curved ending in shallow V at center front. Front bodice with darts from above bust extending to shoulder. Center front seam with five-inch section of full gathers at bust level. Back bodice with shoulder and waistline darts. Thirteen 3/8" diameter self-fabric ball buttons/buttonholes at center back. Left side zipper. Waistline seam. Long set-in sleeves with full gathered cap and more fitted below elbow. Pointed lower edge with two self-fabric ball buttons/buttonholes fasteners at wrist.
Eleven gore floor-length skirt, smoothly falling from waistline seam -- no gathers or pleats. Six-seven foot train. Several pieced, flat-felled seams evident in lower skirt and train for effective use of parachute fabric to make garment. Machine stitched hem. Garment totally unlined.

HCT.1997.33.1

2/16/1946

Elizabeth Green and Edwin Morgan were married on February 16, 1946. Edwin Morgan was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne division during WWII. His unit moved through Germany, setting fires in attempt to destroy all supplies and equipment. They found an airplane hangar on fire. Inside the hangar was a plane without a propeller. Edwin took two German parachutes from inside the burning hangar. The parachutes were imprinted with a manufacturer's label that included the Luftwaffe insignia, manufacture date, and other info. At the end of the war, family finances were limited, fabrics were short in supply and wedding gowns were expensive. John Parva, a tailor, made the dress out of the parachute for $18.00. He sewed the German label into the train of the dress.

Fitted Sleeve, Gored Skirt, Wedge Silhouette

fiber content=Silk

1940-1949

Off-white