Bridesmaid's dress

This bridesmaid's dress of dusty pale blue rayon crepe was made in Britain. It was worn by the donor when she was bridesmaid at a wedding at Glasgow Cathedral in the summer of 1941.

The dress shows the square shoulder line and the economy of fabric which were the hallmark of these years. The skirt is straight but cut in the cross with the crepe fabric giving it a certain amount of elasticity for movement.

The fabrics used in the years leading up to World War II were mostly natural fibres but there was a great deal of experimentation with new man-made fibres such as rayon. Despite the war, some dressing up for occasions was done especially before rationing was introduced in June 1941. Cheaper dresses of the 1930s and 1940s made up of rayon crepe have a rather skimpy appearance. Rayon shrinks when wet and unless carefully ironed does not return to its former size.

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