The period of World War II and the first years after its end were full of deprivation and widespread poverty. However, even in such difficult times, in defiance of adversity, people tried as much as possible to maintain the appearance of normality, including taking care of their appearance and following fashion. Parachutes came in handy for this…
To somewhat ease the harsh reality and feel attractive and elegant, women altered, among other things, old, previously worn clothes or items from men’s wardrobes. However, the most coveted were fabrics from which clothing could be sewn from scratch. But where to obtain material in a country ravaged by war and poverty?
During this period, the textile industry was primarily subordinated to meeting the needs of the military, and wool or silk were practically impossible for civilians to obtain. People therefore made do with recycled fabrics, using, among others, those of military origin. Parachute canopies, made of silk, viscose or nylon, were particularly suitable for this purpose. They reached Poland through Allied airdrops.
There are legends of women armed with dressmaking scissors who would surround a landing parachutist, cutting away and taking the coveted material. They were also sold on the black market by soldiers or smugglers, and after the war, surplus ones arrived in packages from relatives in the West and UNRRA relief parcels. The fashion for dresses and blouses sewn from parachutes became widespread in Poland, and over time, this clothing, in addition to its aesthetic value, also acquired sentimental and historical significance — it often passed from hand to hand and from generation to generation. In the Podhale region, embroidered nylon blouses even gained their own name — nylonki.
The nylonka blouse donated to the collection of the Polish Aviation Museum comes from Zakopane and was sewn during World War II or shortly after. It was cut from white nylon obtained from an Allied parachute, either American or British. In one of the lower corners, on the front and on the collar, the characteristic diagonal reinforcing seams of the canopy are visible.
The front of the blouse, the sleeves and the pointed collar are decorated with white embroidery in the style of highland folk patterns and braided buttons, also made of nylon. It is not only a unique example of the secondary, civilian use of material originally intended for military purposes, but also a beautiful and elegant symbol of those times.
