Dirndl skirts

Fashion Synopsis

Fabric was scarce, decoration was sacrificed, and clothes looked drab. Wartime rationing required the best utilization of fabrics and construction for clothes, and the dirndl skirt was one fashion-friendly result. The simple, gathered skirt of a dirndl became a popular casual style dress when done in colorful and wildly decorative cotton prints.

A style popular with peasant skirts, and thought to have originated from the Austrian Tyrolean costume, the dirndl skirt was a full-cut style that did not waste fabric. A dirndl skirt was a long rectangle of fabric slightly gathered at the waist and sewn onto a flat waistband. The skirt needed little cutting and shaping because the gathers at the waist created the fit, allowing for a slightly full skirt. Both girls and moms wore the dirndl style skirt in a show of patriotism.

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girl's apparel

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