World Wa 2 era grass style skirt made out of parachute silk.
The skirt is 37 inches long and at the mid point is 38 inches wide. The The waistband is 34 inches wide and 3 inches long. It was made out of parachute silk by my father in 1944 or 1945. The colors are white, green and red. It is faded.
The original owner was my father. He made the skirt in 1944 or 1945 while serving in the U.S. Army in the south Pacific during World War 2. He told me he made it from silk from a parachute.
Auction House
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Hi Roger,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
Pieces of clothing made from war-time parachute silk occasionally come up for auction; I've used the following examples to help determine a value for your unusual and interesting piece:
(£24 ) https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/1940s-vintage-wedding-evening-dress-made-with-cre-3365-c-f001811987
($345) https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/three-fringed-shawls-early-20th-c-and-1940s-731-c-56de6235e1
If you were to sell this, it would most likely be catalogued as:
A World War II Handmade parachute silk skirt
made by (insert the name of your father), circa 1943 or 1944
in faded red, green and white silk, with woven silk belt.
Overall 40 inches long
$150-250*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
The best way to preserve silk is to carefully wrap the garment in acid-free archival tissue paper and put it into an archival box. Some stores, like Michael's, carry the tissue paper; you should be able to find "acid free archival boxes" through a Google search.
Thank you for the appraisal. I know the item is rather rare as the World War 2 museum told me about 8 years ago that they didn't know of any skirts made from parachute silk. That being said can you tell me the best way to perserve it for my children?