Wedding dresses from 1942

My Mom and Aunt married within the same week and had a Family reception in the same town as my Aunt was my Dad's sister.


My Aunt and Mom went shopping together in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, but since it was during war years, there were a shortage of white dresses in Canada, so they settled for pastel coloured dresses.


I remember my mom's dress very well as I used to play dress up in it and stand on pail so that I would not trip on the dress.  I remember all the covered buttons with little loops that fastened the back of the dress and the little bolero with a Peter Pan collar and puffed sleeves with a button cuff.  My Mom choose a pastel pink dress where as my Aunt choose a blue dress.. My Aunt's dress was made by the same designer but not a two piece outfit as was my Mom's. The painted wedding photos show her dress as a powder blue dress but from the pictures below, the colour is more a teal blue.. My Mom's dress was destroyed in a house fire so I was most anxious to get copies of my Aunt's dress.

my cousin wrote the following


My mother's wedding dress wasn't kept in storage; therefore is torn and actually in bad shape.  I guess mom never thought of putting it away for future generations (smile).      I photo'd the back of the dress...the front has buttons, however the collar is missing some material; the fabric is also ripped; missing..not sure why.    You probably have an actual wedding photo to show what the front looked like.    

She also had a slip for under the dress which I sent a picture as well.

1940 Bridal Gown

Jul 1, 1940 12:00 am

The white wedding dress virtually disappeared during the war years. Clothes rationing was introduced in 1941, when fashion almost ceased to exist. A few made brave efforts with parachute silk, whilst others wore gowns borrowed from relatives, but most brides wore uniform.

In a recent article in the Globe and Mail, a wedding picture during in 1944 was of both the Bride and Groom in uniform.  The interesting part is Sonia d'Artois as a secret agent posed as Suzanne Bonvie, a representative of the Parisian fashion company Louis Vuitton.