Historical information

This item was worn by Marjorie Burton. Marjorie Burton ( nee Whiteman), born 12 June, in Birmingham, England came to Orbost in 1995.
In England she did office work – typing, shorthand and secretarial work - in accountants’ offices and also trained as a comptometrist with Burroughs in London. She came from a middle-class, working, church-going family. Her mother was a milliner who made manyof Marjorie’s clothes, hats and outfits.
Marjorie was married in 1938 to a salesman who later became a mechanic in the R.A.F. during WW11.

Significance

Nylon is a thermoplastic silky material, first used commercially in a nylon-bristled toothbrush (1938), followed more famously by women's stockings ("nylons"; 1940) after being introduced as a fabric at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It was the world's first totally man-made fibre. Nylon fabric became important as a synthetic substitute for silk in the manufacture of parachutes when silk became scarce during WWII.This item is an example of one of the first pieces of women's clothing to be made commercially using nylon fabric.

Physical description

A white nylon slip with lace trim at the hemline, straps and middle front. It has yellow ribbons wheer straps attach at the front and at the bottom front opening.

Inscriptions & markings

Label sewn to inside - Made from 100% B
NYLON
S 1272