The Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society is hosting a fashion show of women’s wartime fashion.
Called From Rationing to Ravishing, the event will be held on Sunday Sept. 11, from 2 to 4 p.m., inside the cannery in Steveston and showcases fashion historian Ivan Sayers’ collection of daywear, evening dresses and work uniforms spanning the 1940s and 1950s.
The show will feature a range of outfits from the patriotic and modest styles of housedresses and factory wear of the 1940s, to the contrasting indulgent evening gowns of the 1950s.
Sayers will provide historical commentary on how the changing fashion trends reflect the societal attitudes of the times.
Highlights include a 1950s Canfisco (Canadian Fishing Company) smock, cannery and Boeing Vancouver overalls, as well as Paris haute couture-inspired dresses.
From Rationing to Ravishing is a special event presented in conjunction with the cannery society’s current feature exhibit, Women on the Homefront: Women’s contributions during the Second World War.
The exhibit commemorates the impact women made during the war from knitting for troops to harvesting crops at home, and working in fish canneries across the West Coast.
The fashion show brings women’s wartime clothing to life and provides another perspective on the war.
“World War II had a significant influence on women’s roles in society,” said Sayers.
“This is proven in social attitudes and shown in the fashions of the time.”
Sayers’ collection and fashion show have been previously featured at the Museum of Vancouver and the Port Moody Station Museum.
Tickets for the show are $18 each and are available for purchase online at Brown Paper Tickets.
