The US military had adopted the humble chambray shirt as part of its fatigue uniform in the early 1900s. Worn by enlisted sailors, the shirts were a perfect mixture of hardwearing, light enough to dry quickly and easy to clean. Though they would change through various iterations, the same simple garment is still in use today. Its on the backs of sailors in the pacific that these would become famous, there are hundreds of great photos of these being worn on deck under the blazing equatorial sun.
This particular example is a WW2 pattern, with a contract number Nxsx 88177 made by Southern Mfg Co, Nashville, TN dated January 1945. This seems to have been used into the early postwar period with a patch on the sleeve putting this being worn into the early 1950s.
Condition
This is worn, but mint condition. There is a little fading and light spotting but otherwise it retains excellent colour throughout with no damage at all.
Size
- Size stamp 16
- Fits a modern large
- Pit to pit 23"
- Shoulder to shoulder 19"
- Shoulder to cuff 25"
- Collar to hem 33"