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, she's a classic two pocket, single cuff style with the cats eye buttons used on the WW2 examples. It's hard to read, but looks like the contract is NXSX 64225, dating it to June 1944. The chambray itself is mint, and looks like it's only been washed one. Its stencilled on the hem to a "W Whitner".
But more importantly is the artwork on the reverse. A combination of black ink, with hand-embroidered highlights to the bikini, skirt etc. It looks like an Aloha girl, so very likely this was done in Pearl Harbour Hawaii.
Condition
Absolutely mint, maybe one wash.
Size
- Stamped a 14 1/2
- Fits a modern medium
- Pit to pit 21"
- Shoulder to shoulder 17"
- Shoulder to cuff 24"
- Collar to hem 31"