Style and Resourcefulness

When I look at our old photos of Displaced Persons, I am struck by the fashionable clothing my family members wore. The DPs lacked homelands, jobs, and money, but they had plenty of style.

My maternal Grandfather, Jake, had a good friend who was a tailor. I'll call him "Karl." Karl engaged in some bartering and once secured nice second-hand clothing and fabrics. He took a worn coat, for example, turned it inside out, and made a "new" coat for my Mom.

Mom also recalls unraveling sweaters and reknitting the yarn into more trendy pieces.

Most of the DPs were shocked when the wives of the American soldiers appeared in public in pincurls, hair rollers, and pedal pushers.

Seligenstadt, Germany, 1946. My maternal Grandfather, Jake, stands with the tailor, Karl, in front of an American truck.