Measurements of the BDM skirt

Forums New posts
S

Sdkfz251

Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
180
Thanks Received
39
Gentlemen,

I bought a BDM skirt. It has a nice RZM ink mark inside, and a few remains of the RZM tag.
But something is wrong with it, it seems to me.
It looks like it was shortened quite a bit.
The waist measures 36cm (14.2 inches), the length is 56cm (22 inches)
Does this sound right? Does anyone have any Vorschriften (regulations) regarding the measurements?

Thank you,
Chris

(I can supply some pictures later)
 
I believe these skirts ( unless they were homemade ) came from the manufacturer one length . If your skirt is a regulation skirt it must have been period altered to conform to the size of the girl who wore it . We need to see photos to make sure it is an original skirt as well .
Sdkfz251 said:
Gentlemen,

I bought a BDM skirt. It has a nice RZM ink mark inside, and a few remains of the RZM tag.
But something is wrong with it, it seems to me.
It looks like it was shortened quite a bit.
The waist measures 36cm (14.2 inches), the length is 56cm (22 inches)
Does this sound right? Does anyone have any Vorschriften (regulations) regarding the measurements?

Thank you,
Chris

(I can supply some pictures later)
Click to expand...
 
here are the pictures I still had from the seller - so no need to shoot new ones

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Hi there Chris,

Yes, there are measurements for the BDM and JM skirts in the 1936 RZM manufacturing instructions. Your BDM skirt has clearly been much shortened which hints at this particular item having been modified so that it could be worn in the immediate post-war period with its material shortages(?) Either that or this was a very short BDM girl. The hem stitching does look a bit rough and ready though so I would think that the skirt was originally of a standard length.

The skirt seems to have been reinforced at the point where the front pleat begins in a manner that was not mentioned in the 1936 RZM instructions but may possibly be a later amendment. Nevertheless, this reinforcement point would normally be placed in a position half-way between the waistband and the hem. This would give you a way of working out how long your skirt was originally.

As Joe says, it was permitted to make these skirts at home from RZM patterns (and using RZM cloth) but there must have been a sizing table for them as the instructions give ranges for the length of the pleat (20 to 25cm), the length of the side opening (17 to 20cm), the angle of the pockets and other things. All sizes of skirt did have one thing in common though and this was the positioning of the pockets relative to the central seam. The regulations say that according to the size of the skirt the angle of the pockets should be positioned such that the forward corner of the pockets ("die vordere Taschenspitze...") is 5cm from the skirt centreline. This should be the position I marked on the pic below:

You don't have permission to view attachments.


However and as we know, things were not always as the RZM would have liked and there will always be slight differences. I like your skirt though. Not an easy item to find as you know :thumb:
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
Thank you Garry, your information is very helpful.
It seems the skirt was shortened by at least 20 cm which makes it end above the knees and therefor is not suitable for a correct mannequin in my opinion.
I am very disappointed about that, because I did ask the seller if it was shortened, which he negated.
By opening the hem I could add 3-4 additional centimeters, but that does not really help a lot.

I paid 550 € for it. Probably not worth what I paid for in this condition....?

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
The later type of skirt was just above the knee so if you extend the hem to the max it might still work for a mannequin :thumb:
 
Often difficult to say if a skirt was shortened.
The first photo shows full length, but is it true for the second photo?

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.


and look at the length with this photo: see A and see B

You don't have permission to view attachments.
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
thanks guys. I will take a picture of the mannequin waering it soon, then we will see
 
hello

I thought the BDM skirt was dark blue.

You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.


Joe
 

Attachments

    You don't have permission to view attachments.
It is not the best decision to go after painted figures and book cover illustrations to form an opinion ;-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top