In honor of tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, here is an interesting photo gallery from LIFE magazine featuring a designer in 1947 who created wedding dresses and accessories out of - wait for it - turkey feathers.
Quote:
In 1947, designer Barbara Orr Ehrhart demonstrated her love of turkey not just by having it for dinner at her Oregon wedding, but also by making wedding dresses out of turkey feathers for herself and her bridesmaids. LIFE captured the oddball ceremony, feathers and all, in these photographs.
For several months, Ehrhart collected 34,000 white plumes from 300 turkeys. The bridal gown was made of 500 yards of white plume feathers from a truckload of White Holland turkeys. The bridesmaids' dresses came in feathers dyed yellow, pale green, and black. One gown was valued at $18,000 -- the equivalent of nearly $175,000 in today's dollars.
Shulman's market, on N at Union Street S.W. Washington, D.C., between 1941 and 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Louise Rosskam. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range Madison County, Montana, August 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Welder making boilers for a ship, Combustion Engineering Company. Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Alfred T. Palmer. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Rural school children. San Augustine County, Texas, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress