Long, flowing sleeves and ankle-length, billowy skirts might be a matter of habit for most nuns, but not for the nine sisters of the Roman Catholic Society of Christ Our King. Located in Danville, Virginia, the small order worked a farm, and traditional nun garb was presenting practical difficulties— such as how to handle a Dodge truck without an unholy mess of cloth getting in the way. In 1951 the sisters confessed their fashion problem to renowned Manhattan designer Hattie Carnegie, who had modernized the WAC uniform. In answering the sisters' prayers, Carnegie's solution called for a plain, yet shapely, two-piece dress in gray wool with close-fitting sleeves, Peter Pan collar, and gored skirt. The design combined the simplicity of pilgrim wear with the chic lines sported by even the most trendy of secular women. Carnegie's work was free of charge.

Source:

Time (17 September...