posted 01-10-2010 07:59 PM            

It appears in the footage to have been adapted to shorts for the legs rather than worn strictly as a dress. Sharman's book suggests, to my reading, that Leonov had it specially adapted.

She wore it to dinner, as Leonov's joke seems to be that it would make it a more formal occasion. This was enhanced by Sergei Krikalev wearing a tie to dinner too - something that Sharman also mentions in her book, and can also be seen in the documentary.

In an interview I conducted with Tolya Artsebarski, her commander, he told me via a translator:

"I knew about the garment, as it was actually my idea! It was not a generic garment, it was put together by a special technician especially for Helen. She just wore it for one day; she did not wear it all the time."