Fashioning the New Woman
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Dress from the 1890s, UHP Photo
The time period covered by the exhibit is the first for which we have an extensive photographic record. Curators scrutinized pictures of women from all walks of life to help decode the fashions of the time. Using photo collections held by Shippensburg University, they confirmed that the "new look" was popular among white women and African-American women, immigrant women and native-born women.
The exhibit opens with depictions of the dresses which bookend this period: a bustle dress and a flapper dress.
From the beginning, the exhibit drives home the point that as the new woman moved from a purely domestic sphere into the public world outside her own home, her clothing simultaneously reflected and encouraged that change. At the beginning of this period, women wore complicated, frilly, dresses with bustles and trains; by the end, they sported the desexualized flapper dress with its leg-freeing shorter skirt.
The point is emphasized in the next section, a display tracing women’s undergarments from the many layers worn beneath those bustle style dresses to the one-piece slip of the flapper. Normally, these unmentionables are left out of exhibits on historic clothing. Here however, they help the viewer understand just how radical a change occurred during this thirty-five year period.
Along with making it difficult to breathe, the metal-boned corset, steel bustle, and layers of cotton undergarments of the 1880s significantly restricted movement. No woman dressed in these confining undergarments and several layers of outerwear could run, much less jump off a pedestal.
Midway through the period, women took off their corsets and the accompanying layers of full petticoats in favor of a brassiere and fewer petticoats. This reduction in the number of undergarments created the more streamlined silhouette associated with the outer dresses of the 1910s.
Finally, with a sigh of relief, the viewer sees the type of undergarments a modern woman can identify with: the flapper’s simple bra and knickers. These might be covered by no more than a single slip beneath the dress, if that.
The exhibit opens with depictions of the dresses which bookend this period: a bustle dress and a flapper dress.
From the beginning, the exhibit drives home the point that as the new woman moved from a purely domestic sphere into the public world outside her own home, her clothing simultaneously reflected and encouraged that change. At the beginning of this period, women wore complicated, frilly, dresses with bustles and trains; by the end, they sported the desexualized flapper dress with its leg-freeing shorter skirt.
The point is emphasized in the next section, a display tracing women’s undergarments from the many layers worn beneath those bustle style dresses to the one-piece slip of the flapper. Normally, these unmentionables are left out of exhibits on historic clothing. Here however, they help the viewer understand just how radical a change occurred during this thirty-five year period.
Along with making it difficult to breathe, the metal-boned corset, steel bustle, and layers of cotton undergarments of the 1880s significantly restricted movement. No woman dressed in these confining undergarments and several layers of outerwear could run, much less jump off a pedestal.
Midway through the period, women took off their corsets and the accompanying layers of full petticoats in favor of a brassiere and fewer petticoats. This reduction in the number of undergarments created the more streamlined silhouette associated with the outer dresses of the 1910s.
Finally, with a sigh of relief, the viewer sees the type of undergarments a modern woman can identify with: the flapper’s simple bra and knickers. These might be covered by no more than a single slip beneath the dress, if that.
Working Girls
Women Typists, early 20th century, Detroit, Library of Congress
But this straightforward display of garments from the time period reveals deeper truths about the changing status of women.
Whether function followed fashion or fashion followed function, women’s undergarments, and as seen later in the exhibit, their outer garments and even shoes, hats and accessories reflected the progress of real women’s lives.
By this time, women had worked in factories for decades, but the late 19th century had begun to see women move into postal and telegraph offices as well as some desk jobs in the federal government.
Exhibit curator Alden O’Brien points out that many of these jobs were new: women were not seen as displacing men when they took positions as typists or telegraph operators. Taking these posts became socially acceptable for middle-class women.
Whether function followed fashion or fashion followed function, women’s undergarments, and as seen later in the exhibit, their outer garments and even shoes, hats and accessories reflected the progress of real women’s lives.
By this time, women had worked in factories for decades, but the late 19th century had begun to see women move into postal and telegraph offices as well as some desk jobs in the federal government.
Exhibit curator Alden O’Brien points out that many of these jobs were new: women were not seen as displacing men when they took positions as typists or telegraph operators. Taking these posts became socially acceptable for middle-class women.
These elaborate sleeves had no place in an office.
Yet there was some social concern. Women laboring in factories worked primarily alongside other women. Women in offices, by contrast, were suddenly mingling routinely with males who were not related to them.
In this somewhat “indelicate” position, women needed to present themselves as efficient and helpful. Bustles, trains, ruffles, and bows had no place in the office. The evolution from frivolous, decorative clothing to the neat, clean lines of the shirtwaist and tailored suit helped smooth the way.
The shirtwaist, which we would call a blouse today, is freighted with significance. As the exhibit points out, shirtwaist factory workers, new women, themselves, played an incredibly important role in the labor movement. The vast majority of the shirtwaist makers were, in fact, women who wore shirtwaists.
The infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 spurred many upper-class women to become involved in the labor movement. Such social activism was another hallmark of the New Woman. O”Brien explains that these reformers would have worn mass-produced shirtwaists while decrying the conditions of the very factories that had produced their clothes.
In this somewhat “indelicate” position, women needed to present themselves as efficient and helpful. Bustles, trains, ruffles, and bows had no place in the office. The evolution from frivolous, decorative clothing to the neat, clean lines of the shirtwaist and tailored suit helped smooth the way.
The shirtwaist, which we would call a blouse today, is freighted with significance. As the exhibit points out, shirtwaist factory workers, new women, themselves, played an incredibly important role in the labor movement. The vast majority of the shirtwaist makers were, in fact, women who wore shirtwaists.
The infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 spurred many upper-class women to become involved in the labor movement. Such social activism was another hallmark of the New Woman. O”Brien explains that these reformers would have worn mass-produced shirtwaists while decrying the conditions of the very factories that had produced their clothes.
College Girls
Vassar Girls Lounging in their Dorm, 1890s
The shirtwaist is also emblematic of a very new type of ˜New Woman:” the college girl.
Although Oberlin College had admitted women as early as 1833 and Vassar College (the first of the Seven Sisters) was established in 1861, opportunities for women in higher education exploded in the late nineteenth century. Between 1880 and 1900 all but three state universities became co-educational institutions. In 1892, the first women entered Yale University as graduate students in fields as diverse as Romance Languages, Astronomy, and Chemistry.
While only the most privileged women could take advantage of these new possibilities, the popular press covered the phenomenon of the college girl with articles and even photo spreads.
The college girl both shaped and reflected popular fashion. College girls’ clothes tended to be more “sporty” than those of office girls, but they wore the same general styles. Imitating their fellow male students, college girls sported boater hats to accessorize their tailored suits and shirtwaists. Following tradition, these young women also wore caps and gowns to class.
Their active lifestyle combined classes with sporting activities like tennis, swimming, and boating.
Although Oberlin College had admitted women as early as 1833 and Vassar College (the first of the Seven Sisters) was established in 1861, opportunities for women in higher education exploded in the late nineteenth century. Between 1880 and 1900 all but three state universities became co-educational institutions. In 1892, the first women entered Yale University as graduate students in fields as diverse as Romance Languages, Astronomy, and Chemistry.
While only the most privileged women could take advantage of these new possibilities, the popular press covered the phenomenon of the college girl with articles and even photo spreads.
The college girl both shaped and reflected popular fashion. College girls’ clothes tended to be more “sporty” than those of office girls, but they wore the same general styles. Imitating their fellow male students, college girls sported boater hats to accessorize their tailored suits and shirtwaists. Following tradition, these young women also wore caps and gowns to class.
Their active lifestyle combined classes with sporting activities like tennis, swimming, and boating.
 College Athlete, DAR
Bicycling, in particular, came to be associated with the New Woman. The invention of the safety bicycle in the 1880s allowed women to join their fellow students on the road as well.
Ironically, the dropped bar of the women’s style safety bicycle meant that women’s bikes were heavier and more difficult to maneuver than men’s. Women cyclists had to be stronger and more skilled than male cyclists but the dropped bar allowed them to bike while wearing a modest skirt. Not surprisingly, college girls chose clothes that were practical and comfortable. These young women did not want to spend a lot of time dressing and arranging their clothes. They had lectures to attend, clubs to organize, and sports to participate in. The clothes they wore needed to accommodate all of these activities. The new styles did just that. |
 Dress from the 1910s, DAR |
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 College Girl, DAR
Whether office worker or college girl, clubwoman or social activist, the New Woman was strong, capable, and above all, practically and attractively dressed. Between 1890 and 1925, the New Woman traveled from the domestic sphere to the public realm and her clothes changed accordingly. Fashioning the New Woman traces this evolution through photos, drawings, newspaper articles, and clothes
This exhibit was almost five years in the making. During that time, curators actively sought out items that would help them tell this story. When necessary, they made purchases to augment the DAR's already extensive textile collection. As the Red Cross sold off some of its extra women's nursing uniforms from World War One, the DAR bought them, knowing they would help highlight women's participation in the war effort. While the bulk of the final exhibit is drawn from the museum's holdings, it is augmented by loans from private collections. Fashioning the New Woman, 1890 to 1925 runs from Friday, October 5th 2012 through August 31st 2013 at the Museum of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D St. NW, Washington, DC. The nearest metro stops are Farrgut West, Farragut North, and Foggy Bottom. Check out our Facebook Page as we will be posting more images from Fashioning the New Woman there throughout the week. |