Ensemble: The Look from Head to Toe

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National Styles Print, 1910, New York Public Library

"We're human, all of us girls, and we're young. We like new hats as well as any other young women. Why shouldn't we?" - Clara Lemlich, Union Activist

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Red Shirtwaist and Skirt, 1890-1899, North Carolina Museum of History

The outfit seen here is fairly typical of what a working-class, or really any woman, would be wearing during this time. Inspired by the aesthetic of the Gibson Girl, this outfit incorporates many of the popular styles of the day and is representative of the working-class ladyhood that working women were trying to achieve. Challenging the gender roles of the time with the rise of feminism, increased education for women, and women in the workforce, the New Woman was an identity taken on by many working-class women. While not as physically liberating as the dresses worn by the flappers in the 1920s, this outfit was representative of new freedoms that all types of women were trying to achieve. Working-class women used the current fashions of the day as a tool for their liberation and set the stage for the women of the future to use dress as a means of expression.

Those interested in this topic are encouraged to browse the list of resources below or visit one of the number of museums whose artifacts are featured here. 

Recommended Reading

Abbott, Karen. “‘The Hatpin Peril’ Terrorized Men Who Couldn't Handle the 20th-Century Woman.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, April 24, 2014. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hatpin-peril-terrorized-men-who-couldnt-handle-20th-century-woman-180951219/. 

Blum, Dilys E. “Ahead of Fashion: Hats of the 20th Century.” Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin 89, no. 377/378 (1993): 1–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/3795480.

Enstad, Nan. Ladies of Labor, Girls of Adventure: Working Women, Popular Culture, and Labor Politics at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Peiss, Kathy. Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1986. 

Rexford, Nancy E. Women's Shoes in America, 1795-1930. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2000.

Serratore, Angela. “Keeping Feathers off Hats–and on Birds.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, May 15, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/migratory-bird-act-anniversary-keeping-feathers-off-hats-180969077/. 

Museums 

The North Carolina Museum of History: Raleigh, NC

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, NY

The Museum at FIT: New York, NY 

Victoria and Albert Museum: London, UK

Ensemble: The Look from Head to Toe