The Shirtwaist: A Wardrobe Staple
While this shirtwaist may resemble the ruffled top and puffed sleeves of some women’s dress shirts from the 1980s, these garments were the wardrobe staple of working women nearly a hundred years earlier. The shirtwaist was an extremely versatile garment that could be made in different fabrics and colors to suit the current season and style. While the body of the shirtwaist would often stay the same, the shape and cut of the sleeves were often subject to whatever was in style.
The leg-o-mutton sleeves on this shirtwaist would have been on trend for styles in the 1890s but would have fallen out of favor by the 1900s. Also known as the gigot sleeve, leg-o-mutton sleeves were known for their voluminous width around the shoulder before tapering down to the wrist. In 1895 these sleeves would have used up to two and a half yards worth of fabric!
The shirtwaist easily became a national fashion trend because its simple design allowed ladies to sew their own at home, or they could be bought ready-made for a low price. The simplicity of its design made it widely worn by women of all social and economic classes. Many working-class women at this time were immigrants, and the clothing they wore aided in their journey to be seen as "real" Americans. In fact, most working-class women probably would have chosen to buy their shirtwaists rather than make them. By buying their clothing, working-class women would have been seen as "consumers" rather than "manufacturers," which was more in line with middle-class identities. Their purchase of clothing was another part of assimilation into American society, which was increasingly becoming more consumer-driven.
This blue chambray shirtwaist was handmade by a North Carolina woman in the mid-1910s.
To the working-class ladies of America, the shirtwaist represented their identity as Americans and as respectable women. However, the shirtwaist also quickly became a symbol of women’s power in the workforce and their identities as laborers. Working-class women who worked in the garment industry could make very powerful statements with their shirtwaists. As both makers and wearers of the shirtwaist, the garment could symbolically represent the oppressive working conditions of factories while also embodying the middle-class imagery of the Gibson Girl. Those who chose to unionize and protest hazardous working conditions employed the respectability of this affordable style of dress to their advantage.
