FEATURE
Stitches in Time:
Women’s Roles and the Clothes that Shaped Them
Singer Sewing Machine. Photo public domain.
When we think of women in the United States today, our image can range from yoga pants and tank tops to fabulous dresses for special occasions. It has not always been that way, as clothes have changed drastically in the past 250 years. The roles of women have changed just as dramatically, even if that has been lost to the mists of memory.
When the United States was being created politically, women had very limited roles in what was happening outside of their own homes. They were the caretakers, the ones who raised families and supported the men in their lives. There were exceptions, but as is usually the case, those exceptions prove the rule. In 1805, Mercy Otis Warren wrote a three-volume history of the American Revolution and its participants; but many women did not write much more than a list, a letter, or a diary. Formal schooling was not, for many Americans, an essential part of girls’ and women’s lives.
Women’s clothing of the time reflected this attachment to the home and family. Soft slippers were made for indoor floors, not walks in bramble-filled woods. Long, ankle-length skirts were for cuddling babies close, not plowing a farm field. Layers provided modesty, not movement. While there were variations on clothing for distinct events, the basic concept was the same: beauty over function.
(LEFT) Mercy Otis Warren, painted in oil on canvas by John Singleton Copley, circa 1763. Photo courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
(RIGHT) Blue silk dress from the United States, circa 1818. Among the trends passed across the Atlantic from England was a preference, beginning in the fall of 1818, for a shade of marine blue favored by the Duchess of Clarence, recently married to the future William IV. London fashion magazines noted the popularity of “Clarence blue,” a pronouncement that was reprinted in American periodicals. This dress, of Clarence-blue silk twill, reveals the international influences on American fashion, in both its color and the disposition of its finely applied satin trimming. Purchase, Irene Lewisohn Bequest, 2016; photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
If a woman wanted to be part of the larger world, she worked hand-in-hand with the men in her life to do so. Sarah Franklin Bache, and women like her, sewed shirts for continental soldiers. Abigail Adams reminded her husband John to remember the ladies when the founding fathers were working on defining liberties in this new country. Deborah Sampson had to disguise herself as a man to fight as a patriot soldier; they would not let a woman join the army. Dressed as a female, Deborah would not have been able to function as freely; the trousers gave her mobility in more ways than one!
While independence was won for the United States, women often lost their personal freedoms. Marital laws gave men the power over a woman’s property, children, and life. Voting laws changed, losing women their right to have a voice in the government. Clothing became a matter of law, decreed by men. When there is not a need to change, society will sometimes sink to the lowest denominator. Power seeks to protect itself, even when there is no cause.
Women’s clothing during the years between the American Revolution and the Civil War was all about shape. What the silhouette looked like determined whether a woman was deemed attractive or not. Corsets gave an hourglass form, petticoats and hoops allowed the skirts to sway enticingly, and hairstyles involved hours of painstaking preparation.
Women were beginning to have a larger voice outside the family home, but it was a slow journey. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the roles of women changed drastically. With ten percent of the country’s population (three million men) off fighting each other, women had to move beyond the domestic world. During the war, women worked outside the home like never before. They ran farms and businesses; they worked in factories. Women traveled with the armies and worked as nurses, seamstresses, secretaries, laundresses, and more. Some even disguised themselves as men and went to battle. All of this while raising their children and caring for their homes.
(LEFT) Jane Mackay, Union Civil War Laundress, 3rd Pennsylvania Infantry. Photo courtesy of picryl.com.
(RIGHT) 1840’s Dress. Photo courtesy of Luetta Coonrod, 5/29/21, Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery, Lockport, IL.
With this change in lifestyle, more women began to change their attire. Dorothea Dix, Superintendent of Nurses in Washington, D.C., had very strict requirements for her nursing candidates. They had to be dressed simply and practically, with no hoops or fancy clothes that would be in the way. Ammunition workers knew they needed to be able to work quickly and efficiently, so they too left their adornments at home. Practicality became the new norm. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker got around the no trousers law by wearing a shortened skirt over her pants.
During the 1870s-1890s, shape began to lose its appeal. Bustles made it hard to sit down, and giant sleeves took up too much room. By the time we reached the 20th century, practicality was in the lead. Dresses became simpler to wear and easier to move within. Women were working outside the home more frequently, as teachers, office workers, store associates, and other “suitable” occupations.
During World War I, the war to end all wars (as it was called at the time), women stepped up and did what needed to be done. They worked in jobs left vacant by the men who went to Europe to fight. They created new roles for themselves, as they have always done in times of need. They raised their families and sent care packages overseas. They were practical in their dress; there was no time to be anything else.
(LEFT) Women Army Recruits, WWII. Photo courtesy of getarchive.com.
(RIGHT) 1920 sport suit. Photo courtesy of getarchive.com.
By 1920, many women had the legal right to vote across the United States. The vote moved from the wide-open west to the more traditional east, but it happened. Hemlines shortened and women took to the open road. They moved from small farm communities to bustling cities, and their wardrobe changed with them. Women were ready to take on the world, and it showed.
After the fun of the “roaring twenties,” the Great Depression (1929-1939) and World War II (1939-1945) changed clothing styles yet again. Women were once again in the industrial work force, in addition to being in the armed services. Rosie the Riveter and female military personnel determined what women were wearing and doing. They were tough because they needed to be; there was a job to be done.
When the war ended, many women wanted to be seen as feminine again. Some needed to be seen that way to fit in with societal norms. Here come the heels, sweaters, and pearls of the Baby Boomers. Everything was in its place, and the vision of a traditional home was one of domestic heterosexual harmony. The man of the house worked, and the wife and mother took care of the family and home. For many families, it was a reflection of wanting to get back to their roots, to focus on values.
The sixties brought hippies and flower power; the seventies transitioned from hippies to the yuppies of the eighties. Many women were focused on being feminists, showing that they were as good as men in any field they chose. Record numbers of women joined traditionally male workforces and made headlines. They wore power suits and made fashion statements.
By the end of the twentieth century, there were very few areas that women had not made their mark. They were more confident in who they were and what they were doing. Fashion had minor ups and downs (skirt lengths, jean styles, color choices, etc.), but it became more about personal style than political statement. You could wear what you wanted to wear, because you were making your own choices. No one was going to tell you what to do, what to wear, or how to wear it.
The twenty-first century has brought the spectrum of clothes to a new level. Comfort is the name of the game, and that game is played everywhere. Women can do anything they want to do, and they expect to be comfortable while they do it. There have been many inroads made in what women do and where they do it, but there is always room for more growth. We have come a long way in the past 250 years; women and clothing have changed drastically. Who knows what the stitches will look like in another 250 years?
1970’s Fashions. Photo courtesy of flickr.com.