The Price of Fashion in 1910
Ladies' fashions in the early 1900s mixed opulence with practicality, as evidenced in the popularity of the shirtwaist, worn by increasing numbers of women entering the American workforce. In this gallery, pricey fabrics and large hats juxtapose with the harsh conditions of the factories in which the garments were made. Immigrant laborers often worked 14-hour days for less than $2 a day.
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For a fashionable stroll through the country, a woman wears an ornate blue walking suit, here accessorized with an oversized fur muff and a tall embroidered hat. The illustration, by Helen Dryden, appeared on the October 1, 1910, cover of Vogue.
Credit: Conde Nast -
A fashion illustration of women with feathered hats and long gloves standing in bright purple, blue, and black gowns. Large hats with wide brims, such as the one in the middle, were all the fashion in the early years of the century, while evening turbans such as the one on the right came into style in 1910.
Credit: Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY -
The cover of the Ladies' Home Journal for October 15, 1910 depicts a woman in a white shirtwaist and an ornate hat. For many working girls, the ownership of a fashionable hat was their only luxury.
Credit: Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY -
The cover of Scribner's Magazine portrays a woman in a popular shirtwaist riding a bicycle. Although they were still fitted through the waistline, shirtwaists allowed more freedom than the previous style of the high-collared bodice.
Credit: Library of Congress -
A style book by the James Edgar Company, depicting "Six Wonderful Waists," roomier shirts often worn by working women.
Credit: Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY -
Although this advertisement is for the Stearns bicycle, the woman riding represents the standard working woman's costume of a shirtwaist paired with an A-line skirt.
Credit: Library of Congress -
A drawing of a woman wearing a blue day-dress. She wears a large hat and pearls, and holds a closed parasol behind her back.
Credit: Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY -
In this 1911 Vogue cover, a woman in an embellished white gown and orange scarf holds a generous bouquet of poppies.
Credit: Conde Nast -
This cover of the Ladies Home Journal in September 1910 illustrates a girl in a white and light blue evening gown and gloves. Her look is complemented by a headband, which was becoming popular in 1910 when worn with pinned-up hair.
Credit: Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY -
The Ferris Brothers specialized in underwaists and corsets, and their advertisements featured prominently throughout the 1900s and 1910s.
Credit: Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY -
Workers crammed into a small room sew clothing by hand. The room's two windows provide most of the lighting and ventilation.
Credit: Cornell Kheel Center -
Dark, cramped shops made exhausting work still more difficult and dangerous. Scraps of garments that littered the floor were easy kindling for a potential flame.
Credit: Cornell Kheel Center -
Women sit in rows of tables in a Broadway artificial flower factory.
Credit: Cornell Kheel Center -
An Italian clothing worker in a Rochester, New York factory. Many factory workers were Italian and Jewish immigrants. On average, weekly wages started at $3.62.
Credit: New York Public Library
