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Adult Costume in Iowa Towns, 1870–1880
Author(s) -
Haack Ellen J.,
Farrell Jane A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
home economics research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.372
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1552-3934
pISSN - 0046-7774
DOI - 10.1177/1077727x8000900205
Subject(s) - clothing , newspaper , extant taxon , style (visual arts) , visual arts , history , advertising , art , sociology , media studies , archaeology , business , evolutionary biology , biology
The purpose of the research was to describe the outer clothing and hairstyles worn by men and women living in Iowa towns between 1870 and 1880. The clothing studied came from the collections of nineteen museums in Iowa, Iowa State University, and 6 private collectors. Data were also found in newspapers, magazines, photographs, tintypes, census figures, court records, city directories, and personal diaries. Surviving women's and men's clothing was described on charts prepared for this research. Photographs and line drawings of the clothes were also made. Clothing for both men and women was similar in style to fashions advertised in national magazines and newspapers of the 1870's. However, women's dresses had high necklines and full‐length sleeves, unlike some contemporary fashion illustrations. Men's suits were subdued in color and loose in fit, much like the suits advertised nationally. Cotton, wool, and silk fabrics appeared in extant garments. Surviving work clothing was limited to housedresses; patterns for a man's working blouse and overalls were illustrated in an 1876 periodical.