What to wear in 1900

EPHRATA — Several women modeled fashion from the early 1900s during the Prairie Roses Style Show Saturday in Ephrata at the Grant County Courthouse.

Sagehen Lady Beverly Mayer hosted the event explaining to the audience the significance of each outfit as the models paraded in the courtroom.

She opened the event explaining how the Prairie Rose symbolizes women of the era as “rare and precious.”

From 1899 to 1919, 90 percent of women in Grant County stayed at home, she said. The remaining 10 percent were teachers and nurses. Eventually, the women who worked at home began working in the service industry, business offices and eventually became economically independent.

By 1900, appropriate clothing worn by women began to change to adapt to the lives they led, Mayer said.

Traditional early homesteaders wore clothing complete with a sun hat, apron and full length dress. She said the clothing was for women who carried responsibilities associated with caring for the home and farmlands.

School teachers were required to wear at least two petty coats under their dresses and skirt length could not be more than two inches above the ankle. Mayer added teachers were not allowed to dye their hair or fraternize outside of work with certain men because they could lose their job.

Women who performed clerical work wore, what was considered to be professional clothing, which included a long pleated jacket and carried a tapestry bag to hold their office materials. The bag was similar to a brief case, she said. Blue was the popular color.

Nurses often acted as mid-wives and aided injured soldiers, Mayer said. They wore a gown, often blue and white, pleated hat and white apron to store their tools.

Several other models wore formal wear and political gear.

During the event, several women attended wearing clothing styled after the 1900s fashions. Women also shared stories about early homesteading families in the county, who still remain in the area.