Dressing for the occasion: the differentiation of women's costume in America, 1770-1910

Abstract

At the end of the eighteenth century, women's garments began to be associated with various occasions. The main objective of this study has been to document the origin and extent of this differentiation in America, and to discern its purpose. ☐ Fashion plates dating from the 1770's and 1780's were differentiated mainly by degree of formality, such as full dress, half dress, and undress. This was followed, in the 1790's, by differentiation based on time of day, such as morning, afternoon and evening dress, and was later added by a system of specialization based on various activities, such as concert and promenade. ☐ The increasing extent of costume differentiation coincided with an increasing specialization in the social lives of women in the middle class, especially after the Civil War. The differentiation of fashion images served as a form of etiquette instruction, by which women learned how to dress for various social occasions. (Abstract from ProQuest citation page)