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Social History Resources: Clothing

Social History Topics Clothing Entertainment Family and Home Life Food Housing Work/Occupations Research Questions What were the prevailing styles of the day? Were shoes fancy or functional? Were clothes homemade or bought in a store? Who sewed the family's clothes? What types of stores might have sold clothes and shoes? What types of fabrics might their clothes have been made of? Was the fabric homemade or store bought? How were children's clothes different from adult clothes? Were accessories (i.e., hats, scarves, etc.) an important element of fashion? What length did women wear their dresses? What were the styles and colors women chose for their wedding dresses?	Resources on the Web The Costume Gallery - 1700s Costume Image Sites A guide to the 1700s period fashion including Restoration, Cavalier and Baroque. Civil War Fashions from Bits of Blue and Gray Detailed description of clothing for both men and women during the Civil War Era. 18th Century Clothing from Colonial Williamsburg 1800s Clothing Styles Description of clothing for men and women, decade by decade from 1840 - 1890 Dressing Up - A Timeline of Women's Fashion in the 19th Century Victorian Bridal Gowns from Harper's Bazaar (c. 1867-1884) Actual sketches of bridal gowns from the pages of the popular magazine. The Late 19th and Early 20th Century Ladies' Dress Glossary. History of Victorian Clothing A history of clothing and images from the pre-hoop era (1840-1855) through the 1890. Flappers and Fashion: Women's Fashions of the 1920s The dramatic change in women's fashions after World War One. History of the Bathing Suit Follow the history and evolution of the bathing suit beginning in the late 18th century through the 1920s.	Print Resources An abundance of print resources are available to help you research the clothing your ancestor might have worn. Many of these books are available at your local library, favorite bookseller, or online at www.amazon.com. Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900 by Joan L. Severa, Nancy Rexford, and Claudia Brush Kidwell Arranged by decades, the 272 photographs presented here show the clothing and hair-style details introduced during the last half of the 19th century for men, women, and children. Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929 by Halvor Moorshead (editor), Jeff Chapman (editor) There are over 650 pictures covering the period from the 1840s to the 1920s. By comparing your undated pictures to the examples, you will be able to compare clothing and hair fashion, the poses adopted by the subject and the background settings and establish a date within a couple of years. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue by Fred L. Israel (editor) A 786-page reprint of the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Company catalog. Bloomingdale’s Illustrated 1886 Catalog by Bloomingdale Brothers Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalogue and Buyers Guide, 1895 Everyday Fashions of the Thirties as Pictured in Sears Catalogs by Stella Blum (editor) For this historically accurate sampling of authentic 1930's fashion, Stella Blum, former Curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, selected for reproduction 133 representative pages from rare Sears catalogs of the period (1933-1939).