What to Wear

Sheer cotton dresses were a popular option for 19th century summer wear. The bodice (top part of the dress) was usually lined for modesty. The dress was worn over a nicely trimmed petticoat or underskirt.

This dress was worn to a wedding in July 1868.

Sponsored by Mary Cleverdon

As more women joined the workforce during the second half of the 19th century, women’s clothing became easier to care for and to wear. By the 1890s, shirtwaists and separate skirts were worn by hundreds of thousands of working women.

The shirtwaist (blouse) was modeled after a man’s shirt. It was affordable and much easier to wash, iron, and wear than the tight bodices of earlier decades. In some ways, the shirtwaist became a symbol of women’s newfound independence.

Ironically, the shirtwaist was also something of a symbol of exploitation. It was mass produced by workers who were often overworked, underpaid, and subject to unsafe working conditions.

Sponsored by Ronald Fischer

From early statehood, factory-woven cloth was available in Illinois, but it was expensive. Many rural women continued to spin and weave their own cloth well into the 1800s to save money.

Susan Watson of Jackson County created this homespun dress. She spun and dyed the wool yarn. She wove the wool yarn with cotton thread to create a fabric known as “linsey-woolsey.” Finally, she measured, cut, and sewed the cloth by hand to make a dress. The resulting dress is a sturdy, serviceable garment suited to years of work.

Looking closely at the dress, one can see the somewhat clumsy cutting and seaming. This shows that while Susan was an accomplished weaver, she was not a professional seamstress. Rather, she represents women of limited means who made her own clothes to save money.

Sponsored by Michael Wiant and Terri Treacy

The ideal for 19th century woman was to be soft and ornamental. In reality, however, women did a lot of hard work, either for pay or within her own home. Cotton dresses were often used as work dresses. Printed cottons and calicos were relatively inexpensive, durable, and washable.

Both of these work dresses show evidence of much wear and frequent mending. The green dress was worn for work on a Sangamon County farm. The blue dress was worn for work in the city of Springfield.

Sponsored by Sandy Bellatti

Sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Donald R. Graham

When Great Britain’s Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, she helped to make white wedding dresses popular. However, European and American brides continued to be married in their best dresses, which might be of any color, well into the 1900s.

Historically, only the very wealthiest brides could afford a special dress to just for their wedding day. Dresses took considerable time and expense to make. Most 19th century brides were married in a nice dress that would be worn long after their weddings. These dresses were often altered over time to remain fashionable.

Caroline Sutherland of Winnebago County wore this cream-colored silk dress when she married John Layton in 1854.

Bertha Hippen of Tazewell County wore this blue silk and velvet dress when she married William Reinhardt in 1880.

Sponsored by the Guerry Suggs Family

Sponsored by Lorin and Janet Nevling

Boys and girls were dressed alike as babies and toddlers. Nineteenth century society believed it was more important to dress children differently than adults than it was to dress small boys different from small girls. All small children wore white clothing, which was easier to boil and scrub than dyed clothing.

Infants wore long linen or cotton dresses called “slips” or “long clothes.” These had short bodices often fastened with drawstrings. The garment’s long skirt could be folded over the baby’s feet for warmth. This was considered important for maintaining the baby’s health. Once they became mobile, both boys and girls were put into short dresses that allowed them to move their legs freely.

Sponsored by Mary Blumle

Sponsored by Hiram and Gaile Phillips

Gender differences appeared in children’s clothing between the ages of three and seven. Going into pants was called “breeching.” It was a milestone in a small boy’s life. Afterward, boys often wore jackets with matching short pants attached by buttons, worn over a white shirt. Girls continued to wear dresses that closed in the back. Often they wore long underpants called “pantalets” under their dresses.

Sponsored by Allan and Penny Roth

Sponsored by Windridge Farm

By the age of about eight or nine, children’s fashions generally copied those of adults. Girls would be dressed in styles similar to those of their mothers. However, a girl’s skirts were shorter and would gradually lengthen as she grew older.

Sponsored by Sharon Bryden, SusieQsRetroShop (Etsy)

Readymade maternity clothing did not exist until the late 19th century. Women generally accommodated their pregnancies by wearing existing, loose-fitting garments such as wrappers and morning gowns. They also altered their regular clothing by removing darts, adding panels, or inserting drawstrings.

The white dress functioned as a wrapper and was used in the home. The brown walking dress was intended to be worn in public. Sadly, both of the women who wore these dresses died in childbirth. It was a fate that befell one out of every 100 women who gave birth during the 1800s.

Sponsored by Karen and Bob Westbrook

Sponsored by Nina Walthall

The wrapper, or morning robe, was the 19th century version of a housecoat. It was a long, loose-fitting or semi-fitted garment worn over a nightgown or undergarments. Women generally wore them before putting on her nicer clothes for the day.

Wrappers were considered acceptable attire for breakfast or housework. They generally were not for receiving company or leaving the house. Front-closing and easy to wash, wrappers were also worn at home while a woman was pregnant or nursing.

Sponsored by Carolyn S. Dungan

Educational opportunities for middle-class white women expanded after the Civil War. Public schools improved and became more accessible. More colleges admitted women. Between 1870 and 1900, the number of women enrolled in college increased eightfold.

This dress was worn by Fanny Matheny when she graduated from Springfield’s Bettie Stuart Institute on June 15, 1881. The quality of the dress suggests that Fanny considered her graduation an important event.

Sponsored by Harvey and Judy Stephens

A certain gayety and brightness of attire is as suitable for youth as sober colors and quiet styles are for the more advanced in life. –The Art of Dressing Well, 1870

The bright color and wide neckline of this dress suggests that it was worn by a young, likely unmarried woman.

Bright colors were considered more acceptable for young ladies to wear than older ladies. Married and older women were advised to wear subdued, modest colors and prints.

Sponsored in memory of Elizabeth Anne Sees

…Neither will an elderly lady attire herself in gaudy colours, nor wear a profusion of ornaments, nor affect habiliments which become young people. To do so in advanced years will militate against that respect and deference which it demands, and assuredly subject the ancient to contempt and ridicule. --Etiquette, Social Ethics, and the Courtesies of Society, 1854

Abiah Hickox Parke of Logan County wore this dress when she was in her mid-60s. It reflects the 19th century custom that older women dress in muted colors and quiet prints. Abiah might have chosen to either wear her corset loose or go without one. Many older women did this to accommodate a fuller figure or allow for easy dressing.

Sponsored by Candy Morin

Nineteenth century ball gowns were special occasion dresses. They typically had a tight bodice, short sleeves, and a neckline cut low on the shoulders. Depending on one’s financial means, the dress might be made of expensive fabric and elaborately decorated.

Ball gowns were not common items of 1800s clothing. They were expensive and owned only by those who could afford the cost of the dress and had the free time to attend formal gatherings. However, ball dresses (and wedding dresses) are common in museum collections precisely because they were considered special enough to save.

The average woman had much less fancy day- or work dresses in her wardrobe. These dresses were often worn out, made over, or repurposed over the years. They are less common in museum collections because they either didn’t last or weren’t considered special enough to be saved.

Sponsored by Tina Bennett

Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.– Susan B. Anthony, 1896

The bicycle was one of women’s most important avenues to freedom in the late 1800s. It allowed her to travel quickly and independently.

The popularity of bicycles led to changes in women’s clothing. Many women adopted bloomers (loose pants) for cycling to prevent their skirts getting tangled in the wheels. This bicycle dress features a split, ankle-length skirt to allow for more ease of movement while being modestly dressed.

Sponsored by Tom Ryder in honor of Peggy Ryder

Death was a part of everyday life in the 19th century. The average life expectancy was low and the child death rate was high. From this came a culture of mourning that defined how people were expected to show grief.

Part of the mourning process for women involved wearing black clothing when a family member died. How long she wore black depended on how close she was to the person who died. It could range from three months for the death of an aunt to two years for the death of a husband. The degree to which women mourned also depended on her financial means, social class, personal feeling, and age.

Clara Manson Huffaker wore this dress after the death of her father in 1894. Etiquette (custom) at the time recommended a mourning period of six months to a year following the death of a parent.

Sponsored by Park Funeral Homes, Inc.

For most of the 19th century, death and funerals took place in the home. Bodies were washed, dressed, and laid out by family members. In death, a woman might be dressed in her clothes from life. Nightclothes were a symbol of death as sleep. A nice dress reflected the belief that death was a journey.

Towards the end of the century, after-death care began moving out of the home and into funeral parlors. These were staffed by professional funeral directors. Funeral directors often sold mass-produced burial garments such as this one. This dress, meant for a young girl, has no buttons, ties, or fasteners. Only the part of the garment visible in a coffin is finished. The rest is coarsely made with a paper-like lining and many raw edges.

Sponsored by Kathleen Hoffman