the Blouse Rebecca Horton, DMGT 702, 23 Apr. 2012 A case study of innovation through a look into the diffusion of two-piece women’s dress
Evening overblouse, 1910 via Artstor
Why Study the Blouse?
A CASE OF
heterogeneous engineering. Woman in a Green Blouse, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1913 via Artstor
Changing Times
1858
1910
Images: French Day Dress 1858; Women’s USA, 1910, via Life image archive
Spools of Innovation
1. The sewing machine Image: madeelinetosh via flickr
2.
3.
Novelty and Changing roles women’s dress for women
“…industrial innovation can be used as an explanatory device for the evolution of fashion trends, though only within the context of social and cultural determinants” -Breward, C. The Culture of Fashion: A New History of Fashionable Dress
Image: William Morris Black and White Textiles
Sewing machine as key innovation Singer Sewing Machines Print, 1868, via Life image archive
Crinoline, lace, starched collars, plain long-sleeved blouses for tennis, the tailor-made suit‌
Image: SCAD 2011 diagram of 19th century woman’s shirt
Novelty and Women’s Dress 1902 National Cloak Company Original advertisement, via Life image archive
“a form of clothing suitable for the pace and demands of urban, industrial life in capitalist societies� -Wilson, E. Through the Looking Glass
Image: Mulberry Bend Park, New York City, 1897
Gibson Girl Illustration from “Sketches and Cartoons” by Charles Dana Gibson
Innovation Timeline Rational dress society promotes dress reform Women gain the right to vote
Long-sleeved blouses with starched collars worn as tennis wear
Gibson Girl
Blouses are commonplace amongst young women
Many middle-aged women are now working Women’s suits and serge skirts come into fashion with middle- and upper-class women
Diffusion of the Sewing Machine 1830s
1840s
1850s
1860s
1870s
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
Sources Referenced Breward, C. The Culture of Fashion: A New History of Fashionable Dress.” Machester University Press, Manchester, 1995. pp. 156-157, 163 Cunningham, P. “Reforming Women’s Fashion, 1850-1920: Politics, Health, and Art Wilson, E. Through the Looking Glass. BBC Books, 1991. pp. 34-35, 36, 37, 48, 52, 52-53