Twentieth Century Woman: Stereoviews A-Z

 
Don't confuse the hair-like mop in the middle for another woman like I did! The focus of course is the wife on the left, who is leisurely reading a book while her husband (note the apron) does dishes. It is a funny take on women's lib in the 1890s and early 1900s. I doubt this household scene was typical then, but nevertheless . . .

"Twentieth Century Woman" (ca. 1890s)

  

Proper Victorian dress for American women up to the 1890s was known for its corsets and layers of clothing. Author Dorothy W. Hartman writes, "One account reported that the 'well-dressed' woman of the late nineteenth century wore 37 pounds of clothing in the winter, 19 which hung from her corseted waist." Whew. It is hard to imagine. But in the 1890s, bloomers (long pantaloons like the striped ones in this photo) became acceptable. Finally, women had something to wear if they wanted to ride a bicycle . . . or simply play.

(See Post A and Post B for history of Stereoviews/Stereoscope)

Copyright 2013 ©Sharon Himsl; [stereoview from Gravseth family archive]

(Women's Roles in the Later 19th Century, http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/America-1860-1900/Lives-Of-Women.aspx)

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing