Research Files

Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920 Historic Research Using Objects from Oregon’s Historical Institutions

by Jennifer M. Mower and Elaine L. Pedersen

garments, long overlooked by many and society.3 Extant outdoor garments scholars of history, are capable of pro- analyzed for this study provide tangible viding information about social and evidence of the ways Oregon women personal history that often cannot be adapted to a developing consumer- found among other historical sources. oriented middle class and to new is “an expressive medium” — modes of transportation and com- a means of communicating cultural merce. values and norms as well as economic Oregon museums contain numer- and social status.1 Extant garments — ous garments that were owned and a particular type of material culture likely worn by Oregonians as early as that has been preserved for study and the 1880s and extending through the display — contain stories that reveal twentieth century. Such artifacts are clues about people and their behaviors. valuable resources for those who study Amy Smart Martin, a historian of early local and regional history, particularly American culture, explains: when they are documented to a par- ticular locale and time period (that is, Material objects matter because they are complex, symbolic bundles of social, cultural have clear provenance). An analysis of and individual meanings fused onto some- ninety-eight extant garments from the thing we can touch, see and own. That very 1880s to 1920s suggests lifestyle trends quality is the reason that social values can so in Oregon and provides a case study quickly penetrate into and evaporate out of of the usefulness of examining extant common objects.2 garments. There are several approaches The study of clothing, like all objects, to artifact analysis, all of which enable gives us insight on consumer culture scholars to draw forth “evidence of atti-

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 © 2014 Oregon Historical Society Benton Historical County Society

In about 1895, five ladies gather on a bridge in Corvallis, Oregon, dressed in fashionable puffy sleeves, -length capes, and fitted — the latest outdoor garment styles. Women often chose sleeveless outdoor garments during that time period to avoid squashing large sleeves.

tudes, belief systems, and assumptions” 1909 (see p. 192).5 According to donor of a specific time and place.4 Although records, the was donated to the provenance was not available for all the Oregon Historical Society in 1968 by garments analyzed for this study, com- Virginia Lee Richardson; donor files paring the garments to each other and state that the coat belonged to Vir- to what is known about fashionable ginia’s mother, whose name according garments of the period using written to research via Ancestry.com, was Mrs. historical records and publications Thomas Richardson.6 Clothing histori- allowed us to build a picture of the ans generally assume that garments that women who wore them. are saved hold meaning for wearers and One Oregon outdoor garment for their descendants. Knowing this and which provenance is available is an that Richardson’s children were born ankle-length, black coat with black jet around the time the coat was made and and cord trim. It was made for and worn, we speculate that she had fond worn to the third annual Portland Hunt memories of the garment or the event Club Horse Show held in October 1909. where it was worn. Because the coat was The coat is similar to coat styles pic- made for a specific event, Richardson tured in the Oregonian on October 10, may have been a Portland Hunt Club

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  1968 “exhibition of historic , accessories, jewelry, and furnishings, organized to celebrate the Art Associa- tion’s diamond jubilee.”8

Life in Oregon from the 1880s to 1920s was defined by increased development that connected parts of the state to each other and to places beyond. The state contained urban areas in the Willamette Valley west of the Cascade Mountains and rural OHS Museum 68 - 526 . 1

In this 1909 Oregonian advertisement titled “Dainty Summer Frocks Give Way to Heavy Fall and Winter Wear,” women were informed that “elaborate trimming of fancy braids characterizes stylish displayed in Portland stores.”

volunteer — a common occupation of middle-class, early twentieth-century women in the region. This connection further illustrates the sociocultural value of the garment.7 Richardson died in 1949, and the coat was donated to the Oregon Historical Society in 1968. The wearer’s daughter most likely kept This ankle-length black was the garment for those twenty years as worn by Mrs. Thomas Richardson at the a reminder of her mother. The coat 1909 Portland Hunt Club Horse Show. may have been donated specifically The coat is similar to those shown in an to be displayed in Portland’s Jubilee, a Oregonian ad from that same year.

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 areas to the east. The establishment in women’s outdoor garments from of a north-to-south railroad route 1880 to 1920, which show an increasing in the Willamette Valley in 1870, the cosmopolitan culture that developed Northern Pacific Rail in 1883, and the in the American West in the late nine- Oregon Short Line in 1884, provided teenth and early twentieth centuries. transcontinental links to Portland Women living outside Portland and advanced development of a com- used local stores or seamstresses, pur- mercial economy in western Oregon. chased goods from catalogues, or made Railroads provided faster and more their own clothing.16 In 1902, Eugene, reliable transportation to national Oregon, resident Florence Marquiss and international markets than had wrote in her diary about making horse-drawn methods.9 By 1900, 56 waists, , an , a “wrapper,” percent of the state’s population lived and collars. On August 16, 1902, she in the Willamette Valley, a majority documented buying “velvet and stuff that increased to 62 percent by 1910.10 for my ,” and about a week later The lack of infrastructure, particularly she explained that “Miss Ames started transportation, influenced the num- my jacket.” Marquiss also purchased ber of people who settled in eastern goods from far away retailers or manu- Oregon. In 1900, the population east facturers, as indicated in her diary on of the Cascades was just 25 percent August 21, 1902: “Got my corset from of the state’s total, and by 1910, the the east and it was a dandy.”17 Smaller population decreased to 21 percent.11 local merchants operated as they had Where completed railroads existed, before the railroads, importing supplies consumers could have goods delivered from larger cities such as San Francisco, from mail-order supply companies in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York.18 Chicago and other cities further east.12 The railroad enabled retailers to acquire Stores in Portland, such as Meier & new merchandise faster and in greater Frank department store, brought in quantities than had been possible merchandise not just from the eastern before. In the Willamette Valley, apparel United States but also from European from “the East and San Francisco” was cities.13 As historian Cynthia Culver advertised by S. Friedman’s, a store in Prescott explains, those transportation Salem, and merchandise from New and economic developments linked York and San Francisco was sold at the individuals in the Willamette Valley Pioneer Store in Independence, a small to the “national consumer culture that town west of Salem. carried with it new expectations for Although transportation of goods men’s and women’s behavior.”14 Mass- was faster and easier in the Willamette production of food, fabric, and other Valley, eastern Oregon merchants also goods that had to be produced indi- managed to stock from big vidually before the 1900s gave women cities. M. Weil & Co. in Baker City, for the opportunity to pursue social and example, advertised items from New political activities outside the home.15 York manufacturers, and clothing from That substantial social shift is reflected San Francisco was sold by R. Alexander

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  & Co. in Pendleton.19 Eastern Oregon culture, shifts in media influences, railroad spur construction south of and increasing lifestyle changes for the east-west transcontinental line women.24 Those forty years repre- began in the 1880s but reached only a sent the time in Oregon when town small part of the region.20 Goods and development and commerce became individuals throughout most of the well established.25 Styles of the period region travelled via a combination of were therefore informed by a transi- rail, coach, and freight wagons. Trans- tion away from home production and portation from Portland to an eastern toward regular purchases of ready- Oregon town might take two or three made garments from retailers ranging days, with several additional days from local general stores to depart- required to reach individuals in rural ment stores and mail-order compa- areas. Mail or freight from Portland nies. During that period, there was also sometimes took longer to arrive. Towns a general increase in the prevalence of in eastern Oregon waited until the early mass media, due to improvements and 1900s for railroad access, and some advances in technology that influenced towns never had access to a railroad.21 consumers’ ideas about current styles. Rural free mail delivery, which came More consumers read newspapers and to some areas of the Willamette Valley magazines, which contained images of as early as 1897, was available in only fashionable dress. In addition to local a small area of northeastern Oregon social groups (such as friends, church between 1899 and 1904.22 For the vast groups, social clubs and events), film, majority of individuals living away advertising, and retailer’s visual mer- from towns, it was necessary to travel, chandising strategies began to influ- or have friends and neighbors travel, ence purchasing decisions.26 to the post office to receive mail. Such realities impacted access to clothing. We examined garment collections Alma Olive Huseby Dempsey started at twenty-five institutions across a new diary when she moved with her Oregon to analyze a range of extant newborn baby to central Oregon, just outdoor clothing dating from 1880 east of the Cascade Mountains, where to 1920, selecting institutions with her husband was already living, work- garments that represented a cross- ing, and establishing their homestead. section of styles, had labels, had clear In an entry dated December 4, 1916, provenance, or offered some combi- Dempsey mentioned that a friend of nation of these characteristics.27 See the family brought them mail “and the “Artifact Analysis” sidebar on the a package from Sears, Roebuck” that facing page for more information on contained for her husband.23 the process. Description of the extant Oregon outdoor garments from outdoor garments was the first phase 1880 to 1920 reflect not only changes of the study. While collecting gar- in transportation but also the devel- ment descriptions, we also gathered opment of a middle-class consumer historical records, contemporary pub-

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 Artifact Analysis

Elaine Pedersen (left) and Jennifer Mower (right) conduct research on outdoor garments at the Benton County Historical Society and Museum in Philomath, Oregon.

While we are familiar with multiple artifact methods available for documenting extant garments, for this study we chose a method most often applied when analyzing one or a few objects.28 The single-artifact method was more suitable for our research because it is designed to elicit more details about each artifact than are multiple artifact approaches. We analyzed ninety-eight outdoor garments from around the state using the following steps: description, identification, and interpretation.29

Description: Before visiting museums and examining their collections, we developed a worksheet to record descriptive information about the garments using literature on style from 1880 to 1920.30 Worksheets ensure consistent information is recorded when surveying a large number of artifacts.

Identification: We documented each garment’s physical characteristics in as much technical detail as possible, recording garment type, fabric color, construction, fit, style details (such as sleeve and style), and ornamentation. Each garment was also sketched, measured, and photographed.

Interpretation: The descriptive phase of artifact analysis often provides a number of insights that help inform an object’s interpretation. Using the collected descriptions, we consulted written historical sources, records of provenance, and com- parison objects to interpret the garments and place them within a cultural context.

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  Type of Outdoor Garments by Date

1880–­ 1889 1890–1899 1900–1909 1910–1919 Total

Cape 1 25 15 0 41

Coat 2 3 12 11 28

Jacket 3 2 3 4 12

Duster 0 0 8 0 8

Dolman- 1 2 0 0 3

Cloak 0 1 0 1 2

Collarette 0 0 1 0 1

Other * 0 2 1 0 3

Total 7 35 40 16 98

* “Other” garments include two beaded, short cape-like garments from the 1890s and one fur stole from the 1900s.

Ninety-eight garments from twenty-five museums across Oregon were analyzed for this study. The chart documents the range of garments examined by date from 1880 to 1919. Compiled by the authors.

lications, and secondary sources. We The extant 1880s outdoor garments completed the study by analyzing the were hip-length and multiple length extant outdoor garments. The work — shorter in back and longer in front. resulted in a general understanding These lengths reflect the popularity of of the garments Oregon women may back-fullness, demonstrating interest have worn outdoors from 1880 to 1920. in current styles, but it is also Since few garments have provenance, possible that the decision to wear we can only assume that the outdoor the garments was simply practical. garments were worn in Oregon. In A March 19, 1885, article in the New each decade, the surviving outdoor Northwest, a Portland newspaper garments generally followed the fash- edited and published by suffrage ionable silhouette, although individual leader Abigail Scott Duniway, stated style characteristics of extant garments that one of the merits of the shorter did not always match those identified lengths was that “they require but and discussed in the scholarly or con- little material and a greater vari- temporary literature. ety of persons than the long .”31

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 Longer cloaks also would have been a style useful for multiple occasions more expensive because more fabric and likely were comfortable to wear was required. Although the dolman- during pregnancy, which may explain mantle, a semi-sleeved garment worn their popularity. There were two main over indoor clothing, is reported in the Oregon cape styles. One was a waist or literature as a common 1880s outdoor hip-length style, often constructed of garment, we found only one surviving thick plush fabrics or broadcloth and 1880s dolman-mantle.32 Dolmans and lined with light-weight fabric, with mantles are cape-like wraps “with some applied ornamentation. The openings for hands or with cape- second was a shorter cape, generally shaped appendages for sleeves.”33 For of fabrics lighter than those used in Oregon women, many of whom were the hip-length cape and typically with physically active, dolman-mantles some applied ornamentation, such would have been impractical due as jet beading, pleated ribbon, to this style’s sleeve, creating partial lace, or braid. The image on page 191 immobility of the arms. One possible depicts three Oregon women wearing explanation for the lack of dolman- waist-length capes and two wearing mantles in museum collections is that fitted jackets with the fashionable because they had been in style since the puffy sleeves. 1870s, most were too worn out to save A 1900s etiquette book, Correct or deem appropriate for contributing Social Usage: A Course of Instruction in to a museum collection. Good Form, Style and Deportment, pro- Garment researcher Margaret Anne vided guidelines for color, fabric, and May Lambert stated that the full sleeves type of outdoor garments for specific and shoulders of the 1890s influenced occasions, offering valuable insight women’s choice of outdoor garments. even though it is not known whether The enlarged sleeves and shoulders it was read in Oregon. For mornings, of dress bodices and shirtwaists were one was to wear a dark cloth coat with a challenging for women who valued shorter length , unlike afternoons, practicality and wanted their outdoor when lighter colors were suggested garments to last beyond one fashion along with a jacket worn over a dressy style, and the extant 1890s garments bodice. For the theater, church, or busi- examined for this study reveal inter- ness, “a well-fitting black cloth jacket” est in both the 1890s fashionably large was best.35 The surviving 1900s outdoor sleeves and practicality.34 garments again reflect a mixture of Outdoor garments without sleeves, fashion interest and practicality. Long such as cloaks and capes, were smart lengths — ankle and mid-calf — were choices for women who did not want prevalent in collections, which suggests to squash their large dress sleeves, and their popularity in the state and reflects we found a large number of 1890s the curvaceous s-shaped silhouette capes. In addition to covering the fash- of the time. Dusters, or coat-like gar- ionable sleeve shapes, capes offered ments that covered and protected

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  Albany Regional Museum Regional Albany

In about 1910, two women stand in front of the Davenport Music Store located on the southwest corner of First Street and Ferry Street in Albany, Oregon. The women’s outer garments are loose fitting, boxy, and appear similar to mens’ outerwear from the period, perhaps a reflection of women’s changing roles and activities.

outer wear from dirt and debris, were variety of social roles and activities, as also found among extant garments of evidenced by the dusters as well as by the 1900s, a period when automobile both somewhat ornamented and plain use was growing. Although clothing jackets, , and capes suitable for historians have only noted dusters for many occasions. The influence on dress their use during that time period in and the interest in sports was seen in automobiles, they may also have been an extant 1900s Oregon waist-length used for protection in open carriages. golf cape. The cape is made of solid Because many places in both western green, felted wool, with plaid and eastern Oregon lacked adequate and a two-piece low-stand collar with roads for new horseless carriages, the -stitching and braid along the collar survival of dusters in museum collec- and center-front opening. While fewer tions may result from light use as well in number compared to plain, more as show their perceived importance for practical garments, multiple extant gar- the donors. ments include fashionable jet beading, The extant 1900s outdoor garments and one coat has a crochet lace overlay. reflect the probability that Oregon The ornamented garments were likely women held and participated in a used by women living in towns and

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 married to husbands of some economic their owners did not have specialized, means. The garments with little or no activity-related garments. Although ornamentation most likely were worn no surviving dusters were dated to by women of lesser wealth or by those this decade, they most likely were still who worked with their husbands on in use.41 There is evidence that farms and ranches and may have had were used by Oregon women in the little time to read the etiquette literature house for warmth, by the children in or ability to follow the advice. Plain, play, and when travelling.42 dark outdoor garments were chosen by Our analysis determined that not such women, who likely did not have only lifestyle factors but also national additional, fancy outdoor garments. fashion trends influenced women’s The extant 1910s coats are loose clothing styles in Oregon. Significantly, fitting and boxy in shape but were nineteen garments with labels were not cut with the flaring and width of identified.43 The labeled garments had styles reported in the literature.36 This better quality primary and secondary may reflect a desire for garments with fabrics, sometimes “fancier” seam fin- fewer datable features, allowing use ishes, and more lace, beading, ribbon, across style periods. Outdoor garment and other decorative trim compared styles of the decade appear similar to to garments with no labels. Higher men’s from the same period, echoing quality primary and secondary fabrics, women’s changing roles, responsibili- for example, include thicker wools or ties, and activities. A variety of lengths pile-fabrics with finer (more thinly reflect the increasing variety of garment spun yarns per inch) weave structures. styles that were available (see p. 198). Coats might be made of a heavy-duty, During the 1910s, one etiquette book more densely woven, wool fabric and advised women to use evening and lined with satin. Fancier seam finishes activity-related outdoor garments such consisted of more dense or refined as plain and simple dress for church weave structures, for example, and and a or for concert- instead of overcast seams, the seam going.37 There were opera and theater edges were pinked or bound with houses in towns throughout Oregon.38 satin fabric. The labeled garments In isolated, rural areas of eastern were also more complex in cut and fit Oregon, women attended scheduled and had construction details such as events such as suppers, socials, picnics, pleating, shirring, darting, and gath- and pageants. There were also spon- ers. The existence of these garments taneous activities.39 Not all women shows interest in quality garments participated in events away from their and fashion as well as the financial homesteads, or if they did leave home ability to purchase such clothing. The for social activities, some women had relatively smaller quantity of better no “better” outdoor garments to wear.40 garments, however, may reflect the The 1910 extant outdoor garments need for practicality and economy for had little ornamentation, suggesting Oregon women during those years,

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  described by historian Susan North as “the dominant force in fashion” from “1895 [to]. . . 1908,” is evidence of not only financial ability but also interest in fashion. The own- ers may have read Harper’s Bazaar, a national high-fashion woman’s Independence Heritage Museum Heritage Independence magazine that advertised Redfern in its back pages.44 Examination of designer garments across decades reveals that practical- ity in outdoor clothing remained a value for Oregon women, even when they also considered fashion trends. Dark colors predominated across the The Independence Heritage Museum decades, because they did not show in Independence, Oregon, holds in dirt and stains — a must for women its collection this Redfern jacket from who could not afford to replace their about 1910. Redfern was an English outdoor garments and for women high- house that produced living in eastern Oregon, where water high-quality, tailored garments. Labeled was scarce.45 As Elizabeth Raber wrote garments were often made of better regarding her mother’s hard life after quality fabric and had more refined the family moved from the southern seam finishes and than those Willamette Valley to the high arid without labels. desert of eastern Oregon in the 1900s: “Out here where every drop of water must be hauled, the color of clothing took on considerable importance.”46 particularly when one considers that Histories of regional garment styles garments donated to museums are can be enhanced by comparison to often the most valued. national styles.47 Such analysis pro- Two outdoor garments from the vides a larger context for a regional English couture house Redfern — study and may demonstrate spe- known for high-quality tailored gar- cific regional trends or show which ments — exist in the collections we promoted style characteristics were researched. The garments’ existence adopted for actual use. We selected is worth noting, but because infor- the 1890s for comparison because it mation about the owners of either was one of two decades in which the Redfern garment has not been located, largest number of extant garments was the garments unfortunately raise more found and represented the start of a questions than can be answered. The more commercial era in Oregon, with presence of the Redfern garments, increased availability of transportation

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 OHS Museum 72 - 1 38 OHS Museum 6 1 - 11 8 OHS Museum . 1 6

Extant outdoor garments in Oregon are shorter than most styles promoted in national magazines, such as these two capes worn in about 1895 from the Oregon Historical Society’s collection. The shorter styles survived because they were easier to construct or because they were not worn as often as longer, more practical styles, leaving them intact for preservation.

and ready-made goods. We compared sions about the importance of multiple characteristics of extant Oregon functions and practicality for outdoor women’s outdoor garments with those garments for Oregon women. Editors proposed and illustrated in media for The Delineator remarked on the aimed at readers of a variety of socio- short cape: “The utility and grace of the economic levels — Harper’s Bazaar short cape are the potent factors in its and The Delineator — and examined present popularity, and the simple lines images of outdoor garments available on which it is planned make it possible for purchase from the catalogue of the for every amateur seamstress to make Chicago mail-order company Sears, it up with entire success.”49 Roebuck and Company.48 Possibly due to of construction, Comparative analysis revealed both extant Oregon outdoor garments were similarities and differences. While the shorter than most promoted styles. cape was found fairly frequently in the The survival of the shorter garments contemporary literature, large numbers may also indicate those garments of capes were found among the extant were not worn as often as the longer, 1890s Oregon garments compared to more practical styles, leaving shorter coats, jackets, cloaks, shawls and other garments intact. Many of the short, garments. This helps confirm conclu- surviving garments were made of

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  Harper’s Bazaar magazine was known Indicating their wearers’ interest for high-fashion styles, such as this C.F. in fashionable silhouettes, Oregon Worth jacket in the February 2, 1895, garments had style similarities to the issue. Few extant Oregon garments had single-breasted and double-breasted the structural details or ornamentation coats highlighted in this December 1896 proposed in this magazine. issue of The Delineator.

fabrics and were most likely evening or broadcloth — were more frequently “special occasion” garments and thus found locally than in the national highly valued. The popularity of both publications, which promoted greater short and long outdoor garments was varieties of fabrics for a range of occa- discussed in one article in the New sions. One similarity, however, was Northwest, and in the same article, that garments shown in the media the editor promoted practicality, stat- and surviving in Oregon were made ing that “cloaks intended for service of solid fabrics with no pattern. The made of plain cloth are always long, Oregon garments’ fabrics were most close-fitting with coat-sleeves and no like those found in the Sears catalogue trimming, but buttons.”50 and suggested in The Delineator and Additional differences between the least like those in Harper’s Bazaar, a Oregon extant garments and those magazine aimed at the upper socio- depicted in national publications economic level. include that thicker, more durable fab- Some Oregon outdoor garments rics — such as pile fabrics, twills, and had the stylish decorative details seen in

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 Women in Oregon wore outdoor garments more similar to these in the Fall 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogue, as opposed to those pictured in Harper’s Bazaar, which was geared toward consumers in upper socioeconomic levels. The capes and jackets were often made of thicker, more durable fabric such as twill and broadcloth.

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  the fashion periodicals, although many est difference was found between the had little or no surface ornamentation. styles proposed in Harper’s Bazaar, Several extant garments had only rela- known for proposing high fashion tively simple shoulder and bodice darts styles, and the extant garments. as shaping devices, whereas many of the nationally promoted outdoor garments At the outset of this analysis, we were constructed using pleats, gathers, assumed that outdoor garments worn ruffles, godets, and other construction by women in both the eastern and details that required additional fabric western regions of Oregon would and labor.51 Oregon women of lesser be different — that women living in economic means, and whose lives were more populated regions would have filled with work and had little time for stylish garments and women east of socializing, would not have perceived the Cascades would have more utili- a need for a “fancy” cape — although tarian clothing. Based on our analysis, they may have had the desire. Capes however, it appears that all Oregon also may have been purchased and women likely wore somewhat simpler made with the thought of re-use; a cape and more practical variations of out- with few seams would have allowed the door garments as compared to current wearer to reuse the yardage. Although fashions at that time. This is likely referring to a dress, Alma Olive Huseby because clothing worn in real life is Dempsey recorded in her diary that used for longer time periods than styles on October 30, 1916, she “ripped [her] depicted in magazines.53 While this . . . velvet dress to make it over.”52 While tentative finding is not definitive due the diary entry contained no more to lack of provenance on many extant information, it appears Alma desired garments found in the Oregon institu- to change the garment style; she may tions visited, women in the state during have wanted to modify the bodice, the 1880s and 1920s were surprisingly sleeves, or other style features of the fashionable, while their choices also dress. Similar remaking could have reflected a need for practicality. been done on capes owned and worn Clothing and are valu- by Oregon women. able but under-used resources that The extant Oregon garments do can reveal information about the not represent all the proposed styles sociocultural values and economy or style characteristics seen in Harper’s that developed in towns throughout Bazaar and The Delineator or adver- Oregon at the turn of the twentieth tised in Sears catalogues. The garments century. Via artifact analysis and the had general style similarities to the use of supporting written and visual nationally proposed styles, however, historic documents, researchers may showing Oregon wearers’ interest in find that extant garments will provide following fashionable silhouettes. new information about local history. There were differences in the amount New or different conclusions may be of variation or choice in structural developed by examining extant gar- details and ornamentation. The great- ments.

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 notes

1. Grant McCracken, Culture & March 11, 1885, 4; “Union Pacific The Line Consumption: New Approaches to the that Leads All Others Follow Through 2 Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Daily Trains Leaving Portland. . . 3 ½ Days to Activities (Bloomington: Indiana University Chicago.” Daily Oregon Statesman (Salem), Press, 1988), 57. July 30, 1893, 6. 2. Ann Smart Martin, “Makers, Buyers 13. For advertisements for Meier and and Users: Consumerism as a Material Frank see, Morning Oregonian, December Culture Framework,” Winterthur Portfolio 17, 1906, 14; Condon Globe, July 14, 1898, 4; 28:2/4 Summer/Autumn 1993): 141. Sunday Oregonian, September 22, 1907, 8. 3. Lou Taylor, The Study of Dress History, 14. Prescott, Gender and Generation, 60. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 15. David Peterson del Mar, Oregon’s 2002), 69. Promise: An Interpretive History (Corvallis: 4. Joan Severa and Merrill Horswill, Oregon State University, 2003), 114. “Costume as Material Culture,” Dress 15 16. C. Louis Barzee, Oregon in the (1989): 51–64. Making: ’60’s to Gay ’90’s (Salem, Oregon: 5. Oregonian, October 10, 1909, Section Statesman Publishing Company, 1936), 135; 5, p. 7. Jessie Louette Wright and Lucille M. Catley, 6. For donor records see, Oregon How High the Bounty (Portland, Oregon: Historical Society Museum # 68-526.1. SalMagundi Enterprises, 1982), 35, 75. 7. Phyllis G. Tortora and Keith Eubank, 17. Florence Marquiss and Philip Mulkey Survey of Historic Costume (New York: Hunt, The Diaries of Florence Marquiss Fairchild, 2005), 361; Cynthia Culver Prescott, 1902 & 1904: A Girl of Eugene and Student Gender and Generation on the Far Western at Monmouth (Portland, Ore.: The Flossie Frontier (Tucson: University of Arizona Project, 2001), diary entry for August 21, 1902. Press, 2007), 122. 18. John Adams-Graf, “In Rags for 8. Isabella N. Chappell, Jubilee Album: An Riches: A Daguerreian Survey of Forty- Exhibition of Historic Costumes, Accessories, Niners’ Clothing,” Dress 22 (1995), 63; Alice Jewelry and Furnishings Organized to Revenue Webster, “Barlow Road Trading Celebrate the Art Association’s Diamond Post,” With Her Own Wings: Historical Jubilee (Portland: Portland Art Museum and Sketches, Reminiscences, and Anecdotes of the Fashion Group Inc. of Portland, 1968). Pioneer Women, ed. Helen Krebs Smith 9. Peter G. Boag, Environment and (Portland: Beattie and Company, 1948), 112. Experience: Settlement Culture in Nineteenth 19. Advertisement for S. Friedman’s, Century Oregon (Oakland: University of Daily Oregon Statesman (Salem), October California Press, 1992), 114; William G. 8,1885, 3; Advertisement for the Pioneer Store Robbins, Landscapes of Promise: Oregon’s in Independence, Independence West Side, Story, 1800–1940 (Seattle: University of May 8, 1891: 2; Advertisement for M. Weil Washington Press, 1997), 6. & Co., Baker City Herald, March 18, 1902, 8; 10. Richard L. Forstall, ed., Oregon: Advertisement for R. Alexander & Co., East Population of Counties by Decennial Census: Oregonian (Pendleton), January 17, 1880, 1. 1900 to 1990 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau 20. “Will the merchants of Portland of the Census, 1995) http://www.census. ever get busy, or doesn’t that city need the gov/population/cencounts/or190090.txt business?” Prineville Review, May 20, 1909, 2; (accessed April 22, 2014). “Harney County’s Railroad Prospects,” Times 11. Ibid. Herald (Burns), March 5, 1904: 3. 12. “Oregon Short Line Most Direct and 21. Andrew G. Ontko, Trails to the Ochoco Quickest Route to All Points East. . . Only Valley (Prineville, Ore.: Crook County 4 ½ Days to Chicago.” Morning Oregonian, Historical Society, 1992), 57; Elizabeth F.

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920  Raber, Some Bright Morning (Corvallis, Ore.: Artifacts: Essays in Material Culture, ed. Maverick, 1983), 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 17, 21, 28. J.D. Prown & K. Haltman (East Lansing: 22. Rural free mail delivery, when Michigan State University Press), 1–10; Severa available, delivered mail directly to the & Horswill, “Costume as material culture,” recipient. U.S Postal Service, Oregon: Dates 51–64; Jules David Prown, “Mind in Matter: That First Rural Routes Were Established An Introduction to Material Culture Theory at Post Offices, through 1904 (April 2008) and Method,” Winterthur Portfolio, 17:1 http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal- (Spring 1982): 1–19. history/first-rfd-oregon.pdf (accessed April 29. Before visiting institutions, the 22, 2014). researchers contacted collections managers 23. Alma Olive Huseby Dempsey and volunteers to ensure they had a clothing diaries, 1915–1918, Oregon Historical Society, collection and that it contained outdoor Portland, Oregon, coll 316. garments from 1880 to 1920. We therefore 24. Prescott, Gender and Generation, relied on the institutions’ ability to date and 11–12. catalog the garments, which was confirmed 25. For the development of Oregon by the researchers. Country in general, see: Robbins. Landscapes 30. For example, see: F. Grimble, of Promise. Fashions of the Gilded Age: Evening, 26. Prescott, Gender and Generation, Bridal, Sports, Outerwear, Accessories, 107–109. and Dressmaking 1877–1882, vol. 2. (San 27. The following historical museums Francisco: Lavolta Press, 2004); National were visited: Albany Regional Museum, Linn Cloak & Suit Co., Women’s Fashions of the County Historical Museum, Cottage Grove Early 1900s: An Unabridged Republication of Museum, Washington County Museum, New York Fashions, 1909 (New York: Dover Heritage Museum Society, Museum of Publications, 1992); N.V. Bryk, ed. American the Oregon Territory, Benton County Dress Pattern Catalogs, 1873–1909 (New York: Historical Society and Museum, Polk County Dover Publications, 1988); and J. Olian, ed., Museum, Silverton Country Museum, Everyday Fashions 1909-1920 (New York: East Linn Museum, Oregon Historical Dover Publications, 1995). Society, Des Chutes Historical Museum, 31. “For the Ladies,” New Northwest, Grant County Historical Museum, Harney March 19, 1885, 5. County Historical Museum, Elgin Public 32. Because dolmans and mantles were Museum, Gilliam County Historical Society very similar garments, the terms were Depot Museum, Eastern Oregon Museum, combined. Mantles were often shorter in the Morrow County Museum, Sherman County back than in the front. Historical Museum, Heritage Station: 33. Mary Brooks Picken, The Fashion The Umatilla County Museum, Bowman Dictionary: Fabric, Sewing, and Apparel as Museum, Oregon Trail Regional Museum, Expressed in the Language of Fashion (New Union County Museum, Wallowa County York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1957), 417. Museum, and Wasco County Historical 34. Margaret Anne May Lambert, Museum. For example, Oregon Historical “Women’s Costume in Northwest North Society has 86 outdoor garments; however, America During the 1890s: With a Time-lag we selected a cross-section of 14 coats and Study of Fashion Diffusion’s” (M.A. thesis, jackets because information on a large University of Washington, 1971), 126. “The number of capes had been collected from exaggerated sleeves in vogue at present multiple institutions. Based on the fashion are responsible in a great measure for the magazines of that time period, those capes popularity of the short cape. . . [with] so fully represented the styles of the period. little danger of crushing bouffant sleeves,” 28. For more on artifact analysis, see The Delineator (March 1895): 308. Tortora Kenneth Haltman, “Introduction” American and Eubank, Survey of Historic Costume, 345.

 OHQ vol. 115, no. 2 35. Correct Social Usage: A Course History: A Humanities Approach to of Instruction in Good Form, Style and Inquiry,” ITAA: Proceedings of the Annual Deportment, 12th edition (New York: The Meeting of the International and New York Society of Self-Culture, 1903), Apparel Association, Inc. November 18–21, 140, 146. 1998, ed. Nancy J. Owens (Monument, 36. Tortora and Eubank, Survey of Colo.: International Textile and Apparel Historic Costume, 374. Association, 1998), 5. 37. Eliza Bisbee Duffey, The Ladies’ and 48. See Frank Luther Mott, A History Gentleman’s Etiquette: A Complete Manual of of American Magazines, 1865–1885, vol. 3 the Manners and Dress of American Society. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Containing Forms of Letters, Invitations, 1938), 97. The Delineator was a pattern Acceptances and Regrets. With a Copious Index magazine published by The Butterick (Philadelphia, Pa.: D. McKay, 1911), 279–81. Company with a relatively high circulation 38. Alice Henson Ernst, “Opera Comes that reached 200,000 in the late 1880s. to Oregon,” Sunday Oregonian Northwest Tortora, “The Evolution of the American Rotogravure Magazine, March 18, 1956: 18; Fashion Magazine As Exemplified in John Dierdorff, “Backstage with Frank Branch Selected Fashion Journals, 1830–1969” Riley, Regional Troubadour,” Oregon Historical (Ph.D. diss. New York University, 1973), Quarterly 74:3 (September 1973): 205. 291. Selected outdoor garment illustrations 39. Alice Day Pratt, A Homesteader’s and descriptions in Harper’s Bazaar and Portfolio: The Rare Story of a Single Woman The Delineator published between 1890 Homesteader in the Dry-land West (Corvallis: and 1899 were examined, and 239 outdoor Oregon State University Press, 1993), xxxvi. garment images from the 1890s were 40. Jerry Gildemeister, Around the examined. Also examined were 71 outdoor Cat’s Back: As Compiled From the Writing garments illustrated in Sears, Roebuck and and Diaries of Daisy and Caroline Wasson. Co. catalogues. The mail-order company did (Union, Ore.: Bear Wallow Publishing, 1989); not offer women’s apparel until 1894, and we Raber, Some Bright Morning (Corvallis: did not find women’s outdoor garments for Maverick, 1983). sale until the 1895 Spring/Summer catalogue. 41. See Jane Farrell-Beck and Jean Catalogues for all of 1896 were unavailable. Parsons, 20th-Century Dress in the United The Spring/Summer 1897 catalogue is States (New York: Fairchild, 2007), 29. widely available but other seasons were not. 42. Gildemeister, Around the Cat’s Back, Catalogues for the remaining years were not 36. available. Freight charges to some Oregon 43. Three had size information and towns were listed in the Spring/Summer 1897 labels with care information. Other labels catalogue. Sears, Roebuck and Co. (Spring/ referred to the retailer and/or manufacturer. Summer 1897), 6. Seven garments were associated with a 49. The Delineator, October 1894, 421. Portland, Oregon, retailer or manufacturer, There were 59 jackets illustrated in The including: Schumacher Fur Company; Delineator and 56 capes. Meier & Frank; Olds, Wortman & King; 50. “Fashion Notes,” New Northwest, McClure; A. Schleuning; Kaspar; and one December 3, 1885, 5. label with the retailer/manufacturer’s name 51. Darts are a shaping device that helps worn off. fit the garment to the body. A godet is a piece 44. Susan North, “Redfern Limited, 1892 of cloth that is wider at the bottom and set to 1940,” Costume 43 (2009): 85. into a garment for fullness or decoration. 45. Gildemeister, Around the Cat’s Back, Picken, The Fashion Dictionary, 165. 55; Raber, Some Bright Morning, 77, 94, 123, 124. 52. Alma Olive Huseby Dempsey diaries, 46. Raber, Some Bright Morning, 123–124. 1915–1918, Oregon Historical Society. 47. Jane Farrell-Beck, “Research in 53. Taylor, The Study of Dress History, 12.

Mower and Pedersen, Extant Outdoor Garments in Oregon, 1880 to 1920 