Project Editor: Timothy Auten, History 470: Digital History, Spring 2008

Fashion

One of the first things we see when we pass people on the street is the clothes they wear, which is exactly what clothing is designed to do. Every society and culture that has ever existed has used clothing and fashion as a form of social expression. America in the late 1800s is no exception to this rule, and the fashion of this Gilded Age was a significant indicator of social class. Middle and upper class gentlemen would wear three-piece wool suits and white shirts as day wear, compared to the overalls or work clothes of the average citizen. The truly distinguishing features of affluent male fashion were detachable collars and cuffs on their shirts, and the long-tailed 'Prince Albert' jackets richer men would wear on formal occasions. More telling, however, were the differences in women's fashion. While a farmwife might wear a simple one-layer dress for working, a woman from the upper-class would put on as many layers as possible to restrict her movement and prove she didn't need to work. Busteirs, yards upon yards of fabric, and even steel support structures were all common parts of an upper-class dress. Women would also wear extravagant and finely made hats to show their status, often trying for a very Oriental style to emphasize their purchasing power (Schrock, 85-88).

Willa Cather, c. 1895	Hesperian Student, c. 1879

Here we have two historical documents that will help connect UNL Commencement to the high fashion of the Gilded Age. The first item is a picture of the famous Willa Cather, taken in Chicago just before her graduation from UNL. Plainly visible in the image are at least three layers of clothing, one of them heavy wool, as well as a complex hat atop her head. This style of dress is directly in keeping with the type of clothing a high-class lady in the Gilded Age might have worn. The second piece, a newspaper article from the student newspaper at the time, serves a twofold purpose. First, as the close up link of the article shows, we find a description of a particular female graduate's dress. This particular woman graduated several years before Willa Cather, but the specifics of her dress represent the same trends of fashion. More important, however, is the simple fact that the Hesperian Student writer takes the time to describe the dress of this woman in detail, indicating that he feels it is of particular importance that his readers know the dress of the graduate. Put simply, the article demonstrates the importance of style and the fact that the graduate fulfills the role of a high-class lady.