About 100 years ago,
women in their workplaces looked a little different from what they look like
today. But many of the basic garments at the time of dressing to go to the
office remain today.
The authority of the time
in fashion columns was Anne Rittenhouse, whose column "What the
Well-Dressed Woman is wearing" made a list that each "working
girl" should follow. (His column appeared in more than 100 newspapers
throughout the twentieth century).
Deirdre Clemente, a professor
at the University of Nevada, has devoted her career to chronicling the
evolution of women's clothing.
Clemente says that many of Rittenhouse's
points of professional dress - how to dress, colors, versatility and much more
- derive from the influence of working women who went to the offices at the
beginning of the 20th century.
So, how would
Rittenhouse's rules apply in the (still confusing) world of women's clothing to
work?
Follow the dress strategy manual for men
Men have always had a
simple uniform: shirts with buttons, jackets and formal shoes. Rittenhouse
recommends his readers copy that uniform to build a wardrobe of basic
interchangeable garments.
His suggestions are a little outdated - an
elegant hat, a ruffled collar and a top layer do not fit in 2017 - but his
guide to women's clothing still works.
Be always ready for events after work
If you're going out
for dinner after work, Rittenhouse advised working women to either dress very
formally or (and this is "the best plan," she writes), keep a secret a hiding place for blouses and other accessories in the office to after work.
Clemente says that
this points again to the great mobility that the jobs caused in the lives of
women. Writers like Rittenhouse knew that women had social lives both outside
their homes and outside of their jobs.
The black dress is your best friend
According to Clemente,
the colors in women's wardrobes have always been controversial, but at that
time they were banned. Rittenhouse could have advised her readers not to
use colors to avoid practical dangers (if you pour coffee in a yellow dress,
what a horror!), But above all, it was a warning against negative
connotations. (At the beginning of 1900 people still associated colors
like red with "women of the night").
Do not be too flashy
"Employees who
choose flashy garments are being excluded from leaving a good position."
Oh, those working
women and their budgets! "They are too likely to buy things that are
not going to last and to use something that will not last," Rittenhouse
wrote in his column.
Take a look at your
office and look at the amount of ragged H & M blouses and fast-fashioned
heels ... not much have changed, Anne.
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