Maine Memory Network

Penobscot cuffs, ca. 1870

Contributed by: Hudson Museum, Univ. of Maine Date: circa 1870 Media: Cloth, beads

Newell Gabriel wearing headdress, Old Town, 1912

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1912 Location: Old Town Media: Photographic print

Fashionable Maine: early twentieth century clothing

Maine residents kept pace with the dramatic shift in women’s dress that occurred during the short number of years preceding and immediately following World War I. The long restrictive skirts, stiff collars, body molding corsets and formal behavior of earlier decades quickly faded away and the new straight, dropped waist easy-to-wear clothing gave mobility and freedom of movement in tune with the young independent women of the casual, post-war jazz age generation.

Dressing Up, Standing Out, Fitting In

Adorning oneself to look one's "best" has varied over time, gender, economic class, and by event. Adornments suggest one's sense of identity and one's intent to stand out or fit in.

Eastern Maine Medical Center

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Historic Clothing Collection - 1900-1910 - Page 1 of 3

"The long, smooth hipped skirt with two knee level deep box pleats at front and back evoke the style."