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Fashion and Politics in the US Women's Suffrage Movement

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Claire Delahaye delivered a presentation on the intersection of fashion and politics in the US women’s suffrage movement of the early twentieth century at the WESWWHN Annual Conference on Women and Fashion in Bath on 12 October 2024. This paper argued that fashion provides a valuable lens for examining various aspects of the US women’s suffrage movement, particularly through the politicization of dress and the aestheticization of politics. It explored the relationship between suffragists’ clothing choices and their political practices, focusing on what they wore during public political activities. Rather than serving merely as a symbol, suffragists’ attire functioned as a tangible, practical tool – an essential element of their daily political operations and campaigning efforts. Indeed, suffragists strategically selected clothing that was both functional and respectable, recognizing that their success in outdoor activities depended on suitable attire. Comfort, warmth, and freedom of ...
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Corset warriors: organisations promoting dress reform

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In our previous post  ( Stay the Corset! workers in the factories, 1890-1930 ) Sarah Villiers described conditions for women workers in Charles Bayer's corset factories. In this post, she explains how campaigners for dress reform opposed the wearing of corsets and its impact on their manufacture.    All was not rosy in the world of corsetry. As early as 1860, the Dress Reform movement was gathering strength. It vehemently opposed corsets and the fashion to achieve ever-smaller waistlines. Supporters of corsets asserted that they maintained an upright figure as a “necessary physical structure for moral and well-ordered society”. Dress reformists, however, claimed that women’s fashions were not only physically detrimental but “the results of a male conspiracy to make women subservient by cultivating them in slave psychology” (Riberio, 1986). They argued that a change in dress could not only allow better physical movement and comfort but also increase the opportunities to ob...
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Stay the Corset! Workers in the Factories, 1890-1930

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In the first of two posts, Sarah Villiers describes the fascinating history of corsets and what working conditions were like for women in Charles Bayer's corset factories in the west of England.   Few ‘ladies’ would leave the confines of their boudoir without wearing a corset! The huge demand for these undergarments led to the development of many corset manufactories across the country. Contemporary newspaper items provide vivid details of these factories and working conditions. We shall focus on Mr Charles Bayer and his West Country connections.   The Celebrated Charles Bayer Corset   The opening of the Albion Stay Factory, Bath, in 1892 caused a considerable stir. As described in the Bath Chronicle (25 July 1895) it claimed to be the first purpose-built factory supplied with electricity used for lighting and to power the “thrumming Griffin steam engines (made in Bath) powering rows of sewing machines”. It was built over several storeys, each dedicated to a spec...
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