Outfits for Votes for Women

August 26, 2020 5 Comments

It has been 100 years ago today that the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote, became part of the constitution of the United States.  This was due to the work of women who, for decades, advocated for women's issues and the right to vote.  They organized, protested, worked tirelessly, and with bravery, faced opposition and violence.  This amendment, however, did not grant Black women (and many other women of color) the right to vote in practice.  Even though women of color played a vital role in advocating for women's right to vote in America.

I've had many emails over the last year of women sending me photos dressed in Folkwear outfits to honor the time period where women protested and advocated for women's right to vote and when that right was finally granted.  So, I wanted to put together a few ideas for costume if you are inspired to dress in this time period (late Victorian to Edwardian).

The 210 Armistice Blouse dates from the late 1910's and is typical of day-wear of the year the 19th Amendment was ratified.

Here the 210 Armistice Blouse is paired with another typical garment of the time- the 209 Walking Skirt (very popular). 

A dress from the 1910's - women might have worn something similar to this 261 Paris Promenade Dress at voting rights rallies.

 
The 216 School Mistress Shirtwaist and Skirt is perfect for the slightly earlier women (and working women) who were pushing for the right to vote.

The 503 Poirot Cocoon Coat would keep the more fashion-forward women of the late 1910's warm at a protest.

This 508 Traveling Suit comes from the early 1900's and is similar to what women could have been wearing to voting rallies.

The 226 Princess Slip was an undergarment worn when dresses started to slim in the late 1890s and early 1900s during the fight for the right to vote.  

And the undergarments for slightly before, the 203 Edwardian Underthings - worn by women for decades.  

From the late 1910's, this 268 Metropolitan Suit was great daywear for women of the time.

Our 227 Edwardian Bridal Gown also has a simplified version for everyday-wear that is gorgeous - and would have been worn during the time for the struggle for the right for women to vote.

I am incredibly grateful to all the women (and men) whose work and struggle allows me the opportunity, the right, to cast my vote in local, state, and national elections.  I do not take that right lightly and I exercise it at every opportunity.  

What would your favorite period voting/protest outfit be?

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