Sports fashions as a reflection of the changing role of American women in society from 1850 to 1920

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Judith Elaine Leslie (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Melvin Hurwitz

Abstract: It was the purpose of this study to show how the change of role and status for middle and upper-class adult women in American society during the years 1850 to 1920 was reflected in the fashions worn for participation in the leisure sports of bicycling, tennis, golf, horsemanship, and swimming. Two specific objectives related to the study were to determine the social changes that influenced the acceptance of women's participation in sports and to determine how fashions stylistically developed for each sport. To determine how sports fashions evolved, a yearly examination of fashion magazines was made. The fashion plates and their accompanying texts were examined in the following: Godey's Lady's Book, 1850-1914; Peterson's Magazine, 1850-1897; Harper's Bazar, 1867-1920; The Delineator, 1881-1894, 1910-1920; and Ladies Home Journal, 1883-1920. A survey of general social conditions was made by reviewing period magazines, newspapers, and books, and current magazines and books on history of costume, leisure, sociology, and sports. The changes in manners and morals, legal status, suffrage, education, and reform orientation have been documented.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 1985
Subjects
Sport clothes for women $x History
Sports for women $x History
Women $x Social conditions

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