Maine Memory Network

Marguerite Waterman Cobb's nightdress, Portland, ca. 1928

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1928 Location: Portland Media: Rayon

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Sparrow long underwear, ca. 1862

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1862 Location: Portland Media: Wool

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.

Northern Threads: Bustle era fashions

A themed vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring 1870s and 80s era bustle silhouettes.

Historic Clothing Collection - 1920-1930 - Page 1 of 3

"Women with even the most modest pocket books could afford dainty silk-like rayon underwear and nightdresses, as seen in Sears catalogues."

Historic Clothing Collection - 1920-1930 - Page 2 of 3

"Underwear was simplified to avoid bulkiness under the new slim garments. Corseting and clever dressmaking helped shape or conceal natural contours."