AN ONLINE EXHIBIT EXPLORING WOMEN’S CLOTHING THROUGH SOCIAL CHANGES

As women worked to advance their rights and place in society, their clothing styles changed to reflect their newfound status and their protests against injustices can be seen in the changing styles they wore, from Victorian dresses, to bloomers, to skirt suits, to miniskirts.

Women’s fashion changed as they gained more rights and a larger role in society through their advocacy for social change. From the first changes to women’s clothes due to the dress reform movement that occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, attempts to adjust clothing styles were intentional and motivated by women’s desires for more mobility and power in society (1). This trend continued as women sought to update their clothing styles with shorter hemlines and undergarments that made being an active member of society more accessible (2). In later decades, changing clothing styles would become associated with protests of gender inequality, such as miniskirts and gender bending clothing (3). These changes can be observed in the articles of clothing found within the University of Arkansas Museum collections, which will be used to explore the importance of various styles of clothing in expressing how changing clothing styles of women reflected the new status they had and their protests against the inequality they still faced.