Vintage Women’s Fashions: Domestic Arts & Sciences Institute

I remember the very first time that I just KNEW I would not be a stellar homemaker! It was in seventh grade. We had our first class of Home Economics and our teacher, Mrs. K., assured us that by the end of this course, we’d be shopping and cooking for family, sewing our own clothes and enjoying it. I was definitely skeptical, but here we were, a group of 20 young ladies, ready to take on the challenge of being a good homemaker and eventually wife!

We set up in groups of 6 and made meals. I still recall one of our friends, Betty, who was in charge of peeling potatoes and just hated the feel of them. She peeled and cut them and from a 5 pound bag got the equivalent of 3 full potatoes. (We chided her but later in life, she married an obstetrician and had a full-time maid who cleaned and cooked for her. I should have been a beautiful, dumb blonde!) In any case, we made some pretty good meals, things we could try at home and ‘wow’ the family members. My brother, Mike, of course pretended to choke on everything I made, falling out of his chair and grasping his throat or chest whenever I mentioned I made the meal. Nice support system.

But the real proof in the pudding was our sewing project. Our very first home-made item was a draw string apron. Pretty simple, right? Well, not for me. I made the hem very crooked, and the place where the string was pulled through was not open enough and I had to do and re-do several times. The majority of my friends did very well – best friend, Cathy, got an A. I got a C-. I just explained to whoever would listen that I had no intentions of sewing my own clothes. Mrs. K. really loved hearing that.

Well, a few weeks back I went to an estate sale and found a group of booklets that were quite interesting. They were from the Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, Scranton, Pennsylvania. The earliest copyright in the books was 1916, and the member’s card was from October 6, 1924. The woman’s address on the Membership Card was from Chicago, Illinois, so it must have been a home-taught curriculum. They must have required some type of ‘proof’ of accomplishment to receive a Diploma or a Certificate of Proficiency, perhaps mailing the projects back and forth. I realize it was very important in the 1920s to take care of family. Women rarely worked out of the home, that is until WWII, so they were responsible for keeping things in order and making the clothing for the entire family.

I wondered if I had had that opportunity, to take a full-course on “domestic arts and sciences”, would I have achieved more. So, I start with one of the booklets called “Simplified Sewing” and on the 3^rd page find “Simple Aprons.” It looks like my old nemesis – a ‘draw string’ type. The next pages get complicated with the ‘joining of gores and shaping the waist line.” Then to “gathering and stroking.” Further on is a three-piece cover-all apron. From that you proceed on to a “feather stitched camisole and petticoat.” And near the end of the booklet, you can make a kimona. To be honest with you, I do not see this as simple by any stretch. I turn to the very back of the booklet with the examination questions. Such questions as “What is the purpose of mitering?” and “Why should long eyes be secured in such a manner that the opening of the rings is at the outside of the closing?”, and “For what purpose is the short-lapped placket suitable?” These and others danced before my confused eyes. Nope, this little pamphlet has not helped me at all. I hope the dear lady that signed up for the course understood and did well on her final exams.

Another of the booklets is called “Tight Linings and Boning” and refers to padding a dress form. As a child, I was terrified of dress forms. That sounds silly now, but it was because of grandma’s house. She lived upstairs from my aunt and uncle and we’d hurry up to see them, anxious to test whatever goodies she’d baked for us. We’d get to the curve at the top of the stairway and rush past the small sewing room. She had a dress form near the window and when you’d see the silhouette, you were sure it was a real person. Once my brother locked me in that room and I sat huddled by the door, yelling for my freedom. Once mom let me out, I did not even look back to see if the ‘lady’ had moved closer to me, but I felt she had. In any case, this was not one of my favorite memories, and I am not sure I could work well with one, even now.

I paged through the booklets, admiring the work that went into even the ’simplest’ of garments, and decided that I would not have made it in this class. Back then it was necessity and there is no way of knowing just how many ladies were actually good at what they did. There may have been a lot of kids who were unhappy with the attire they were forced to wear! I recall my husband saying his mom made him a white dress-shirt when he was in first grade and when he got to church, found the pocket had been put on upside down! Well, give her credit, she tried.

So, I will continue to shop for my clothes, my husband’s and the grandkids’. They are so much better off for it.