Vigo County Historical Society

Magazine popular with women

What did the turn-of-the-century woman wear for afternoon tea, to play lawn crochet or for an evening at the theater?

As members of the Vigo County Historical Society begin to plan their Victorian Lawn Party and vintage fashion show to take place May 19, magazines such as this September 1901 copy of The Delineator are becoming research material.

The Delineator was published by the Butterick Publishing Co. and sold for 5 cents a copy, or $1 for a year subscription. A typical cover pictured a fashionably dressed model in an oval frame.

Popular seasonal fashions shown in this issue are the revival of the habit-back shirt, bolero jackets, collars that were high and stiff on dress waists and broad and flat on jackets.

Boas were an "indispensable accessory." Ostrich feathers were very good on tricorn hats, but the startling hat of the season was parrot green with a bird on one side.

While primarily a fashion magazine, The Delineator was attuned to women’s issues. Some columns were devoted to women’s colleges of the U.S., employment of women and the social code.

Corset makers were prominent advertisers. One company promised to reduce the abdomen by two to six inches. Another was approved and endorsed by physicians and health reformers.

It is of interest locally to note Theodore Dreiser became the editor of The Delineator in 1907. Under his leadership, the traditional editorial policy changed somewhat.

The magazine became a crusader for or against various social problems, such as divorce, women’s suffrage, the high cost of living and underprivileged children.

It seems particularly interesting and timely that a campaign against untrustworthy food was started.

The Delineator was published form 1872 to 1937. Its circulation expanded from 25,000 to 2 million when it was combined with the Pictorial Review. This copy is displayed in the dressmaker’s shop on the museum’s second floor.