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Ryan in his 1905 budget allocates 10740 for clothing for a family.
Fr. Furthermore, Father Ryan approached the huge issue of clothing from an utilitarian perspective, as with most material things. Ryan was in a shrinking minority as attitudes toward clothing changed. Clothing should meet the reasonable requirements of comfort, protect against inclement weather, and enable them to appear among their fellows without hurt to that ‘selfrespect’ and natural pride which are indispensable to decent living, as he states in A Concrete Estimate of Living Wage. One holiday attire outfit is all one needs to properly socialize.
As with many things, technology had made clothing more readily available.
In January 1902, Ladies Home Journal introduced The New Department of Women’s Clothes. Essentially, garment factories, like that of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911, produced readytowear clothing. Remember, they explained its purpose. Fashion historians explain that the middle class’s ‘coopting’ of high fashion formed another part of the democratization of society, in which class differences mattered less. Magazines began altering their format to address the changes in clothing. While making it possible for the emerging middle class to dress in a manner similar to the upper class, more often, these massproduced outfits imitated the work of ‘high fashion’ designers. Fashions, from an artistic, practical and economical viewpoint, have become a question of such size and cover a field of a lot importance to most women, and particularly to women of moderate means.
Similarly, in late 1899, Cosmopolitan sponsored an essay contest on the topic, The WellDressed Woman. Ryan’s criteria for determining what clothing is necessary for a right and reasonable life. We have to know what you think of the American Catholic History Classroom websites. Advised Fr, as you skim the essays Dressing Well and The WellDressed Woman. Contact us! Of course, these sites were created by the staff of the American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives.
Father John Ryan, in his 1905 budget allocates
