Fashion and function in women's dress as revealed in clothing patents, 1846--1920

The present study brings new information regarding fashion and function in women's dress as revealed by 864 utility patents1 of bustles, hoops and skirts from the Apparel-Nether Garments class, issued between 1846 and 1920. Also, this study constitutes an example of the usefulness of patents for dress history research.; A database containing basic information about each patent was developed. Additional information was provided for patents studied in depth (36% of the total patents). Content analysis was completed for nine subclasses of Nether Garments.; The research results of the quantitative analysis show three major peaks of the patenting activity formed by: (a) 78% of the patented hoops, 1858--1869; (b) 60% of the patented bustles, 1883--1889; and (c) 43% of the patented skirts, 1894--1903. The pulse of patent activity was relatively related to the economic boom or depression periods. The articles most patented were the bustles (267 patents), followed by the hoops (227 patents) and skirts (114 patents). The least patented articles were riding skirts (27 patents), and skirts with pads or distenders (33 patents). Also, the results illustrate the roles played by all patent categories in promoting increased comfort, safety and/or protection in women's garments, while maintaining the social conformity in appearance. One in five inventors of Nether Garments was a woman, which is 20 times higher compared to women inventors for all types of patents cited in literature, as of 1895. The number of female patentees exceeded the number of male patentees only for bicycle skirt patents. Patent activity was concentrated in the Northeast region of the United States, where the number of approved patents was almost four times the number of approved patents in all of the other five regions combined. Only four patentees had 10 or more patents granted each. From the total number of patents, 22% were assigned to companies or persons. Usually the assignees were from the same geographical region as the patentees from which they bought the patent rights. Also, two interesting and unexpected aspects resulted from the quantitative analysis: (a) a discrimination tendency toward women, who waited a longer time (on average 70 days more) than men to be granted patents; (b) during the 'bicycle craze,' the peak of patenting activity for bicycle skirts preceded the peak of patenting activity for bicycles per se and their accessories by two years.; The qualitative analysis provided the following answers to the research questions: (a) there was an evolutionary functioning of the fashion process, each patent being designed based on the previous knowledge in the field, on the available technology, materials, and manufacturing possibilities; (b) the evaluation of the outcomes of both quantitative and qualitative analyses demonstrate that the utility patents relate closely to fashion cycles, as they are depicted in specialized literature; (c) the data show a tendency toward increased functionality and healthiness of the patented garments; (d) the first patent in which the term ready-made appeared dates back to 1907, though indirect references related to ready-to-wear started a half century earlier; and (e) valuable insight is gained on the patenting process, and the creativity shown by inventors working within the confines of women's roles and what was considered socially acceptable dress for women.; 1Only utility (and not design) patents related to women's clothing were studied. Patents describing adornment, and machinery or manufacturing methods for clothing items were excluded.