Short Hair and Short Dresses: The Oneida Community and Reforming Women's Fashion

Laura Ping, PhD, Diamonstein-Spielvogel fellow at the New York Public Library in New York City presents:   "Short Hair and Short Dresses: The Oneida Community and Reforming Women's Fashion" 

When the Oneida Community organized in 1848 women were instructed to wear functional clothing, specifically a shortened dress over trousers. Women were also encouraged to challenge gender conventions by cutting their hair short. Within three years woman's rights reformers and health reformers had organized a formal dress reform movement that advocated similar anti-fashion principles as those practiced by Oneida Community members. This lecture will examine the influence the Oneida Community may have had on the women's dress reform movement and how the anti-fashion agenda changed over time.

Sponsored by HumanitiesNY