Occupational Clothing
Sometimes in your research on family members you might not think of the type of clothing they wore at their job. Many would wear the style fashionable of that decade.
However, many did have to wear special outfits for what they did as a occupation — even the ladies. Decades ago some of those outfits were a bit outlandish for the times.
The following are examples of some occupational clothing shown in photos and if you had an ancestor in that field, you get an idea of what they wore.
1850s men laborers
A female model of the 1860s – very rare to see such a photo.
Dr. Mary E. Walker, a female doctor during the Civil War wearing bloomers / pants, also an unusual sight.
Refreshment entertainers in the 1860s, maybe in a saloon.
A professional strongwoman in the 1870s, working in a fair, carnival or circus.
The icemen in the 1880s who supplied to home the daily required ice for the icebox.
A taxidermist in the 1880s with example of his work.
The most unusual outfit for work, a radiology nurse in protective gear in 1918 during WW I.
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