Fashion in the 1910s bore little resemblance to fashion in the twenty-first century. There were few if any famous designers or popular brands of clothes and few fashion magazines to publicize the latest clothing styles. The very idea of style would have seemed laughable to most people, whose highest hopes for their clothes were that they were durable. Many Americans still wore clothes that were made at home; those who did not make their own clothes bought them at general stores or department stores based on price and durability, and not on whether the clothes were in style.

Only the wealthiest Americans had the luxury of thinking about the cut and style of the clothes they wore. Wealthy men might have their suits handmade in London, England, while rich women traveled to Paris, France, to view the latest in female fashions. Beginning in 1914, Americans...