Ladies' fashions in the early 1900s mixed opulence with practicality, as evidenced in the popularity of the shirtwaist, worn by increasing numbers of women entering the American workforce.

The look was most reminiscent of Victorian-Edwardian era fashion when ‘18-inch waists’ were all the rage. In the Victorian and Edwardian Eras (1837-1901 and 1901–1910), fashion idolised tiny ...