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Clothing and Accessories
Women's Clothing
Uniforms ➔ Nursing Uniform
Identifier:
131389Description:
This nursing uniform is made of a lightweight white cotton and consists of a dress and an apron. The dress has buttons down the center front of the bodice and a flat collar. There are also pintucks on the front of the bodice. This dress has tucks throughout the skirt as well as fabric panels draped on either side of the waist. The apron is decorated with blue embroidery and slips over the head.This nursing uniform is an example of the early type of occupational clothing that was worn by nurses at the turn of the century. It was based on the design of a typical middle-class women’s white day dress that was fashionable during the period. Professional nurses clothing not only helped to identify nurses while working in a hospital along with her rank in the profession but has also been interpreted more broadly as a powerful tool for young women to help maintain their status in society when there were few respectable occupations open to them. Nurses were always easy to recognize and the uniform became an important part of their professional identity. For more recent generations of nurses, the appropriate dress has moved away from the importance of symbolism to an emphasis on functional attire, exemplified by scrubs and other forms of casual wear.
Date:
circa 1915Materials:
CottonCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift Of Old CollectionExhibit/Program:
Artifact GR (2012 – 2013)Artifact GR was a project which invited members of the community into the archives of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, and asked them to write about their experiences. The resulting submissions were cataloged in an interactive website (www.artifactgr.org) and in a published book (http://www.blurb.com/b/4400444-the-artifact-projectsoftcover).
