One Woman’s Commodity Bag Garments Compared to Styles in Good Housekeeping, 1949 to 1968

Abstract

The research objective of this study was to compare characteristics of one woman’s home-sewn daywear commodity bag garments with characteristics of fashionable women’s ready-to-wear daywear garments depicted in a national magazine targeted to women of middle socioeconomic status. Characteristics of the garments were compared with characteristics of garments pictured in Good Housekeeping magazine’s ‘‘Fashion’’ sections during the same time period. Analysis showed the commodity bag garments shared similar design and fabric characteristics as styles that appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine. This finding indicates that although the commodity bag garments were primarily made for work in a rural setting, they had many of the same fashionable features as mass produced garments that could be purchased in department stores nationwide and could, therefore, be considered fashionable.