c. 1910

Wayne Maid Shirtwaist

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, women's fashion became less formal and confining, ushering in a new trend in "separates." The shirtwaist, which was a tailored blouse, became hugely popular and their manufacture quickly became one of Fort Wayne and Indiana's biggest industries. Sam-uel M. Foster, who established the Foster Shirtwaist Factory in September 1888, is credited by some as the inventor of the ladies shirtwaist. Wayne Maid, another local manufacturer, was also producing tailored shirtwaists. This Wayne Maid Shirtwaist dates to the 1910s and was made of lawn, a fine linen or cotton fabric, and edged with dainty lace around the collar and cuffs. Wayne Maid shirtwaists were selling at Wolf and Dessauer Department Store for $1.00 in 1912.