Golden Age of Travel Birthday prequel — early 20th century outdoor wear — Part 2

In our last blog post, we discussed what bottoms women wore in the early 20th century to go hiking. Since we are going to be hiking in England in October, I simply will not be able to wear just a cotton poplin shirt as shown in many of the photos we looked at last time. So what should I wear to keep myself warm and dry in the unpredictable UK climate?                       The catalog pages shown above are from the Utica-Duxbak Corporation of Utica, NY, dated 1922, and property of The Vintage Traveler who we thank for giving us permission to use her photos from it. RH1015The photos at far left and middle show a long riding jacket of a style very popular in the 1920s. This is almost identical in cut with our 1910s Double Breasted Riding Jacket — RH1015.  As I mentioned in the last post, our Ladies' Great War British Volunteer Uniform includes a jacket of this particular type as well. (The woman in the rightmost photo is wearing a middie blouse which is not under consideration for me since it won't provide warmth or dryness if it rains while I'm outdoors, but would be a good choice for a summer hike.) RH1011 Catalogs and photos from the later 1930s show trimmer, shorter jackets such as the one in RH1011 — 1910s Ladies' Riding Frock Coat. This style also looks terrific with the long skirts of the mid-1930s and I may choose one for a traveling suit. And who could resist a feminine version of the classic and quintessentially English outdoorsy Norfolk Jacket.  The 1920s version of this style should be much less fitted around the waist (the 1910s Ladies' Norfolk was meant to be worn with a corset) but this is an easy amendment for any tailor. For summer wear, sturdy cotton khaki would be the choice.  But I'm looking for warm and waterproof for my Autumn walking holiday.  Make any of these beauties up in a nicely-woven tweed or melton, and the passing showers will just roll off, leaving me warm and dry. There are many more ideas and options in our Equestrian section. When jackets weren't worn, sweaters, waistcoats, and menswear-style shirts took their place.  So there are lots of options for warmer, drier days too. Next time... Can't hike without footwear! While you're waiting, have a shop through our collection of reproduced Vintage patterns. Photos courtesy of The Vintage Traveler. Please visit her wonderful vintage travel and clothing blog! © 2014 Kass McGann. All Rights Reserved. The Author of this work retains full copyright for this material.