Ragtime Era Clothes

One good way to research ragtime era clothing (between 1890 and 1929) is to examine the cover sheets of old ragtime scores. This can be done by browsing at digital libraries such as the University of Colorado Digital Sheet Music Collection or any number of sources seen in the link on the right side column of my blog (scroll down some) under "Free Ragtime Sheets." In there you will find cover sheets that depict people or couples wearing clothes at the time of publication. A fairly accurate way to ensure that the clothes you see is indeed ragtime era clothing between 1890 and 1929 (which is the end period prior to the terrible stock market crash in 1929). Good times before everything went south. This will help gain a better understanding on the types of clothing to wear if you decide to dress correctly for that era such wearing costumes for ragtime festivals, ragtime society groups, or compete in World Championship Old Time Piano Playing contests when the rules call for clothes as an authentic period dress, preferably so between 1890 and 1929.

Enjoy!