National Dress Reform Association (NDRA) was an American association in support of the

Victorian dress reform Victorian dress reform was an objective of the Victorian dress reform movement (also known as the rational dress movement) of the middle and late Victorian era, led by various reformers who proposed, designed, and wore clothing considered more ...

, founded in 1856 and dissolved in 1865. It was founded in February 1856 by the hydropathist

James Caleb Jackson James Caleb Jackson (March 28, 1811 – July 11, 1895) was an American nutritionist and the inventor of the first dry, whole grain breakfast cereal which he called Granula. His views influenced the health reforms of Ellen G. White, a founder of ...

. Many of its members were hydropathists, who supported the

Bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...

and a reform of women's dress for health reasons, and it was given support by many other health and sports organisations, from the contemporary women's movement, as well as by religious organisations who disliked fashion. The NDRA published information, arranged exhibitions and speeches. The campaign was given great publicity for the first couple of years after its foundation, and attracted members from almost every state. Lydia Sayer Hasbrouck founded the periodical ''The

Sibyl The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local traditi ...

'', which became an organ of the NDRA,"The Original 'Bloomer Girls'"
''Nineteenth Century Dress Reform in Pictures''. Retrieved January 15, 2018. of which Hasbrouck was a member and later (1863–65) the president."Dress Reformer - Lydia Sayer"
''Women of the Hudson Valley''. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Among other things, it published the names of almost a thousand women nationwide who had adopted the reform dress.''The Sibyl'', July 15, 1859, pp. 588–89. The campaign, however, failed, and the NDRA was dissolved in 1865. The dress reform movement resumed nationwide organisation again in the

American Free Dress League American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 1874.Cunningham, Patricia A (2003). Reforming women's fashion, 1850-1920 : politics, health, and art. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. Libris länk.

References

{{Reflist 1856 in the United States 1865 in the United States History of women in the United States 19th-century fashion Clothing controversies History of clothing (Western fashion)

See also

References