Traveling Dress

Traveling Dress. Comfort and protection from dust are the requirements of a traveling dress. Soft, neutral tints may be chosen, and a smooth-surfaced material which does not retain the dust. The dress should be made plain, and quite short. Collars and cuffs are worn. A gossamer and warm woolen wrap must be carried, as also a satchel containing a change of collars, cuffs, gloves, handkerchiefs, toilet articles and towels. A traveling dress should be well supplied with pockets.

So says Hollinshead in The New Century Speaker. In practice, the traveling dress was used for much more than just travel -- in fact, many Edwardian women even chose them in place of wedding gowns! (However, it was warned that a bride taking this path should not have bridesmaids in the ceremony, though a female friend in street dress standing along her side would be acceptable.) A traveling dress was "very simply but well made, short enough to clear the ground; made with a jacket and skirt." The fanciness of the shirt worn underneath could be altered to suit the occasion.