© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Dressing Up for the Dog Days

A KC woman who lived in the early 1900's wore this delicate shirtwaist in the summer heat. Denise Morrison, Director of Collections and Curatorial Services for Union Station and the Kansas City Museum, showed off this artifact.
Brenna Daldorph/KCUR.
A KC woman who lived in the early 1900's wore this delicate shirtwaist in the summer heat. Denise Morrison, Director of Collections and Curatorial Services for Union Station and the Kansas City Museum, showed off this artifact.

By Laura Ziegler and Brenna Daldorph

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-979092.mp3

KANSAS CITY, MO – The hot weather has many of us wearing as little as possible: tank tops and shorts are pretty standard for women who are going to be outside for any length of time. But this isn't the case in every culture or time period.
During this week's heat wave, Laura Ziegler spoke to some area women about different approaches to dressing for the heat and KC Currents' intern Brenna Daldorph checked out real examples of what Kansas Citians were wearing in the early years of the 20th century.

This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.

As Kansas City grows and diversifies, journalists need to listen to the people, to your challenges and successes..As engagement and solutions editor, I’ll make sure we’re framing stories based on what we hear from you, and we’ll partner with communities so our stories help us understand and connect to one another. Email me at lauraz@kcur.org.
No matter what happens in Washington D.C., Kansas City needs KCUR. And KCUR needs you.

Our ability to report local news — accurate, independent and paywall-free — depends on you. Donate now to support fact-based news.