Dusters were especially popular for both men and women in the early years of the 20th century when cars were often open, many roads were still unpaved, and motorists needed a garment that would protect their clothes from the dust that resulted.

This one has several features that suggest that it may have been carefully homemade. Some of the long, machine-sewn seams are flat-felled but have raw edges that were not been trimmed off and turned under.

The unlined collar was finished by simply turning the edge to the right side and piping it.

The sleeves and collar were both set in by hand, and the buttonholes are handmade. And the photographs clearly show that the duster’s overlapped right front section does not lie flat against the left front section underneath, suggesting a miscalculation in the cut, misaligned buttons and buttonholes, or both.