I had to manipulate this very faded photo, an eBay find, to get the details. If we are judging by the length of the skirt, this snapshot might have been taken in the 1910s. However, something tells me that this particular woman didn’t pay much attention to fashion trends. It’s hard to judge just what she is wearing—a dress with a peter pan collar, covered with an apron? A shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a skirt? Her figure certainly shows the marks of aging, with lowered breasts and wide waist.
What stands out the most, though, is her cowboy hat and sturdy boots. These aren’t dress up items but elements of a serious work outfit. Might there be a barn somewhere nearby?
I don’t think she is wearing boots. Rather, it looks to me like her swollen lower legs and feet are encased in heavy, dark hose (as my great grandma wore), with her feet stuffed into soft slip-on shoes or maybe slippers. And her hat appears to be what Grandma called a gardening hat, made of straw and mashable into any shape whatsoever, as long as it protected from the sun. The crown has a cowboy hat-like center crease, but the curled-up brim doesn’t say Stetson to me. I think this is a very hardworking older woman taking a needed break from gardening.
Thanks for your comment! It still looks like a cowboy hat to me, but I should have consulted my hat book before posting. I’ll add gardening hat to the list. After blowing up the picture some, I think you might be right about her legs. Poor thing… those would have been really swollen legs.