Nursing Uniforms In The 19thCentury
Nurses in this era wore servants’ uniforms, which consisted of a full black or printed gown with a white gathered or banded cap and a white apron. Nursing was still a street profession, though some nurses worked as private health caretakers for wealthy households.
People started feeling a greater need for nurses around 1840 and nursing as a career started gaining more respect. Nurses were trained to some extent and made to work at city or local health board. these nurses did not wear servants’ uniforms; rather, they wore ladylike gowns with white aprons and caps to indicate that they were nurses. The starched white cap became synonymous with the nursing profession at about this time.