As the Old West towns grew, they would often have several bordellos staffed by four or five women. Usually, painted ladies were between the ages of 14 and 30 with the average age of Sometimes they would split their earnings with the madam of the parlor house, while others paid a flat fee per night or week.
The larger places were likely to include a game room and a dance hall. Between assignations, the women and their callers were entertained by musicians, dancers, singers, and jugglers. The most successful landladies maintained, at least on the ground floor, a strict air of respectability and a charming home life.
Prostitutes at a window, Peoria, Illinois by Arthur Rothstein, This is most likely one of the reasons the girls considered themselves superior to those who worked independently.
Parlor houses would usually average six to 12 girls, plus the madam , who entertained only those customers she personally selected. First-class places set a good table and prided themselves on their cellars, offering choice cigars, bonded bourbon, and the finest liquors and wines.
Customers could enjoy champagne suppers and sing with the girls around the piano. In very high-class parlor houses, the women could only be seen by appointment. The women usually sent East for their finery or bought it from passing peddlers. In these houses, there was very little subtlety. The direct approach was standard with maybe a five-minute dalliance at the bar, then it was off to her room. Lower than even the saloon prostitutes were those who worked independently, living in small houses or cabins called cribs.
Crib houses were usually in segregated districts with a front bedroom and a kitchen in the rear. Often they were illuminated by red lamps and or curtains. Below even those, were the streetwalkers, usually only found in the larger cities. In a class by themselves were the women who serviced the military at remote forts. Here, the soldiers could find gambling, whiskey, and a few aging and degenerate women.
Black men were not allowed to patronize white brothels, but many towns had all-black houses. And in a few small towns, some houses had both black and white women. Others were married to managers of touring variety shows. Such men not only tolerated the profession but depended upon his wife to help with the finances.
Inevitably, painted ladies had children, though attempts were made at birth control which was very primitive at the time. The French had already invented the condom, fashioned of rubber or skin, as they are today. In places like New Orleans or St.
Louis, where there was a large French population, condoms were readily available. However, much like today, many men were reluctant to use them.
After diaphragms were available, as well as douches compounded from such ingredients as alum, pearlash, red rose leaves, carbolic acid, bicarbonate of soda, sulfate of zinc, vinegar, or plain water. Others simply relied on the rhythm method. If they were lucky, a courtesan would marry well and retire with enough money for a comfortable and respectable lifestyle.
Others used their profits to open their own sporting houses, became saloon operators, or practiced as abortionists. Inevitably though, some often turned to alcohol or narcotics — dosing their drinks with laudanum or smoking opium. Suicides were frequent in the profession.
Women on the line were often in peril of picking up tuberculosis, called consumption, at the time, or sexually transmitted diseases, chiefly syphilis. Others died as a result of botched abortions, sometimes self-inflicted. Violence also claimed its share in brawls between prostitutes, customers and sometimes, husbands. Another fun video from our friends at Arizona Ghostriders. Harlots of the Barbary Coast.
Leading Madams of the Old West. We may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking a link. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Sign up for our weekly vintage fashion newsletter. Victorian saloon girls or dance hall girls could be dressed as fine as first class Victorian ladies, but more often had colorful and tight fitting ballgowns with a short hem.
Let us be clear about one thing first: Saloon girls were not prostitutes. Saloon girls were hired, dressed, and given strict rules about how to behave in and outside of the saloon. Most saloon girls were young girls, teenagers, who came from lowly roots such as farming in search of a better life and marriage prospects.
They came from back east and the south ready for their new work in the wild west. Girls who were pretty, could dance well ballroom dances like the waltz, polka, or Schottish , and good at holding a conversation made the ideal saloon girls.
Each turn was about 15 minutes long. In one night, a popular saloon girl could earn more than a man made in a week. Amanda Blake played saloon girl Miss Kitty. A ballgown skirt changed over the years from very wide ss to the narrowed bustle s and finally natural form s.
In the early years, large hoop skirts were usually worn under dress skirts, however doorways out west were narrow and saloons were small — there were no room for hoops.
Instead, ladies wore several fluffy petticoats. Saloon ladies often choose brightly colored petticoats instead of white because they were more visible under the skirt hem. Skirts came up to the top of the boot or mid-calf for the simple reason of it made dancing easier and perhaps a little sexier. Like the petticoat, the material and color of the dress were both chosen to stand out.
Brightly colored silk was the favored fabric, decorated with spangles and sequins, bugles and fringe, and often finished off with tiers of silk chiffon ruffles. The ruffles made an audible swish while moving to call attention to the girls.
Underneath ladies legs were covered with silk, lace, or net stockings held up by garters. Boots made of leather , velvet or satin could have been dyed to match the dress. They laced or buttoned up tall. Dance pumps were another option but generally, the old wood saloon floors were never finished well enough to accommodate smooth dances. Boots were safer, sturdier, and provided a place to stash a pistol or knife in case a customer was too friendly an occupational hazard.
Along with heavily decorated dresses, saloon girls added sparkle to their hair in the form of silver hair combs , bib necklaces, feather plumes the bigger the better and imitation flowers. They also wore makeup , especially rouge on the cheek, carmine for the lips, and white powder for the neck and shoulders. To saloon girls, it only added to their exaggerated appearance.
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