The Women's 'Car Dusters' The American Pickers Bought For $225
You know, people used to get dressed up to drive places. It's true. It wasn't because they wanted to look good, either. It was because motorized travel was a filthy, horrifying slog that turned dignified human beings into mudflaps with souls.
In the days before safety glass, back when putting a sheet of extremely breakable glass in front of your face on the hood of a car was just an extra-expensive way to kill yourself, adjustments had to be made. America's streets, contrary to popular belief, were not paved with gold, but rather wet dirt and animal leavings, and they had a way of splattering you when you went tearing across them in an open-air motor carriage on your way to dying of something preventable.
That's why so many ladies around the 1910s took a shine to "car dusters" — long coats used to keep the grossness on the outside of your outfit. They're still a bold fashion choice if you're looking for an outfit that makes a statement. Keep in mind, if Danielle Colby from "American Pickers" has learned anything recently, it's that the price of the things has skyrocketed.
Dusting off dusters on American Pickers
It was season 23, episode 15 of "American Pickers," and Danielle Colby was in Arizona, American Picking her way through the warehouse collection of a recently deceased antique car enthusiast. The bereaved were hesitant to let go of a fair number of possessions, but Colby managed to make a deal for a set of century-old car dusters.
The coats exhibited just enough mud and dirt stains to exude an air of authenticity, but not enough to make them gross — no small feat for well-loved clothing dating back to around 1915. Negotiations were astonishingly brief, with Colby taking home both jackets for $225, declaring that Mike Wolfe was "going to flip when he sees these." As "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" accouterments go, it was a steal, soured only by the reminder that the reality star was purchasing used clothing designed to keep flying particles of horse poop off of your clothes.