[6] They were attempting to expand the role of women in society and improve their status in the public sphere by bolstering their health, through hygienic regimens and reformed modes of dress.

After successfully collaborating on a difficult medical case in Owasco, Jackson invited Austin to join him at his sanitarium, Glen Haven, to manage the treatment of female patients.

[1] At Our Home, female patients wore an "American costume" that Austin designed: a tunic or shortened dress, with hem landing at the knee, worn over loose pants.

[8] Austin expressed pride in both her healing abilities and her clothing designs, bridging what would otherwise have been considered separate male and female spheres[4] Although the reform-minded intent was similar to the Bloomer costume of the same era, Austin thought the fullness of the Bloomer trousers was "slovenly" and worked to distinguish her design from it.

[11] White later publicly disparaged Austin's American costume, exaggerating her account of the shortness of its skirts to question its modesty and propriety.