How did people date in 1913?

Answer 1

It wasn't called "dating" in 1913, it was called "courting" and was highly formalized. Many things considered "normal" and "expected" in modern dating would have been considered "scandalous" in courting,

Answer 2

America was a much more formal society in 1913. Women generally couldn't vote, and not many went to college (the few who did tended to be in the upper-class). There were very rigid gender roles (only men were encouraged to be doctors, lawyers, professors, scientists, etc; women were encouraged to marry young and stay home with the kids). When it came to dating, the boy would have to come to the home and meet the parents-- it was usually up to the father to grant his permission for the date to occur. As for the date itself, that too was much more formal: privacy was hard to find, even if you were wealthy-- few young people had their own car, so finding a place to be alone was more challenging. But just like today, young men and young women were attracted to each other and they hoped to find true love.

Dressing for a date was also different back then from how it is today. Fashion was formal-- an upper class or middle class girl on a date wore an attractive hat and a long dress, a guy wore a suit and probably a straw hat (they were still popular). Society still frowned on a girl being alone with a guy too much. In fact, it was expected that the girl be chaperoned on a first date (accompanied by an older adult)-- just a guy and a girl going out was still not that common. Much more common was for the girl and a group of her female friends to go out with a guy and his male friends; they might go to a dance, a sporting event like a Baseball game, or to a movie. Parents were much more involved and much stricter-- the guy was expected to get the girl back home on time, and if all went well, she might give him a kiss at the end of the date. Anything more than that was considered vulgar.