A thinnish young woman poses for her portrait at the studio of H. Huebner in Chicago, Illinois. She is dressed nicely and hopefully a visitor to the Cabinet Card Gallery can tell us more about her dress. The design of the dress seems unusual and I am particularly interested in what material the dress is made from. The young woman is holding an open book.The previous owner of this image hypothesized that the subject of this photograph was a school teacher.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
Nice. I love old photos with the readers http://www.flickr.com/groups/1088961@N22/
Yes it looks odd, but she would have had a short bolero jacket to wear over it. The style was popular in the 1890’s.
That is a belt that is stiffened with bone or paper and fitted to cup the breasts, oh la la!. She would only have worn the belt for Sunday best, they are not comfortable especially when sitting.The jacket would stay open.
The skirt fabric may be a polished cotton, it has a fine weave and a shine to the finish. It has always been a cheaper fabric, takes a lot of wear. It is used also for the train of a skirt as it glides over the leaves and dirt without picking them up .
She could be a schoolteacher, they started young, at 16 or 20. Her boots are sturdy and worn and her hat is rather plain and youthful.