A Tale of Two Museums
Part II: "Real Clothes, Real Lives" at The New York Historical Society
Hi History Lovers,
In my last newsletter, I wrote about taking off two days to museum hop, starting with the Neue Galerie on New York City’s Museum Mile, a museum dedicated to 20th century Austrian and German art. You can catch up on that post here. Today, I’m excited to share my next day’s visit to the New York Historical Society, one of my favorite museums and one which I visit frequently.
What drew me back this time was “Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore, the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection.”1
Unlike the Costume Institute at the Met or the Fashion Institute of Technology, both of which celebrate couture, “Real Clothes, Real Lives” exalts the practical clothing, homemade and/or bought off the rack, that women have worn over the decades. Rather than being displayed chronologically, clothing from various eras is grouped into five categories according to purpose and functionality.
“Home: All Work and No Pay,” includes this “Hooverette” house dress from the 1930s, a mass produced women’s wardrobe staple during the Great Depression (1929 - 1939), a catastrophic economic event for which then President Herbert Hoover was widely blamed. The sweet hand-embroidered flowers and leaves added to the collar suggest that this humble, ready-made dress was loved.
I also got a kick out of this housecoat, which made me think of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” My grandmother had several housecoats though hers closed in the front by snaps, not buttons, and the patterns weren’t nearly so loud.
“Public Dress: In Good Taste” starts out with an 1830 calico day dress with leg-of-mutton sleeves. Its “vine and grapes” cylinder-printed pattern, we are told, was commonly produced in new England textile mills. Another standout is a Smith College Relief Unit uniform of 1917, worn by Smithie Pidge Carr while driving supplies to soldiers during World War I.
For “Service: Capable and Accomplished,” the star attraction is a green chambray girl scout uniform worn by Smithie and future poet Sylvia Plath, complete with 20 merit badges sewn onto the right sleeve. I also really enjoyed seeing the service uniforms from various decades of housemaids, diner servers, and even an early MacDonald’s counter clerk polyester shirt and pants combo.
“Rites of Passage: What She Wore,” includes a Victorian mourning costume, a 1980’s cinquera ballgown, a frothy confection of robin’s egg blue taffeta, and three bridal ensembles from the 1970s. Among the latter, only one is a white dress, a “peasant” style sheath worn without veil or hair adornment. All three strike a subversive chord in keeping with the tumultous decade.
Finally, “Pushing the Boundaries: Rebelwear” has the broadest range, starting with a 1905 riding skirt with a buttoned front panel that conceals long culottes underneath and ending with a 1960’s two-piece beaded burlesque costume.
The exhibit debunks several modern assumptions. For example, “maternity” clothing is a fairly modern concept. Prior to 1904, when Lane Bryant rolled out its ready-to-wear maternity line,2 women modified their existing clothing, sewing in extra panels or letting out waistlines to accommodate their changing bodies.
Many of the more historically recent ensembles and accessories include a personalized note from the wearer or a close relative. The owner of the burlesque costume chose go-go dancing because the higher pay and flexible schedule enabled her to attend civil rights and women’s marches. Another woman recalled the confident elegance of her factory worker mother when decked out in a smart black wool and velvet-trimmed swing cape, a treasured accessory set aside for special occasions.
Alas, “Real Clothes, Real Lives” closes June 22. If you have an opportunity to see it, definitely do!
All photos by Yours Truly.
Thanks to everyone who turned out for my book signing at Thunder Road Books last week. We had a blast. This Saturday, June 21st I’m returning to Barnes & Noble in Brick, NJ - details below. As always, you can keep up with all my events on my website.
All Photos by Yours Truly.
Find IRISH EYES and STARDUST on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Target, Walmart and wherever books are sold.
Signed copies are available at these booksellers:
Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, Manhattan
Barnes & Noble, Brick Plaza, NJ
Barnes & Noble, Holmdel, NJ
Barnes & Noble, Pikesville, MD
Book Culture, Manhattan (2 locations)
The Corner Bookstore, Manhattan
Posman Books Chelsea Marketplace, Manhattan
Thunder Road Books, Spring Lake, NJ
The Comfort Zone, Ocean Grove, NJ
The SCHCC started in 1974 with the idea to preserve old costumes in the college’s theater department. Flash forward fifty+ years. The collection has grown to more than 4,000 garments and accessories.
https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/journeys-innovation/historical-stories/making-maternity-wear-fashionable
This was very interesting. Both of my grandmas made their own clothes. When I was born, up to school age, my mom made all of my clothes, and after that, she always made my Easter dresses, and sometimes other outfits. She made a lot of my brothers' clothes when they were young, too. Of course, she made a lot of her own clothes, too.