Over 50 examples are on display in the Gladys Keller Snowden gallery, along with interactive links to listen to the top 10 songs of the decades of the 20th century.]]> Dr. Julie Hillery, Co-Curator of this exhibit]]>
Thirty items on display represent some of the variety of disciplines linked to textile and historic clothing research. They are:

Historical research, including business history and biographies
Art Historical research
Design
Textile Science research
Artifacts are accompanied by the corresponding publications — theses, dissertations, honors theses, books, essays, and chapters in books. Visitors are encouraged to pick up the publications and read them.
Dr. Harriet McBride‘s PhD dissertation on Columbus’ M.C. Lilley Company explores that company’s beginnings as a manufacturer of men’s Civil War uniforms, to later endeavors in providing regalia for fraternal organizations.

Artifacts that inspired: Men’s Knight’s of Columbus and Ohio State Government uniforms and regalia.

Robyn Gibson-Quick explored Art Deco’s influence on Fashion for her Master’s Thesis. Dr. Susan Hannel was inspired by a pair of silk printed pants from 1932, leading her to an exploration of Jazz and its relationship with fashion in the 1920s and 1930s which became her PhD dissertation, Artifacts that inspired: The silk print 1932 pants, and a 1920s velvet cape with Art Deco designs.
Dr. Patricia Cunningham‘s book, Reforming Fashion, 1850-1914: Politics, Health, and Art, was first presented as an exhibition in the Collection’s galleries in 2000.

Artifacts that inspired: Aesthetic dress from Lancaster, Ohio and reform style dress from Medina, OH.

Honors undergraduate student Sarah Woodyard wanted to combine her interest in historical garment reproduction with the period of the 1910s. We found a dress that also reflects her and society’s current interest in social responsibility. One of the dress’s three labels is that of the National Consumer League, an organization that promoted ‘clean and healthful’ factory conditions. They were established in 1898.

Artifacts that inspired: The 1910s dress (and Sarah’s reproduction).

Above foreground: Sarah Woodyard’s undergraduate research project; background: Dr. Cunningham’s research on 19th century dress reform.
Dr. Joycelyn Falsken, Daina Palermo, and Kent State Fashion School Librarian Thomas Gates all researched the lives of 20th century fashion designers represented in the Collection. Joyce’s PhD dissertation, Daina’s Master’s Thesis, and Tom’s unpublished manuscript reveal the lives of Charles Kleibacker, Herman Patrick Tappé, and Irene Lentz Gibbons, respectively.

Artifacts that inspired: Dresses by Kleibacker, hats by Tappé, and garments by Irene.
Dr. Teena Jennings-Rentenaar and Dr. Abby Lillethun explored the design aesthetics of Panamanian molas (a reverse appliqué technique) and the cross-cultural migration of the process of batik respectively.

Artifacts that inspired: Panamanian mola designs, 1920s velvet cape with batik technique.

Multiple journal articles, Master’s Theses, and PhD dissertations directed by Dr. Kathryn Jakes resulted from scientific research at the microscopic level involving clothing artifacts from an 1857 shipwreck retrieved from the ocean floor. A microscope and slides are available to view linen, silk, and wool fibers — be your own forensic scientist!
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Organizing the collection was a painstakingly slow process until Marilyn Regrut, then president of the BSBS, first contacted the HCTC in 2006. A year later, an intensive operation to sort through Mrs. Rudolph’s buttons and get them organized, stored, catalogued, and photographed began.

Happily, the collection is now organized and properly stored, with the cataloging and photography currently being worked on. As a thank you for all their countless hours of volunteerism, we at the HCTC decided our next exhibition in the upper level Gladys Keller Snowden gallery would coordinate with the BSBS Spring meeting theme of “Flora in Fashion.”

In addition to botanically themed buttons, the exhibition will include the floral aesthetic in clothing and accessories, including 19th and 20th century period fashion with their original buttons, hats, gloves, handbags, and shoes. A section featuring prints from the Chadwick Arboretum Emanuel Rudolph Collection of Botanical Illustrations will accompany some of the botanically inspired buttons.

In the lower gallery, we will look at botanically inspired fashion from another angle. Many clothing and textile artifacts are made from plant fibers, including the more familiar cotton and linen. However, there are many more plant species represented in the realm of clothing — some of which may not be that familiar — such as piña (pineapple fiber), bark cloth, and raffia. Plant fibers are also processed to produce rayon and acetate as well as the more recent Tencel and bamboo. Textile artifacts made from these fibers will be showcased in the lower gallery.]]>

Many donors to this exhibition included letters with their donations, writing about how important and meaningful 4H has been throughout their lives. Several are from 4H families that go back four and five generations. Each garment is special to each donor, many having fond memories and stories attached. We recorded some of these stories that accompanied the garments into the exhibition booklet.

Thanks to Joyce for her creative ideas, we will miss them. Thanks also to all the donors who submitted garments for this exhibition. Without all of you, this exhibition would not be possible. To think that all of these beautifully crafted items were made by someone at home and not bought in a store is truly amazing.

A Century of Style is not just about sewing. Although many of the projects are vehicles for learning hand stitches and machine stitching, this exhibition showcases other forms of manipulating fibers and fabric such as embroidery, crewel, drawn work, felting, crocheting, quilting, and printing.

A microcosm of the twentieth century, the projects represented in A Century of Style reflect that era’s social history. We were unable to locate any projects from the first ten years of 4H, but are fortunate to have three cotton dresses from the 1920s. Two of these dresses are very simple in construction, with no shoulder seams. The pattern was placed with the shoulders on the fold of the fabric, requiring finishing of only the neck opening, side seams and sleeve openings; not the most economical use of fabric which was to become more of an issue in the next decade during the Great Depression.

We received very few projects from the 1930s, the majority being non-clothing items. Of the two dresses offered, one was a 4H uniform from 1932, and the other was a dress-up dress from the end of the decade. A very special object that represents the frugalness of the decade and the necessity to make clothing last is a pair of child’s socks that show examples of darning and mending.

The 1940s projects made from feed sack fabrics reflect the continued need for economy and frugality due to the shortages of materials caused by the war effort. The majority of clothing items were from the years before and after the war. The increased number of 1950s and 1960s projects reflects this country’s emerging affluence.

The ‘youthquake’ of the late 1960s/early 1970s brought evolution to 4H projects as well. No more aprons and tea towels as beginner projects, rather elastic waist skirts, triangle scarves, drawstring bags and simple shift mini dresses that were the fashion for the day.

Issues of gender equity began with women’s liberation in the 1970s. No longer were dresses the only type of garment made for school clothes. The introduction of trousers in all their various forms: knickers, gauchos and slacks, were worn to school and as sportswear-a new category or women’s clothing. In a true example of equality of the sexes, the first project tailored by a male 4H member was in 1974.

The ‘back to the nature’ peasant and country styles of clothing epitomized by the ‘Gunne Sax’ dress patterns gave way to disco glamour and bright jewel colors in the 1980s and early 1990s. In its continuing evolvement, 4H introduced new projects to keep up with the times. Sewing by the end of the twentieth century was no longer an economical necessity, but a leisure activity that could be, at times, expensive. ‘Clothing for your career’ and ‘creative costumes’ were two projects introduced to provide an outlet to meet the challenge.]]>

Drawing from over 550 items of children’s clothing within the Collection’s archives, the exhibition illustrated not only the history of children’s clothing styles, but also explored society’s views of child care and their resulting influences on children’s clothing fashions.

Among the themes for the exhibition are:

The 18th century practice of swaddling and its residual existence in the 19th and 20th century.
Dressing both girls and boys in skirts when they were babies and toddlers.
Children dressed as miniatures of adults.
Fashions specifically for children and their special needs: school and play.
The introduction of the marketing terms "teen" and "tween" in the 20th century.
Children’s fashions for 2005.]]>

The little black dress is not as simple as its name implies. How can it be when it ruined the reputation of Madame X on the one hand, and elevated Audrey Hepburn’s star status on the other? The Little Black Dress exhibition illustrates its namesake’s many facets from its beginnings in the late 1920’s through the end of the 20th century. Dresses range from the classy and eternal cocktail dresses from the 50’s and 60’s to the funky styles of the days of disco. Classic pieces that echo the timeless sentiments of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany’s are featured alongside eclectic pieces, such as the dress featuring a design of the Eiffel Tower fashioned from silver buttons by Patrick Kelly, the first African American to show in Paris.

Many of these dresses are created by some of fashion’s most well-known and respected names including Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, and Chanel, the designer credited with “inventing” the little black dress. Two are creations from the minds of Irene Lentz Gibbons and Gilbert Adrian who made their reputations designing for MGM in Hollywood’s golden years. Still, others are amazing examples of the beautiful work among the legions of unnamed designers who worked in the industry during the middle of the 20th century.

This exhibition explores the many facets of the little black dress. However, as trends and styles change through the years, one thing remains constant. The little black dress will always be essential in any woman’s wardrobe.]]>

The grant-funded workshops which accompanied this exhibit invited teachers to examine five main areas of historical inquiry.]]>

Limited Brands with its past and present divisions have dominated the greater Columbus landscape over the past thirty years in the same way that the Lazarus Department Store dominated the city’s downtown for decades. Both had a major impact on the national fashion retail industry as well as the city of Columbus. There were many other contributors to this city’s fashion story, however, and their stories will also be told in this exhibition.

The exhibition consists of three sections:

Part I: 19th century dressmakers, tailors and dry goods establishments with artifacts from Kate and Frank Hoffer ladies’ tailors, B. Frosh & Sons Tailors, and the M.C. Lilley Co.
Part II: Early to mid 20th century downtown department stores and specialty boutiques with artifacts from The F&R Lazarus Co., The Union, Mrs. Eugene Gray and Montaldo’s.
Part III: Late 20th/early 21st century dominance of malls and specialty brand retailers.
View the catalog

Related public programs:

The Columbus Fashion Story Foundations September 5th, 5:30-7:30pmhttp://huminst.osu.edu/events/columbus-fashion-story-foundations
The Columbus Fashion Story Memoirs October 10, 5:30-7:30pm” with link:http://streaming.osu.edu/flash/frs2374au12/100394-1/]]>

Global Textile Trades explores all these aspects of trade from the craft of creating cloth from fibers and yarns to the skill of decorating that cloth through patterns of weaving, dyeing and embroidery techniques. Trade as exchange happens not only in the buying and selling of goods, but also in the exchange of cultural aesthetics and ideas. The international trade in textile products over the past several hundred years is evident in Indian influence in the textiles of Southeast Asia and Europe, and European influence in the textiles of Asia and Africa.

Finally, trade in its most traditional aspect of buying and selling can be experienced in the Global Gallery @ OSU store in the lower gallery space. Global Gallery is a local Fair Trade retailer with locations in the Short North and Clintonville that has set up a laboratory store partnership with the Fashion and Retail Studies program. Fair trade provides under- and unemployed artisans from around the world with an opportunity to earn vital income and improve their quality of life by establishing a sustainable market for their handcrafted products.

Gayle Strege
Curator]]>
Read more about this exhibition.]]>