Clothing & Accessories

Women's Gown (cheong sam) ca. 1930

Work, play, fashion, economic class, religious faith, even politics—all these aspects of American life and more are woven into clothing. The Museum cares for one of the nation's foremost collections of men's, women's, and children's garments and accessories—from wedding gowns and military uniforms to Halloween costumes and bathing suits.

The collections include work uniforms, academic gowns, clothing of presidents and first ladies, T-shirts bearing protest slogans, and a clean-room "bunny suit" from a manufacturer of computer microchips. Beyond garments, the collections encompass jewelry, handbags, hair dryers, dress forms, hatboxes, suitcases, salesmen's samples, and thousands of fashion prints, photographs, and original illustrations. The more than 30,000 artifacts here represent the changing appearance of Americans from the 1700s to the present day.

fashion plate

ID Number
CS.228001.1601
catalog number
228001.1601

fashion plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1860-12
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.002
catalog number
033675.002
accession number
70138

Ball Dress

Date made
1817-11
ID Number
CS.228001.0021
catalog number
228001.0021

brush

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1920 - 1960
maker
Kerr and Company
ID Number
1983.0851.02
accession number
1983.0851

dress, 1-piece

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1775 - 1799
ID Number
CS.006616
catalog number
006616
accession number
28810

fashion plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1861
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.045
catalog number
033675.045
accession number
70138

dress, 1-piece

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830 - 1840
1830-1840
ID Number
CS.006614
catalog number
006614
accession number
28810

Woman's Dress, 1893–01

This dress, designed by the House of Worth, was worn by Alice Jane Earl Stuart, who was born in Lafayette, Indiana on October 23, 1850 to Adams Earl and Martha Jane Hawkins.
Description
This dress, designed by the House of Worth, was worn by Alice Jane Earl Stuart, who was born in Lafayette, Indiana on October 23, 1850 to Adams Earl and Martha Jane Hawkins. Her father was a wealthy man and very important in the history and development of Lafayette, becoming president of the Lafayette and Chicago Railroad Company. At age 17, Alice left home to attend the Rockland Female Institute in Nyack, New York. On December 20, 1876, she married Charles Benedict Stuart, who became the founder of the Stuart law firm in Lafayette, Indiana. Their only child died at birth. The Stuarts were very wealthy as well, and Alice was one of the most prominent women of Lafayette and Tippecanoe County, working for many organizations of social welfare and improvement.
From surviving letters Alice wrote to her parents from school, she mentioned how important clothing was to her. As evidenced by this Worth dress, Alice was said to have a preoccupation with stylish apparel. Alice visited a cousin in Washington, DC on several occasions and attended a reception at the White House on one trip. She also traveled abroad many times, and it was probably during one of these trips that she had this dress made to order from the House of Worth, which was famous for creating beautiful gowns such as this one. Charles Frederick Worth was notable for his use of lavish fabrics and trimmings, and his son Jean-Phillippe, who followed the same aesthetics as his father, may have designed this dress. Alice Earl Stuart died on July 27, 1937 at Earlhurst, her family home in Lafayette. Although Earlhurst has not survived, this portrait of a young Alice Jane Earl Stuart is in the hands of a local doctor who owns the land that belonged to the Earls.
The House of Worth, which was the longest running fashion dynasty and the arbiter of women’s fashions for more than a century, was founded by Charles Frederick Worth, who was born in Lincolnshire, England on October 13, 1824. As a young man, Worth worked as an apprentice and clerk for two textile merchants. He relocated to Paris in 1845, and in 1858 he co-established his own dressmaking salon, Maison Worth at 7 rue de la Paix, Paris. Although his sons, Gaston-Lucien and Jean-Philippe, took over their father’s business after his death on March 10, 1895, they had been an indispensable part of the House of Worth long before he died. In 1954, the couture house was sold to Pacquin, and the name continued until the 1970s. Parfums Worth, which was created in the early twentieth century, is still in business. Besides dressing royalty and famous actresses, Worth was immensely popular among wealthy American patrons.
This elegant two-piece dress is constructed of pink satin and brocaded silk. The bodice of pink silk satin has a square neckline in front that is rounded at the back. The center front portion of the bodice is covered with pink chiffon, and four pleated chiffon ruffles with a lace ruffle inserted between two of them frame the neckline in front and extend down to the center front of the bodice. Additional ruffles are inserted at the back neckline to form a multi-layered ruffled collar effect. Reveres are cut in one piece with the bodice fronts using the fabric selvedge as the reveres edge. The reveres, similar to lapels, are covered with net and lace appliqué with decorative rhinestones. The bodice has side seams and is cut in three parts at the back. The back is covered with the same lace as the reveres. The short satin sleeves that are lined with pink satin are extremely full and pleated into the armholes with fullness at the top of the sleeve created by elaborate folding of the fabric. The sleeve openings are trimmed with three pleated chiffon ruffles tacked to the sleeves at intervals to form a decorative trim. A wide ruche of pink velvet lined with pink taffeta forms a cummerbund effect at the lower edge of the bodice closing at the left front. Two decorative velvet bows trim the closure. All inside bodice seams are finished and boned, with additional boning at the center front and either side of the center front. The center front of the bodice closes with metal hooks and eyes. This pictured label with the words “PARIS C Worth PARIS” is woven into an inner waistband tacked to the inside boning at the back waistline. The gored skirt of brocaded silk satin is slightly trained at the back, with box pleats creating fullness at the center back. A back opening closes with a large hook-and-eye. The skirt is completely lined with pink taffeta with a stiff interlining and an additional partial pink taffeta lining that is narrower than the skirt and tacked to the seams. A pink dust ruffle finishes the hemline.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1893 - 1901
1893-1901
maker
Worth
used by
Stuart, Alice Jane Earl
maker
Worth
ID Number
CS.264090.001
catalog number
264090.001

Woman's Dress, 1750-1780

Three individual pieces comprise this sacque or sack dress – an opened-front dress with the trademark box-pleats dropping from the back with a matching petticoat and a stomacher.
Description
Three individual pieces comprise this sacque or sack dress – an opened-front dress with the trademark box-pleats dropping from the back with a matching petticoat and a stomacher. The stomacher is a removable, decorative panel that fills in the v-shaped void that extends from the chest to the waist in the front of a gown. Mrs. Eliza Lucas Pinckney, the original owner, was the wife of Col. Chief Justice Charles Pinckney and the mother of two Revolutionary War veterans who became important early American politicians. According to historical records, the silk for this gown, and two others, was made from silkworms raised on the Pinckney plantation near Charleston, SC.
The practice of sericulture, or the rearing of silkworms, gained renewed interest in the American colonies during the early to mid 18th century. Plantation owners first in Georgia and later South Carolina planted mulberry trees to accommodate the Asian imported silkworms. Sericulture was never profitable enough to overtake cotton as a viable textile crop in the American south. However, Mrs. Pinckney was a trailblazer in colonial agriculture actively supporting the cultivation of both indigo and silk in her region.
The silk thread, produced in Charleston under the supervision of Mrs. Pinckney, was then exported to England to be woven into damask dress fabric in Spitalfields, an area of London renowned for its weaving industry. One dress was said to have been gifted to Princess Augusta, the Dowager Princess of Wales (mother of the future George III) and the other to Lord Chesterfield, a friend of the Colonies.
In the late 1920s, this dress was altered considerably so that it could to be worn as a wedding dress by a member of the Pinckney family.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1750 - 1780
owned by
Pinckney, Eliza Lucas
maker
Pinckney, Eliza Lucas
ID Number
2008.0002.001
catalog number
2008.0002.001
accession number
2008.0002

Head Dresses

ID Number
CS.228001.1608
catalog number
228001.1608

fashion plate

ID Number
CS.228001.1596
catalog number
228001.1596

fashion plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1861
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.030
catalog number
033675.030
accession number
70138

Costumes de Ville et de Chasse

ID Number
CS.228001.1599
catalog number
228001.1599

fashion plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1860
1860-10-00
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.001
catalog number
033675.001
accession number
70138

fashion plate

bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.181
catalog number
033675.181
accession number
70138

fashion plate

ID Number
CS.033675.200
catalog number
033675.200

Head Dresses

ID Number
CS.228001.1606
catalog number
228001.1606

American Library Association Uniform

Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia.
Description
Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia. The hat is green velour, the coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, the shirtwaist is white crepe de chine, and the tie is greenish brown silk. Metal lapel and hat insignia and cloth sleeve insignia show "ALA" over an open book. This uniform was donated by the ALA through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The ALA's mission during World War I was to provide American men in the armed forces with reading material during their off-duty and recovery hours on transport ships, in camps, and in hospitals. Men served as librarians for the ALA, while women typically engaged in fundraising, sorting and preparing books, and working at ALA headquarters.
Source:
Vivian Lea Young, “'Petticoats Are Part of this Uniform': American Women Volunteers of the First World War and Their Uniforms” (Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1987).
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1917-1918
ID Number
1998.0165.60.04
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.60.04

American Library Association Uniform

Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia.
Description
Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia. The hat is green velour, the coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, the shirtwaist is white crepe de chine, and the tie is greenish brown silk. Metal lapel and hat insignia and cloth sleeve insignia show "ALA" over an open book. This uniform was donated by the ALA through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The ALA's mission during World War I was to provide American men in the armed forces with reading material during their off-duty and recovery hours on transport ships, in camps, and in hospitals. Men served as librarians for the ALA, while women typically engaged in fundraising, sorting and preparing books, and working at ALA headquarters.
Source:
Vivian Lea Young, “'Petticoats Are Part of this Uniform': American Women Volunteers of the First World War and Their Uniforms” (Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1987).
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1917-1918
ID Number
1998.0165.60.02
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.60.02

American Library Association Uniform

Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia.
Description
Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia. The hat is green velour, the coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, the shirtwaist is white crepe de chine, and the tie is greenish brown silk. Metal lapel and hat insignia and cloth sleeve insignia show "ALA" over an open book. This uniform was donated by the ALA through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The ALA's mission during World War I was to provide American men in the armed forces with reading material during their off-duty and recovery hours on transport ships, in camps, and in hospitals. Men served as librarians for the ALA, while women typically engaged in fundraising, sorting and preparing books, and working at ALA headquarters.
Source:
Vivian Lea Young, “'Petticoats Are Part of this Uniform': American Women Volunteers of the First World War and Their Uniforms” (Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1987).
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1998.0165.60.01.02
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.60.01.02

American Library Association Uniform

Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia.
Description
Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia. The hat is green velour, the coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, the shirtwaist is white crepe de chine, and the tie is greenish brown silk. Metal lapel and hat insignia and cloth sleeve insignia show "ALA" over an open book. This uniform was donated by the ALA through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The ALA's mission during World War I was to provide American men in the armed forces with reading material during their off-duty and recovery hours on transport ships, in camps, and in hospitals. Men served as librarians for the ALA, while women typically engaged in fundraising, sorting and preparing books, and working at ALA headquarters.
Source:
Vivian Lea Young, “'Petticoats Are Part of this Uniform': American Women Volunteers of the First World War and Their Uniforms” (Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1987).
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1917-1918
ID Number
1998.0165.60.05
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.60.05

American Library Association Uniform

Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia.
Description
Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia. The hat is green velour, the coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, the shirtwaist is white crepe de chine, and the tie is greenish brown silk. Metal lapel and hat insignia and cloth sleeve insignia show "ALA" over an open book. This uniform was donated by the ALA through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The ALA's mission during World War I was to provide American men in the armed forces with reading material during their off-duty and recovery hours on transport ships, in camps, and in hospitals. Men served as librarians for the ALA, while women typically engaged in fundraising, sorting and preparing books, and working at ALA headquarters.
Source:
Vivian Lea Young, “'Petticoats Are Part of this Uniform': American Women Volunteers of the First World War and Their Uniforms” (Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1987).
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1917-1918
ID Number
1998.0165.60.03
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.60.03

American Library Association Uniform

Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia.
Description
Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia. The hat is green velour, the coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, the shirtwaist is white crepe de chine, and the tie is greenish brown silk. Metal lapel and hat insignia and cloth sleeve insignia show "ALA" over an open book. This uniform was donated by the ALA through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The ALA's mission during World War I was to provide American men in the armed forces with reading material during their off-duty and recovery hours on transport ships, in camps, and in hospitals. Men served as librarians for the ALA, while women typically engaged in fundraising, sorting and preparing books, and working at ALA headquarters.
Source:
Vivian Lea Young, “'Petticoats Are Part of this Uniform': American Women Volunteers of the First World War and Their Uniforms” (Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1987).
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1998.0165.60.01.01
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.60.01.01

American Library Association Uniform

Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia.
Description
Women's American Library Association (ALA) uniform from World War I, consisting of a hat, coat, shirtwaist, necktie, skirt, and insignia. The hat is green velour, the coat and skirt are olive green wool gabardine, the shirtwaist is white crepe de chine, and the tie is greenish brown silk. Metal lapel and hat insignia and cloth sleeve insignia show "ALA" over an open book. This uniform was donated by the ALA through The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The ALA's mission during World War I was to provide American men in the armed forces with reading material during their off-duty and recovery hours on transport ships, in camps, and in hospitals. Men served as librarians for the ALA, while women typically engaged in fundraising, sorting and preparing books, and working at ALA headquarters.
Source:
Vivian Lea Young, “'Petticoats Are Part of this Uniform': American Women Volunteers of the First World War and Their Uniforms” (Master's thesis, George Washington University, 1987).
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1917-1918
ID Number
1998.0165.60.01
accession number
1998.0165
catalog number
1998.0165.60.01

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