Clothing & Accessories - Overview
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.
"Clothing & Accessories - Overview" showing 7 items.
Union Cap
- Description
- This International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) cap, dates from around 1933.
- Date made
- ca 1920-1960
- ca 1933
- referenced
- International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
- ID Number
- 1986.0710.0037
- accession number
- 1986.0710
- catalog number
- 1986.0710.0037
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Minnie Pearl's Hat
- Description
- A straw hat adorned with a band of artificial flowers and a dangling price tag was an essential component of country comedian Minnie Pearl's stage persona. Born Sarah Ophelia Colley in Centerville Tennessee, she perfected her style of rural humor in numerous appearances at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, on radio, and on television.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- user
- Pearl, Minnie
- ID Number
- 1993.0457.02
- accession number
- 1993.0457
- catalog number
- 1993.0457.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Woman's Ostrich Feather Hat
- Description
- Dating from 1910-1912, this woman's hat is trimmed with ostrich plumes. At the end of the nineteenth century, there was an ever increasing demand by hat makers for plumes, especially ostrich, to decorate women's millinery. With new legislative restrictions on hunting wild birds for fashion, ostrich farming became a successful enterprise in California, Arizona, Texas, Arkansas, and Florida in the 1880s so that feathers could be clipped from the farmed birds to satisfy the American demands for hat making using ostrich feathers.
- This hat is made of ivory silk and trimmed with plumes of a pale ivory shade. The underside of the hat brim is covered with black silk velvet. The ostrich plumes were extended by tying on barbs cut from other ostrich plumes. It measures 8.9 inches by 18.3 inches by 15.9 inches overall.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1910-1912
- ID Number
- 1972.299884.008
- accession number
- 299884
- catalog number
- 299884.8
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
"Tom Mix" Style Cowboy Hat
- Description
- This "Tom Mix" style cowboy hat made by the John B. Stetson Company dates from 1910 to 1930. The huge ten-gallon Stetson hat was Tom Mix's trademark. He was the top cowboy movie star of American silent films, known for his daring stunts and his equally famous elaborate cowboy outfits. More than any other star before 1930, Tom Mix had great influence on western wear.
- Tom Mix was born on January 6, 1880 in Mix Run, Pennsylvania. His given name was Thomas Hezikiah Mix, but when he enlisted in the Army in April 1988, he listed his name as Thomas E. Mix. Mix appeared in over three hundred western films until his movie career ended when silent films were replaced by talking films. He then worked in rodeos and circuses until his death in 1930 from a freak automobile accident.
- The average cowboy wore a hat called a "JB," which stood for John B. Stetson, a hatter who started his company in 1865. He built one of America's most well known and successful businesses and created hats that stood for innovation, quality, and durability. This cowboy hat is one of the styles that the John B. Stetson Company was known for producing. It is made of an off-white felt with a matching ribbon band and measures seven inches high by fourteen inches wide by eighteen inches deep.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1910 - 1930
- maker
- Stetson
- ID Number
- CS*112055.001
- catalog number
- 112055.001
- accession number
- 112055
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Delegate's Cheesehead Hat
- Description
- Patricia Hawley decorated and wore this hat while serving as a Wisconsin delegate to the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The hat is an official "cheesehead" manufactured by Foamation Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before arriving at the Chicago convention, Hawley collected the bumper stickers from earlier political events and purchased the pinwheel at the Ford Pharmacy in Appleton, Wisconsin.
- It is not known when delegates began the tradition of decorating their hats at political conventions. Over time, delegates' decorations have become more elaborate assemblages. These creations are often statements of a party loyalty, emblematic of a particular cause, or, as was the case of this cheese hat, expressions of local pride. Most are meant to be fun and a celebration of individual participation in the political process.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1996
- associated dates
- 1996-08-11-1996-08-16
- 1996-08-24-1996-08-30
- described
- Clinton, Bill
- Gore, Jr., Albert A.
- ID Number
- 1996.0311.01
- catalog number
- 1996.0311.01
- accession number
- 1996.0311
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Abraham Lincoln's Top Hat
- Description
- At six feet four inches tall, Lincoln towered over most of his contemporaries. He chose to stand out even more by wearing high top hats. He acquired this hat from J. Y. Davis, a Washington hat maker. Lincoln had the black silk mourning band added in remembrance of his son Willie. No one knows when he obtained the hat, or how often he wore it. The last time he put it on was to go to Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.
- After Lincoln’s assassination, the War Department preserved his hat and other material left at Ford’s Theatre. With permission from Mary Lincoln, the department gave the hat to the Patent Office, which, in 1867, transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution. Joseph Henry, the Secretary of the Smithsonian, ordered his staff not to exhibit the hat “under any circumstance, and not to mention the matter to any one, on account of there being so much excitement at the time.” It was immediately placed in a basement storage room.
- The American public did not see the hat again until 1893, when the Smithsonian lent it to an exhibition hosted by the Lincoln Memorial Association. Today it is one of the Institution’s most treasured objects.
- Transfer from the War Department with permission from Mary Lincoln, 1867
- date made
- mid 19th century
- user
- Lincoln, Abraham
- maker
- Davis, J. Y.
- ID Number
- PL*9321
- accession number
- 38912
- catalog number
- 9321
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Kensington Fire Hat
- Description
- Beginning in the late 18th century, some volunteer fire fighters began to wear hats painted with their company’s name to identify themselves at chaotic fire scenes. During the 19th century, these fire hats became more ornate, as portraits of historical figures, patriotic scenes, allegorical images, or company icons were painted alongside the company’s name, motto, or founding date. Made of pressed felt, these “stove-pipe” hats were primarily used in Philadelphia, but other nearby cities such as Baltimore and Washington adopted them as well. Fire hats were personal items with the owner’s initials often painted on the top of the hat. While these hats were worn at fires, they are more colloquially known as “parade hats.” Fire companies commonly marched in the many parades of the period and these ornate hats contributed to the visual culture of their day. These distinguishing features in a company’s regalia often proclaimed the members’ cultural and political identity as well as their position on contested topics such as work, religion and immigration.
- This fire hat dates to the first half of the 19th century. The hat is painted black with gold bands around the top and base. "Kensington" is painted in gold above the date "1791." The number "1" is painted in gold on the opposite side, and the owner’s initials “W.H.C." are painted in gold on the top of the hat. The Kensington Fire Company was founded in 1791 in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time, Kensington was a separate municipality, and this company was the first of its kind for the area.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1810-1860
- associated date
- 1791
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0103
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0103
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center