Clothing & Accessories
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.
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Turquoise Prom Dress
- Description
- This turquoise and aqua chiffon dress is labeled "Will Steinman Original," When a designer whose work was featured in Vogue during the mid-1950s. Another label reads "Lady Hamilton, Arlington, VA," which is the name of a bridal and fancy dress shop that closed its doors in 2009.
- Made in 1955, the dress was worn by Ruth E. Lander to formal events in the Washington, DC, area. This included a prom at J.E.B. Stuart Senior High School. Carol Porter, the dress' donor, wore the dress again in 1963 to a Sigma Kappa Sorority convention.
- The evening dress has a ruched, fitted bodice with aqua on the top half and turquoise below, as well as aqua spaghetti straps. The neckline in front is straight across, while the back curves lower and fastens with a turquoise metal zipper. Sewn into the center back are two long gathered bias panels, aqua on the left and turquoise on the right, both falling the length of the dress. The bodice has boning on the lower front and back. The full skirt has a deep slit at the center back, and the dress is lined in blue crepe with white tape loops at the top edges of the inside side seam.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1955-1963
- maker
- Steinman, Will
- ID Number
- 2003.0356.002
- accession number
- 2003.0356
- catalog number
- 2003.0356.002
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Pullman Conductor's Cap
- Description
- This cap is black with a stiff crown, flat circular top and a short visor. A gold braid stretches across the top of the brim and is attached around a brass buttons on each side of the hat. A badge stamped with Pullman Conductor is attached to the front of the cap. The Pullman Conductor had overall charge of the Pullman services for the passengers. The Pullman Co. built, owned and managed almost all sleeping cars on US railroads, from the `1870s until the 1960s.
- This cap was never worn in active Pullman service.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1950
- maker
- E. L. Peterson Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0327.01
- accession number
- 1981.0327
- catalog number
- 1981.0327.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Spectacles
- Description
- These gold-plated eyeglass frames with rectangular glass lenses connected by a broad bridge date from about 1850 to 1880. The straight temples terminate in teardrop-shaped fenestrations.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1850-1880
- 1850-1900
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 1981.0828.12
- catalog number
- 1981.0828.12
- accession number
- 1981.0828
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Coval Woman's Suit (2 piece)
- Description
- This gray flannel suit is a copy of a Balenciaga suit from 1949. The double-breasted jacket has a convertible collar and set-in full-length sleeves with three gray button closures at the sleeve hem. Four gray button closures line the center front opening, and there are two patch pockets at the front hemline. The front and back are cut with four flared gores each, and the hemline is reinforced with stiffening fabric. The lining is also gray fabric.
- The skirt is in a wrap-around style with four gray buttons for the closure on the right side. Two snaps make up the closure on the front waistband, which also fastens at the left with two hook-and-eye closures.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1949-1950
- ID Number
- 1982.0292.00003
- accession number
- 1982.0292
- catalog number
- 1982.0292.3
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Woman's Quaker Bonnet
- Description
- This bonnet from 1850-1874 is what a Quaker woman would have worn. Quaker bonnets were much plainer than the fashionable bonnets of the nineteenth century, with less adornment. They changed very little in style and shape making them difficult to date accurately. This bonnet with its quilted lining and skirt section would offer warmth to the wearer during inclement weather.
- This bonnet is constructed of dark navy blue velvet with a quilted maroon lining and curtain. The bonnet fastens with two black ribbon ties with a single long maroon ribbon attached to either side of the front edges. It measures 12 ½ inches high by 9 ½ inches wide by 12 inches deep.
- Date made
- 1850-1874
- ID Number
- 1983.0805.04
- accession number
- 1983.0805
- catalog number
- 1983.0805.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Christening Gown
- Description
- This white infant’s dress with short raglan sleeves was made by African American dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley for her goddaughter Alberta Elizabeth Lewis-Savoy in 1866. The neckline has two rows of casing with a narrow gathering ribbon. The center back opens with ribbon ties and a placket. The back waist is detailed with four rows of gathering ribbon and the front waistband is covered with lace, which is partially stitched down. A full skirt with twenty pleats is gathered to the waistband. Handmade Bucks point bobbin lace trims the sleeves and hem.
- date made
- 1866
- wearer
- Lewis, Alberta Elizabeth
- maker
- Keckley, Elizabeth
- ID Number
- 1983.0853.01
- accession number
- 1983.0853
- catalog number
- 1983.0853.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Blonde Bobbin Lace Silk Flounce
- Description
- This flounce of stylized floral motifs is executed in Blonde bobbin lace. The flounce is made of cream colored silk thread in three sizes. The ground is point ground, with the motifs made in dense linen stitches and lighter half stitches outlined with a heavy gimp thread. Honeycomb ground is used as decorative fillings. The flounce is edged with a narrow machine made picot edge on both sides.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1830-1845
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 1984.0111.243
- accession number
- 1984.0111
- catalog number
- 1984.0111.243
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Spectacles
- Description
- This pair of Harlequin-shaped eyeglasses dates from about 1960. The frame is made from 12KT white gold and has a black enamel-like design on the rim and temples. The Ultex bifocal lenses are made each from one piece of ground glass. The nose pads and earpieces are covered in plastic. By the mid-twentieth century, the variety of styles, colors, and materials for eyewear had become limitless.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1955
- ca 1960
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 1984.0140.417
- catalog number
- 1984.0140.417
- accession number
- 1984.0140
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Mister Rogers' Sweater
- Description
- This red knit cardigan was worn by Fred Rogers, creator and host of the children's program, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS, 1968-2001). For more than thirty years, Rogers began each episode by changing into a sweater and tennis shoes and singing, "Won't you be my neighbor?"
- An ordained Presbyterian minister, Rogers dedicated his television career to promoting children's emotional and moral well-being. His show, with its friendly conversational style and trips to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, encouraged young viewers to feel loved, respected, and special.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1968-1984
- Associated Date
- 1968-2001
- user
- Rogers, Fred
- ID Number
- 1984.0219.01
- accession number
- 1984.0219
- catalog number
- 1984.0219.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Leg Silque Liquid Stockings, Shade P244 Suntan
- Description
- While leg makeup has been commercially available since the 1920s, it wasn't until rationing was introduced during the World War II that the product became an essential commodity for many American women. Unable to procure silk or nylon hose, many women resorted to painting their legs with products such as Leg Silque Liquid Stockings, made in Boston, Mass., by the Langlois Company. Some industrious users even drew black lines down the backs of their legs to simulate the seams.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1943
- maker
- Langlois Inc.
- ID Number
- 1985.0481.002
- accession number
- 1985.0481
- catalog number
- 1985.0481.002
- maker number
- P244
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Elizabeth Arden Velva Leg Film, Sun Copper
- Description
- While leg makeup was commercially available since the 1920s, it wasn't until rationing was introduced during the Second World War that leg makeup became an essential commodity for many American women.
- Silk and nylon became virtually unatainable, so, unable to procure silk or nylon stockings, many women resorted to painting their legs with products such as this Velva Leg Film. Some industrious ladies even painted black lines down the back of their legs to mimic the seams of hosiery.
- Velva Leg film was manufactured in the Nineteen Forties by Elizabeth Arden, a Canadian-born American businesswoman known for her beauty salons and cosmetic products.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1943
- product launch
- 1933
- maker
- Elizabeth Arden Inc.
- ID Number
- 1985.0481.384
- catalog number
- 1985.0481.384
- accession number
- 1985.0481
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Louisville & Nashville Railroad Porter's Cap
- Description
- The cap is has a stiff crown and flat circular top with a short visor. A black braid stretches across the visor and is attached to the hat by buttons on each side of the hat. It has a badge on the front with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad logo, L&N and the words TRIAN PORTER. On each side is a button with the initials L&N.
- This particular porter's cap was owned by Mr. Henry Taylor, a porter for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad from the 1940s through the 1960s. Mr. Taylor worked aboard the L&N Railroad's coaches on overnight trains, assisting passengers. Sleeping cars assigned to L&N overnight trains were operated by Pullman, and so the porters on those cars worked for Pullman, not for the Louisvile and Nashville Railroad.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- associated institution
- Louisville and Nashville Railroad
- maker
- Becker Tailoring Co.
- ID Number
- 1985.0552.01
- accession number
- 1985.0552
- catalog number
- 1985.0552.01
- 85.0552.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Man's Suit (Three-Piece)
- Description
- This three-piece suit is made of gray herringbone tweed wool woven with fine dark and light brown vertical threads. The jacket is single-breasted with three buttons and a hacking pocket on the left breast. Two flap pockets are on the lower front, and there are four gray buttons on the cuffs of each arm. Dove-colored striped silk lines most of the jacket, with piped pockets inside the right breast and gray and white striped silk lining the sleeves.
- The trousers are cuffed, with a button-down fly opening and belt loops. The right front has a fob pocket, intended for use with a pocket watch. There are seam pockets in the front and piped pockets in the back with ivory twill weave silk lining.
- The single-breasted vest has four hacking pockets in front and a dove-colored stripe weave silk back. The lining is white twill weave silk, and the V-neck is bound in wool dress fabric. Six gray buttons are on the center front, and the back is self-belted.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1948
- ID Number
- 1985.0666.01
- accession number
- 1985.0666
- catalog number
- 1985.0666.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Stetson Hat
- Description
- This black derby-style hat was manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company around 1900. It is made of felt and adorned with a black grosgrain ribbon that is slightly frayed at the edges. A hat like this may have been worn as a marker of elevated social status at the turn of the 20th century.
- date made
- ca 1880-1940
- ID Number
- 1985.0711.02
- accession number
- 1985.0711
- catalog number
- 1985.0711.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Union Cap
- Description
- This International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) cap, dates from around 1933.
- Date made
- 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
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William Ellery model Pocketwatch
- Description
- During the Civil War Army physician Dr. G. D. O'Farrell received this watch as a gift from grateful patients.
- In the 1850s watchmakers at what would become the American Watch Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, developed the world's first machine-made watches. They completely redesigned the watch so that its movement could be assembled from interchangeable parts made on specialized machines invented just for that purpose. They also developed a highly organized factory-based work system to speed production and cut costs.
- In its first decade, the firm's work was largely experimental and the firm's finances were unsteady. The name of the company changed repeatedly as investors came and went. Operations moved from Roxbury to Waltham in 1854, and the Panic of 1857 brought bankruptcy and a new owner, Royal Robbins. Reorganization and recovery began, and output reached fourteen thousand watches in 1858.
- Renamed the American Watch Company the next year, the firm was on the brink of success from an unexpected quarter. During the Civil War, Waltham's watch factory designed and mass-produced a low-cost watch, the William Ellery model. Selling for an unbelievable $13.00, these watches became a fad with Union soldiers. Just as itinerant peddlers had aroused the desire for inexpensive clocks, roving merchants sold thousands of cheap watches to eager customers in wartime encampments. By 1865, the year the war ended, William Ellery movements represented almost 45 per cent of Waltham's unit sales.
- This William Ellery model watch was a gift to Army surgeon G. D. O'Farrell from his patients at White Hall, a Civil War hospital near Philadelphia. The inscription on the dust cover of O'Farrell's watch reads: "White Hall USA Gen'l Hospital, Feb. 15, 1865 Presented to Dr. G. D. O'Farrell, USA by the patients of Ward C as a token of regard & respect for his ability as a surgeon and unswerving integrity as a man."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1864
- presentation
- 1865
- maker
- American Waltham Watch Co.
- ID Number
- 1987.0853.01
- catalog number
- 1987.0853.01
- accession number
- 1987.0853
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Keds Sneakers
- Description
- These black canvas high-tops were worn by Jon Provost, the child actor who played Timmy on the television series Lassie (1957-64). Like many young sneaker owners, Provost customized his Keds by doodling on the rubber soles with a marker.
- Since their invention in the early 1900s, sneakers have been a mainstay of childhood fashion, valued for their comfortable fit and sturdy construction as well as their style.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954-1974
- date made
- 1957-1964
- ID Number
- 1989.0009.03
- accession number
- 1989.0009
- catalog number
- 1989.0009.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Westinghouse World's Fair Pin
- Description (Brief)
- Souvenir pin commemorating the New York World's Fair (1939-1940.) The pin features the Westinghouse Electric Company's robotic mascot "Elektro."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1939
- ID Number
- 1989.0438.1482A
- catalog number
- 1989.0438.1482A
- accession number
- 1989.0438
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Navy Cotton T-Shirt
- Description
- This is a short sleeve, navy t-shirt with white, ribbed trim around the neck and sleeves. It has an image of the American flag on the back of the t-shirt. The t-shirt was made sometime between 1968-1975.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1968-1975
- maker
- Spar
- ID Number
- 1990.0404.001
- accession number
- 1990.0404
- catalog number
- 1990.0404.1
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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Futurama World's Fair Pin
- Description (Brief)
- Pin commemorating the New York World's Fair, held in Queens, 1939-1940. It reads " have seen the Future, General Motors Futurama."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1939-1940
- date made
- 1964
- ID Number
- 1990.0542.1674
- accession number
- 1990.0542
- catalog number
- 1990.0542.1674
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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