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.
2,784
Page 1 of 140
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Triangular Brussels Point de Gaze Needle Lace Shawl
- Description
- This large triangular lace shawl was made in Brussels point de gaze needle lace. The overall design has fine naturalistic floral motifs with a few sections of the common bold, tightly buttonholed wheels. It shows a very fine overall pattern and execution. It was made in Belgium of fine cotton thread in about the 1850's
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1850-1860
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 1984.0111.018
- accession number
- 1984.0111
- catalog number
- 1984.0111.018
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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skirt, 2-piece
- Description
- This micro-miniskirt was part of a “futuristic fashion” collection designed by Rudi Gernreich, featured in Life Magazine in 1970 and displayed at Expo ’70, a world’s fair in Osaka, Japan, although never produced and sold commercially. Gernreich, born in Austria in 1922, emigrated with to the U.S. with his mother in 1938, fleeing Nazi persecution of Jews and settling in Los Angeles. Along with his then-partner, activist Harry Hay and others, he was a founding member of the Mattachine Society, an early LGBTQ/gay rights organization, around 1950. Gernreich first worked as a dancer and in costume design in Los Angeles, eventually becoming known for avant-garde fashion designs. Many of his clothes were “unisex,” intended for men and women alike, as he sought to detach clothing from gender—designing skirts for men, pants for women—and remove the stigma of nudity. His body conscious and often minimalist designs can be interpreted as celebrations of the body and statements against sexual repression.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1970
- designer
- Gernreich, Rudi
- ID Number
- 1986.0013.42
- accession number
- 1986.0013
- catalog number
- 1986.0013.42
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Embroidered Lace-Knit Glove or Mitt
- Description
- This black machine knitted net fingerless glove is embellished with embroidered flowers on both the front and the back. The flower spray is backed with fabric inside the glove. Pink silk thread is used for the French knots and bud centers, while coils of gold and silver laminated threads are couched onto a background fabric for flowers, stems and leaves. Every flower center is decorated with a cut green glass bead. The glove has probably never been worn.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880-1910
- used date
- 1900-1910
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE.E351638.000
- catalog number
- E351638.000
- accession number
- 115408
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Border in Modern Point d'Angleterre Mixed Lace
- Description
- This border is made in the Point d’Angleterre technique combining bobbin and needle lace. The details in the intricate floral pattern indicate highly skilled designer and lace makers. The lily flower motifs embellishing the outer edge are made with alternating bobbin lace and needle lace with centers of bobbin made veined leaves and needle made centers. The ground, also called reseau, is made in the point de gaze style needle lace with tiny rings. This late 19th century cotton lace is of very good quality. A machine made entre-deux is added.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 19th C
- 1870-1895
- Associated Date
- 1870-1895
- Associated Name
- Pinchot, Mary Eno
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE.L6458
- catalog number
- L6458
- accession number
- 48717
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Bird Motifs in Valenciennes Lace Border
- Description (Brief)
- Valenciennes continuous bobbin lace border with a pattern of birds in two and a half inch long repeats. Made during the transition between round and square mesh. The lace has been cut from a wider piece and hemmed at both sides with narrow bobbin or machine made tapes. Illustrated in "Pillow Lace" by Mincoff and Marriage, 1907, p. 42 with extra width. (Erroneously?) described as Louis XV.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Mid 19th C.
- Associated Name
- Pinchot, Mary Eno
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE.L6484
- catalog number
- L6484.000
- accession number
- 48717
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Carnation Motifs Along Central Wavy Band
- Description (Brief)
- Mechlin continuous bobbin lace border in Louis XV period (1710-1778) style. Unusual design with central wavy band with carnations in open kat stitch ground and Droschel ground along headside. The pattern repeat is 8.25 inches.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 19th c
- Mid 18th C.
- Associated Name
- Pinchot, Mary Eno
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE.L6485
- catalog number
- L6485.000
- accession number
- 48717
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Black Silk Chantilly Bobbin Lace Shawl
- Description
- This hand made triangular black silk shawl is made in the Chantilly bobbin lace technique and was purchased in Paris in about 1860. Elaborate floral motifs, including roses and leafy stems, decorate this large shawl.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1850-1860
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE.T13741
- catalog number
- T13741
- accession number
- 261642
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Argentella Needle Lace Border Fragment From Early 18th Century
- Description
- This elaborate and delicate border fragment of Argentella needle lace from the early 18th century is made of fine linen thread. There is a great deal of raised work with picots added as embellishment.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- early 18th century
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE.T16272
- catalog number
- T16272
- accession number
- 300957
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
drum
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1980s
- ID Number
- 2011.0135.02
- catalog number
- 2011.0135.02
- accession number
- 2011.0135
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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1900 Chinese Woman’s Slippers for Bound Feet
- Description
- Mrs. Lee had bound feet her entire life. Her daughter, Grace Mok, noted in an oral history that her limited mobility and difficulty in walking required her to be accompanied wherever she went. Though these are not Ng Shee Lee’s shoes, they are similar to those she wore.
- Foot binding in China may have originated as early as 900 AD. Though outlawed by the conquering Manchus in the 17th century, the Han Chinese retained the social practice into the 20th century.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1900
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- AG.A.2937
- accession number
- 1926.93542
- catalog number
- A.2937
- A002937
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Jonathan Sheldon's Freedom Suit
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1775
- associated person
- Townsend, John
- Sheldon, Jonathan
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2012.0194.001
- catalog number
- 236205.001
- accession number
- 2012.0194
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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jacket
- Location
- Currently not on view
- referenced
- Univision 34 Los Angeles
- ID Number
- 2017.0343.01
- catalog number
- 2017.0343.01
- accession number
- 2017.0343
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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New Hermes Engravo-graph Machine
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1950s circa
- maker
- New Hermes, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2019.0306.01
- accession number
- 2019.0306
- catalog number
- 2019.0306.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Environmental Button
- Description
- This button produced by the California Department of Water and Power advocates prudent energy usage.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0367
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0367
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Back-Support Belt
- Description
- Day laborers found plenty of work in New Orleans in the weeks and months following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Mammoth quantities of trash removal from devastated homes and businesses, clean-up, and reconstruction offered the promise of gainful employment to anyone willing and able to undertake heavy labor. The possession of technical skills was less important than pure muscle power and persistence.
- Mexican immigrant Francisco Zu&ntild;eiga, wearing this heavy, tooled leather back-support belt, was waiting in a downtown gas station in December 2005 for drive-up labor needs when he was approached instead by a Smithsonian team looking for something to acknowledge this aspect of the human response to Katrina. Much has been made of the outpouring of volunteerism after the hurricane, but another form of service was the individual with an aching back willing to labor under very adverse conditions for the hope of a small wage.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Associated Date
- 2005
- user
- Zuniga, Francisco
- ID Number
- 2006.0018.01
- catalog number
- 2006.0018.01
- accession number
- 2006.0018
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Fatherless Children of France
- Description (Brief)
- Pin for the Fatherless Children of France Society. The group was established to unite French orphans with American "godparents" through charitable giving. On the front is an image of a woman standing behind two children, against a green background. Green print on reverse reads, "10 cents a day // $3.00 a month // $36.50 a year saves a child for France." Mrs. Walter S. Brewster is listed as the chairman.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1915-1920
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0130
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0130
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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United War Work Campaign Pin
- Description (Brief)
- Straight pin-back United War Work Campaign pin. The pin is a flat red, white, and blue rectangle. White text in the red portion reads “I Gave For The Boys.” Blue text in the white portion reads “Did You?” White text in the blue portion reads “United War Work Campaign.”
- The United War Work Campaign was a joint effort undertaken by seven voluntary organizations active during World War I: the National War Work Council of the YMCA, the War Work Council of the YWCA, the National Catholic War Council (Knights of Columbus), the Jewish Welfare Board, the War Camp Community Service, the American Library Association, and the Salvation Army. The aim of the campaign was for these seven organizations to raise at least $170,500,000 in subscriptions and pledges during the week of November 11–18, 1918, to help boost American soldiers’ morale and provide them with recreational activities.
- Much like the use of military insignia to identify its wearer (by association with an organization) and his/her achievements, these pins and buttons were meant to be worn by Americans on the home front during World War I to show their membership in an organization and/or their contribution to a particular war effort, such as the United War Work Campaign. The pins and buttons displayed the wearer’s patriotism and generosity and undoubtedly also served to prompt others to become similarly involved in the various war efforts.
- SOURCE:
- “United War Work Campaign,” Committee on Public Information, Bulletin 42, 1918.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0261
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0261
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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2nd War Fund Button
- Description (Brief)
- Straight pin-back Second Red Cross War Fund pin. The pin is a white rectangle with a blue border. A red cross is in the center of the pin. Blue print reads “2nd War Fund.”
- The American Red Cross was one of the major organizations that conducted relief work during World War I. The Second Red Cross War Drive occurred from May 20–27, 1918, in an effort to raise at least $100,000,000 for the support of the organization’s work.
- Much like the use of military insignia to identify its wearer (by association with an organization) and his/her achievements, these pins and buttons were meant to be worn by Americans on the home front during World War I to show their membership in an organization and/or their contribution to a particular war effort, such as the United War Work Campaign. The pins and buttons displayed the wearer’s patriotism and generosity and undoubtedly also served to prompt others to become similarly involved in the various war efforts.
- SOURCE:
- The Work of the American Red Cross During the War: A Statement of Finances and Accomplishments for the Period July 1, 1917, to February 28, 1919 (Washington, D.C.: American Red Cross, 1919), 16–19. archive.org/stream/cu31924027870777.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0268
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0268
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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The Bottle: VIII. The Sins of the Drunken Father are Visited on the Heads of the Children...by lithographer George Gebbie
- Description
- This black and white tinted print depicts the last of eight scenes based on George Cruikshank's The Bottle. The series shows the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. This print depicts an interior scene of a man in a cell huddling in a corner before a caged fire. He is being visited by his grown children, now a thief and a woman of shame. A guard is visible through an open doorway in the background.
- This series of prints is by the English artist George Cruikshank (1792-1878). Cruikshank’s father, Isaac Cruikshank, was an artist who specialized in song sheets and caricatures and trained George and his brother Robert Cruikshank in these arts. George started as a caricaturist for magazines and children’s books. His most famous works included The Bottle and The Drunkard’s Children, designed and etched by Cruikshank to show the wickedness of alcohol. Cruikshank's father and brother were both alcoholics and he himself drank heavily until he took a vow of abstinence in 1847. These prints were originally published by David Bogue, who published most of Cruikshank’s other works in the 1850s. David Bogue, (1807–1856) was born in Scotland and moved to London in 1836. Bogue began working in Charles Tilt's bookshop as a publisher and bookseller in 1836 and became Tilt's partner in 1840. Bogue bought the shop in 1843. He was the principle publisher of Cruikshank’s short-lived periodicals, brief illustrated stories, and the Comic Almanack 1835-53. David Bogue published The Bottle series in 1847. Bogue suffered from heart disease and died in 1856 at the age of 48.
- This print was produced by the lithographer George Gebbie. Gebbie immigrated to the United States from Scotland in 1862. He settled in Philadelphia and became a fine art printer and publisher. He died in 1892.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1871
- maker
- Gebbie, George
- original artist
- Cruikshank, George
- ID Number
- DL.60.2909
- catalog number
- 60.2909
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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James Monroe 5th President of the United States
- Description (Brief)
- Color print, half length portrait of a seated man (James Monroe). Column and green drapery in right background. He is seated with his hands on documents resting on a table in front of him.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- n.d.
- depicted
- Monroe, James
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- DL.60.3189
- catalog number
- 60.3189
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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- Clothing and dress 2784
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- Manufacturing industries 1335
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- Art 477
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- Firefighting Collection 263
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- button 1323
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- Fire hats 168
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- Fashion Plate; Female 95
- frontpiece, helmet 87
- Lace (needlework) 77
- collotype 41
- Main garments 38
- Dresses (garments) 35
- Chromolithographs 31
- Entire Body 23
- Hats 22
- Pins (fasteners) 21
- pattern, bobbin lace 20
- production papers 18
- Cosmetics 17
- Shoes (footwear) 17
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- Industry & Manufacturing 1330
- Work and Industry: Production and Manufacturing 1258
- Buttons 1038
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- Cultural and Community Life: Domestic Life 417
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- Work 373
- Peters Prints 326
- Cultural and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement 268
- Cultural and Community Life: Costume 267
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- Cultures & Communities 203
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- Lace 111
- National Museum of American History 97
- Cultural and Community Life: Textiles 90
- Fire Helmets 87
- Helmet Frontpieces 87
