What does babysitting mean to girls? It's complicated.
Two different guests linger at the Talk Back table at the end of the exhibition Girlhood (It’s complicated). Each one picks up a pen to...
New dresses, new traditions: Jill Biden’s inaugural ensembles go on view
Today first lady Jill Biden came to our museum to present her inaugural ensembles to the national collection and see them placed on...
Betty White's shoulder bag is a time capsule of World War II
On December 31, 2021, the beloved actress Betty Marion White Ludden (1922–2021) passed away at 99 years old, weeks shy of her hundredth...

Blog Posts in "Clothing & Accessories"

A small yellow tin container decorated with the illustration of a suited man brushing his teeth with a toothbrush. Illustrated ribbons posed next to the man say "Sozodont for cleansing" and "Powder the teeth."
A brush with history
Consider the toothbrush—so small and yet so important for health and happiness—and how it came into our lives. The earliest examples were...
Black velvet ice skating costume with sheer long sleeves and a bodice accented with rhinestones and Swarovski crystals
Sparkles under the spotlight: Designing a costume for Kristi Yamaguchi
Picture it: you're sitting with thousands of other audience members in a darkened arena. Suddenly, a spotlight illuminates a small circle...
Eight insignia patches decorated with symbols, including elk, moons, swords, and stars.
Of service and thanks: Collecting after January 6
Like many around the world, I spent the afternoon of January 6, 2021, watching the news and absorbing the chaotic events unfolding at the U...
Isabella Aiukli Cornell’s prom dress
Isabella Aiukli Cornell makes prom political
For many high school students in the United States, prom is considered one of the most highly anticipated events of the school year....
A graphic with a red background and a white illustration of the neck of a guitar with a bird resting on it.
Remembering Woodstock
The weekend of August 15 through 18, 1969, approximately 400,000 revelers traveled from near and far to inhabit the rolling fields of Max...
American history must-reads of 2018
These are our most fascinating blog posts of 2018, according to our readers.When FBI agents showed up with a pair of sparkly, red shoesA...
White celluloid collar on black background
A white collar with a message
Men’s celluloid collar, 1900sAt first glance, this collar from the 1800s might not look like much. A closer inspection shows that this...
What does Alexander Hamilton have to do with the lace industry in Ipswich, Massachusetts?
If you were rich and powerful, from the late 1500s on into the late 1700s, you would show off your wealth by adorning your fashionable...
A white debutante gown with an empire waste and fabric flowers around the neckline.
Sewing for joy: Ann Lowe
"I was 17 years old at the time and the dress made me feel so grown up and beautiful," Pauline "Polly" Carver Duxbury wrote about the dress...
A grey skirt suit, with a bolero jacket and a black belt.
From seams to strikes: Exploring women at work through clothing in our collection
What was life like for women in the workforce over the past 150 years? To help answer that question, I turned to the museum’s...
Two Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniforms, complete with blue and white tops and shorts, decorated with stars
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders donate iconic uniforms to the museum’s sports collection
In 1976, I was an 11-year-old girl who had always wanted to be a cheerleader, and the only part of Super Bowl X that caught my attention...
An image of a violet fraternal collar--opulently decorated with golden embroidery and a hand painted eye
Making money and doing good: The story of an African American power couple from the 1800s
Artists have long been major players in American philanthropy. If that surprises you to learn, you might be further surprised to learn that...
Green and brown military uniform with red beret. Owner’s name, Redding, written on left breast
12 days in Hue: An American advisor’s Tet Offensive experience, Part 2
This post is part two in a series. In part one, curator Frank Blazich introduced U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel James K. Redding, who served...
Shoulder patch with image of an eagle in flight and a parachute in the background
12 days in Hue: An American advisor’s Tet Offensive experience, Part 1
A year ago, a visitor to the exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War wrote me that an American advisor’s uniform from the Army of...
Natalia Flores’s pink quinceañera gown
Collecting la fiesta de quince años
Light pink and very full, the organza and tulle gown took up a major portion of the sofa. Beside it, Natalia had placed her glittery high...
Gold locket with black onyx stones along its border and brown hair embedded in the center under glass.
How first families have memorialized and mourned
Just in time for Halloween, your favorite collections managers from the Division of Political History bring you a new blog series: "Death...
A dark-colored cape laid out on a white surface. It has a red lining. One can see what may be a cloche hat next to it.
Where is the missing piece of lining in this U.S. Navy nurse's cape?
"The early morning whistles blew, the water craft sounded their signals in passing, an auto truck went thumping by, and the sun shot into...
Photo of the Ruby Slippers on a yellow background
VHS killed "The Wizard of Oz" for me
 Update: Thanks to you, our Kickstarter campaign to "Keep Them Ruby" was a success and we have the support we need to conserve and...
Costume on a faceless manikin includes pointed black hat tied with brown ribbon, white collar, burlap outfit, and hay pieces dangling.
Help reunite Dorothy and Scarecrow
Update: Your support has helped to make this project a reality! Our campaign to raise support to conserve Dorothy's Ruby Slippers and our...
A little girl admires the Ruby Slippers in a display case
You helped us reach our goal to conserve and display the Ruby Slippers!
At a little past 11:15 p.m. on Sunday, October 23, 2016, you took us somewhere over the rainbow. With over 5,300 backers, our "Keep Them...
Close-up photo of red sequins, cropped to a circle
The conservator who is saving the Ruby Slippers' sparkle
Update: Thanks to you, our Kickstarter campaign to "Keep Them Ruby" was a success and we have the support we need to conserve and display...
Picture of Harold Cotton, Hat Blocker by Harvey Wang. Harold Cotton cleans a fedora with a brush. A group of hat blocks sit in the foreground, and Cotton's diploma hangs on the wall behind him.
Freedom's tally: An African American business in the Jim Crow South
At 15 years old, Harold Cotton tucked his shoe shine box under his arm and walked to Jefferson Square in downtown Greensboro, North...
One of the Ruby Slippers, with a small heel and a beaded bow, covered in sequins, sits under a microscope.
You can help conserve Dorothy's Ruby Slippers
Update: Thanks to you, our Kickstarter campaign to "Keep Them Ruby" was a success and we have the support we need to conserve and display...
Purple fabric with geometric streaks of lavender, violet, pink, and white. Vignettes include figures, churches/grand buildings, etc.
Historical events turned into evening attire
Celebrities today have their own clothing lines, perfumes, and even cosmetic labels. What if the founders of our country had the same...
Printed portrait of Elizabeth Keckly included in her autobiography "Behind the Scenes"
Elizabeth Keckly: Businesswoman and philanthropist
This month, we've been exploring how American women made their place in the marketplace by participating in business and consumption....
A fascination with shoes
Editor’s note: This post is the first of three submitted by students as part of a Museum Studies class co-taught by Shari Stout, Collection...
Photo of fabric apron with textured fabric around edges and scene in center with elaborate architectural design
Brother Washington’s apron: A Masonic mystery (part 1 of 3)
Many of us have the Antiques Roadshow fantasy. You know the one. Some object or work of art, inherited or bought on the cheap (then...