List of materials

Next, it's time to get intimate with the dress. I really need to know it inside out if I'm going to find answers to the questions we are posing. I started today by taking lots of notes about each part of the dress.

What are the different fabrics, trims, and hardware used in the dress?

Starting at the top of the dress and working down, I tried to identify each different material used in the dress, including both soft goods and hardware. One of the wonderful aspects of this period, the 1910's, is that while the silhouette is fairly simple, there is a rich layering of materials that adds incredible detail to the garment. But after my notes from this day, my total still wasn't complete - as Emily Leimkuhler (VC '10) and Liz Labrocca (VC '09) have been working with me on this project, they have pointed out materials that didn't make it on my list! After their input, the total is now up to 15 different soft goods and 8 different types of hardware:

-2 different peach/tan silk linings (slightly different shade from bodice to skirt)
-tan lace yardage with beading (middle skirt layer)
-tan lace trim, 8.75" wide (over the shoulders of the bodice, and filling in the neck)
-tan silk jacquard with geometric, pixelated pattern (overskirt, asymmetrical bodice overpieces, hanging piece in back)
-4" wide off white grosgrain ribbon (inner waistband)
-metallic organza - off-white/golden (pleated sash)
-coral silk (sash trim)
-off-white silk chiffon (lining of lace)
-off-white silk voile (lining of asymmetrical bodice overpieces)
-off-white satin (band that forms middle layer of bodice)
-off-white net edging (pleated trim at top edge of bodice)
-tan net (lining center front inset in bodice)
-2 widths and qualities of off white seam binding
-gold beads
-white beads
-rhinestones
-buckle (decorative, covered in self fabric)
-3 different sizes of hooks: 3/16" (overlapping sash, meet with thread chain loops), 1/4" (bodice closure, meet matching bars on satin bodice) , 3/8" (inner waistband closure, meet matching eyes)
-1/4" snaps (skirt placket)

Here's a slideshow of some of the materials:

Alterations?

Has the dress been altered since its original creation?

From Research Process Part 1 - 1910's Franklin Simon gown

There is a tuck in the lace layer of the skirt, just below the waist level, all the way around, which is hidden by the jacquard overlay. It is not quite even all the way around. Was it original on the dress, providing some sort of shaping to the skirt? Or is it a later alteration?

One other detail suggests that it might be an alteration: on the snap closure placket at the center back of the skirt, the lace layer sits higher than the lining layer. The lining could easily have been re-hemmed right at the bottom to adjust the length, but the lace, with its border design and beading, would have to have been raised at the waist (and is conveniently covered by the overskirt).

Another detail I've considered is the nature of the beading. The beadwork continues up the length of the lace skirt, even though much of it is covered by the overskirt. I thought this also might be an argument for an alteration, but in fact I now think it just indicates that the lace was beaded as yardage before being cut into the skirt.

Was the dress made to order, or ready to wear, or something in between?

Another option exists, somewhere in the middle - that the dress was in the middle of the spectrum between ready-to-wear and made-to-order, so that parts of the dress (inner waistband, lining, skirt) and were already made, but then altered for the specific wearer, whereas other parts (sash, overlays) were applied for the specific wearer. Then it would make sense that the skirt length was altered, even for its original wearer (not unlike a modern bridesmaid's dress).

First Steps

From Research Process Part 1 - 1910's Franklin Simon gown

How can we work with this dress without causing it further damage?

To begin our work with the dress today, first I needed to think about conservation and create a safe space to work with it:

-measured the overall length and width of the dress as it lays in the box /on the table
-cut a piece of washed muslin almost 3X the length of the dress, and finish the raw edges of it (this will serve as a cover/sling to protect the dress as we work on it)
-with the muslin laid out on the table, I brought the dress over from the storage area and laid it out carefully on top of the center of the muslin (when the dress is not being studied, it can be covered up by overlapping the long sides of the muslin over top of it)

Questions

The more we work with this dress, the more we want to know about it. As we go, we keep adding to a list of questions we have about the dress and its history, and our objective with this project is to answer as many of them as we can! That way a student who tries on the reproduction can get a detailed picture of the world from which the dress came.

What follows are our questions, in no particular order, followed by a label in parentheses which indicates the category this question falls under. From each blog page, the sidebar on the left has a list of all these categories, kind of like an index. You can use that list to navigate to a particular question that interests you.

Who wore this dress, and for what occasion? (wearer)
What year was the dress made and worn? (period)
What region is the dress from? (region)
Where was it purchased / made? (source)
What underwear would have been worn with this dress? (underwear)
What accessories would have been worn with this dress? (accessories)
Who made this dress, and under what conditions? (production)
Was the dress made to order, or ready to wear, or something in between? (production)
What construction techniques were used to make this dress? (construction)
What would the flat pattern for the dress look like? (pattern)
Has the dress been altered since its original creation? (construction)
How much did this dress cost? (cost)
How much were workers paid to make it? (cost)
What are the different fabrics, trims, and hardware used in the dress? (materials)
Where were they produced, under what conditions, and at what cost? (materials)
Where can we find similar fabrics, trims, and hardware to reproduce the dress? (materials)
How can we work with this dress without causing it further damage? (conservation)
What size person originally wore this dress? (size)
To what size should we reproduce the dress? (size)
What would the dress have looked like in 3D? In motion? (images)

Each of these questions has several "sub-questions," and we will try to address each question in at least one blog post. You can navigate through our blog posts chronologically, or use the "Label" list as an index to go right to the sections that interest you most. If you would like to add any questions, or help propose some answers, please add to the comments below (or on the pages for individual questions).

1st Object Chosen

After careful consideration, we have chosen our first object to reproduce. This gown, with accession number 1992.035 in our collection, is well loved by the students who have previosuly seen it on display. It is somewhat fragile, which means that we have to be very careful with it, but the way that it is deteriorating inspires us even more to fully research and reproduce it before the deterioration progresses much further. We believe it to be from about 1910-1915; further research should confirm that. The dress has a label which reads "Franklin Simon & Co. / Fifth Avenue, New York."

Here is a slideshow of images of the dress.
Thanks to volunteer Lydia Palmiotti for helping to mount the dress and take photos of it.

Use your mouse to roll over the bottom of the slideshow viewer so that you can stop the slides and move forward or backward through them at your own pace. Also you can view the photos and slideshow in our Picasa Web Album if you click here.

Object Selection Criteria

Our first task with this project is to choose which objects from the collection we will reproduce.

Our criteria for selection are:
attractive on a larger figure
involves construction that is neither too complicated to be difficult nor too simple to be boring
fills in a period of history that is currently not well represented in our collection of reproductions
attractive to a modern, young eye
not too fragile to be handled for the patterning process
creates a silhouette that is different from our current silhouette, with shaping undergarments

The final selections will be made by Holly Hummel and Arden Kirkland, but we have consulted with some of our students for a perspective closer to that of the students who will take part in the activity. Thank you to Lydia Palmiotti, a high school student from Poughkeepsie, who has volunteered with this project, and looked through the entire database of our collection to help with the selection process.

Example of a visit: "Fashion and the Feminine"

As an example of what students experience when we host a class visit, here is a slideshow from a recent event. "Women's Studies: Fashion and the Feminine," taught by Susan Hiner, visited the Vassar College Costume Collection on October 10, 2007.

Use your mouse to roll over the bottom of the slideshow viewer so that you can stop the slides and move forward or backward through them at your own pace. Also you can view the photos and slideshow in our Picasa Web Album if you click here.

How to use this blog

The nature of blogs is that it is easiest to navigate through blog posts in reverse chronological order. However, here you have some other options:

-To view all the posts in order, start at the "Welcome" post, then click on "newer post" after reading each one.

-To view my favorite highlighted posts, select "Highlights" from the top left sidebar (or from the label choices); scroll down to the bottom and then work your way up if you want to read in chronological order

-Or use the "Label" list as an index to go right to the sections that interest you most.

-Or use the "Search" box to search for other words

If you would like to add any questions, or help propose some answers, please use the comment feature to do so!

With most images on these pages, you can click on the image to see it larger in Picasa or Flickr, or click on the title below to see the whole "album" of photos it comes from. Just use your "back" button in your browser to get back here when you're done.

For most slideshows (made in Picasa), use your mouse to roll over the bottom of the slideshow viewer so that you can stop the slides and move forward or backward through them at your own pace. Also you can view the photos and slideshow in our Picasa Web Album if you click here.

Other slideshows are made in Flickr. To view one, click on the arrow (play button) for it to start playing. You can also click on the icon in the bottom right hand corner for a fullscreen view - and then, to get out of it, press the "esc" key. Within the viewer, use the arrows, pause button, and lightbox at the bottom to navigate through the images.

If you have any problems viewing this blog, please either leave a comment to reply to this post, or email me.

Welcome to the Vassar College Costume Collection's "Trying on History" Project!

This blog will chronicle our "Trying on History" project, and all our related work.

A visit to the Vassar College Costume Collection (VCCC) provides an exciting way for students to have a hands-on experience of history, not only through the ability to view a variety of clothing objects from different historic periods, but also through the kinetic experience of trying on reproductions of such clothing.

In recent years, many different groups, both Vassar classes and community groups, have made field trips to visit the VCCC. The focus for such visits is on the changing shape of fashion, and students are shown full garments on mannequins along with some of the actual bustles, hoops, and other undergarments that accompanied each change in shape. The historic objects are far too fragile to be tried on, but students are able to try on a selection of theatrical costume reproductions, especially corsets, hoops, bustles, and petticoats and the daywear that would be worn with them.

We have recently received funding from the Carolyn Grant '36 Endowment at Vassar for a new phase of this project: to provide for the construction of new reproduction garments to fit a wider range of sizes. This will also create an opportunity to create a stronger connection between the reproductions and the historic objects by reproducing objects from the collection, creating copies that are true to the original in all aspects except size, and can be experienced in motion.

Not only will these reproductions be tried on by physical visitors to the collection for years to come, but they will also be shared with virtual visitors to our eventual website. For now, this blog will serve as our link to the public. Here you will find information about our research, conservation, and construction techniques, and see some footage from our classroom visits. Enjoy your visit, and please share your comments!