Worth Knowing
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Charles Worth's first couture fashion house. Who cares? Well, the answer to that might be more important than one would think.
Traditionally considered to be the folly of artists or the indulgence of the wealthy, fashion represents much more and is proving to be very important to historians and sociologists alike. Fashion trends can be important indicators of the changing social climate of the times. Fashion history provides further insight into the political, economic and cultural views of almost every generation.
No decade proves this point perhaps more than the 1940's. The women of that decade hung up their dowdy 1930's house dresses and defined the style of their generation by literally "wearing the pants in the family". The wide shoulder pads of Gilbert Adrian added more strength to their stature and their new found confidence was evident in their suits and dresses. The 1940's were a huge leap forward for freedom in women's fashion and depicted women as strong without sacrificing femininity. Even the wartime rations didn't hamper the creative process for designers like Claire McCardell, who created more casual clothing for women, a category previously ignored.
It is fascinating to follow something as seemingly simple as a piece of fabric constructed in various ways, through history and see how it directly related to the lifes of the people who wore it. That's why fashion history is worth studying! Below are some links to fashion, textile and costume musems that might be helpful in your research!
UNITED STATES:
FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) Museum and Galleries
http://www.fidm.edu/resources/museum+galleries/index.html
The Costume Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Behring Center
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/costume/
Phoenix Art Museum Fashion Design Collection
http://www.phxart.org/collection/fashion.asp
The Black Fashion Museum
http://www.bfmdc.org/
The Lace Museum
http://www.thelacemuseum.org/
Kent State University Museum
http://dept.kent.edu/museum/
Texas Fashion Collection
http://www.tfc.unt.edu/main/Index.htm
Cornell Costume and Textile Collection
http://www.human.cornell.edu/che/fsad/cctc.cfm
Cornell Costume Collection
http://costume.cornell.edu/
Haute Couture at the Met
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/haut/hd_haut.htm
The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology)
http://www.fitnyc.edu/aspx/Content.aspx?menu=FutureGlobal:Museum
CANADA:
Costume Museum of Canada
http://www.costumemuseum.com/
The Bata Shoe Museum
http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/
UNITED KINGDOM:
Bath Fashion Museum
http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/
Victoria and Albert Museum
http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/index.html
National Museum of Costume
http://www.nms.ac.uk/museumofcostumehomepage.aspx
Fashion Textile Museum - London
http://www.ftmlondon.org/
SPAIN:
Museo del Traje in Madrid
http://museodeltraje.mcu.es/index.jsp
FRANCE:
Musée de la Mode et du Textile
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/gb/02museemode/index.html