Professor Marla Miller discusses the falling out of use of the term "mantuamaker" by female dressmakers in Boston and the transition to the term "dressmaker." Miller focuses on the history of dressmaking and of women as dressmakers, beginning in the colonial era and continuing to the 1800s. Her presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
American Textile History Museum curator Karen Herbaugh looks at the sewing diaries of three New England women and one young girl, compiled in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She examines the history of fashion and fabric revealed by the diaries. This presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Brenda Rosseau, supervisor of Research and Design in the Costume Design Center at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the work involved in accurately costuming historical interpreters and the place of clothing and fashion in colonial society.
Al Saguto, a shoemaker at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about making shoes according to colonial-era practices.
Terry Lyons, a Colonial Williamsburg wigmaker, looks at the place of wigs in colonial society and what they revealed about the wearer's social status.
Linda Baumgarten, Curator of Textiles and Costumes at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about 18th-century clothing and fashions, including how they reflected class differences.
Neal Hurst, an apprentice tailor at Colonial Williamsburg, describes the tailor's trade in the colonial era and its practice in Colonial Williamsburg today.
What year did each of these fashion advertisements appear in the newspaper?
1.
1915
2.
1925
3.
1917 (Note the military accents.)
4.
1905.
5.
1935.
6.
1910.
7.
1940.
8.
1895.
9.
1955.
10.
1960.
