New fashion exhibit, on view now!
Learn more about this exhibit on Yarmouth Municipal TV!
Created by Museum Assistant Grave Atwood as part of their “Putting History to Work” internship through USM, this exhibit was inspired by the mystery around Ann Taber’s wedding dress and what alterations had been made to it throughout its life. The original dress would have been worn in the late 1850s, but bears very little resemblance to the popular silhouettes of the time period. Silhouettes were ever changing, especially in the 1800s, and so they can be used to identify dresses. The core structure of this dress more closely matches the style of the 1890s when Ann Taber’s son married her daughter in law. Passing dresses along to be altered and reworn was incredibly common before ready-to-wear clothing became popular. The exhibit looks into the fashions of the 1800s and how elements of a woman’s outfit can tell us much about her life and the history of the garment itself. Fashion history is often overlooked in favor of more industrial or object based histories.
Clothing is oftentimes difficult to preserve and some pieces become so delicate that they can’t be displayed on mannequins or even in cases. Despite these challenges, the clothing worn by people throughout history can be an incredible source of knowledge on how people of any social standing lived based on how their clothing was structured and worn. The clothing worn by a high society woman is going to be incredibly different than that of the working woman as their clothing must serve incredibly different purposes. Even similar pieces may be worn or used in different ways, such as a more tightly laced corset versus a more loosely laced corset, one utilized for fashion, one for support.
Stop by the History Center this summer to learn more about 19th century fashion and Grave’s investigation into this historic wedding dress from our collection. Visitors can even try on a modern version of a hoop skirt!
The History Center is open Tuesday through Friday, from 10:00am until 4:00pm.
