We invite Cornell students to apply for the Charlotte A. Jirousek Fellowship in the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection (CF+TC). Award winners will be given the opportunity to conduct research about a topic of their choice and curate a fashion exhibition in the Human Ecology Building Display Cases, located on Level T of the Human […]
19th Century Fashion History
The Kimono: What It Means to be a Japanese Woman
Blog post by Rina Takaoka ’24. This online blog post features materials protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the US Copyright Act. All rights reserved to the copyright owners. Akiko Yosano, a Japanese post-classical poetess, once wrote: “Beautiful are women’s garments Brimming with the unuttered feelings of women’s hearts” [1]. […]
Childhood Corsetry: The Development of Unnatural Body Standards From a Young Age
This online blog post features materials protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the US Copyright Act. All rights reserved to the copyright owners. Blog post by Alexis Aberman Corsets have long been a component of women’s underwear. The first corset was invented as early as the 1500s, and included rigid materials […]
Guatemalan huipil
Blog post by Rebekah Elizabeth Ten Hagen, ’23 This online blog post features materials protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the US Copyright Act. All rights reserved to the copyright owners. This Guatemalan huipil (figures 1-6) was given to Charlotte Conable and her husband, Barber Conable Jr. ‘42, 7th President of […]
Velvet, Fur, and Dragons: Cornell’s Opulent Opera Cloak
This online blog post features materials protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the US Copyright Act. All rights reserved to the copyright owners. Blog post by: Rebekah Camp This striking cloak (CF+TC Accession Number 2005.64.072) epitomizes the trends and luxury of the Belle Époque. From its high, fur-lined collar to its […]
WOMEN EMPOWERED: Fashions from the Frontline
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 7, 2018 Contact: costume@cornell.edu Location: Human Ecology Building, Level T Display Cases Hours: 8 AM – 8 PM on weekdays, 9 AM – 4 PM on weekends We are always free and open to the public! Exhibition, WOMEN EMPOWERED: Fashions from the Frontline, features items worn by prominent activists, politicians, artists, […]
Undergraduate Research Assistant Profile: Rachel Doran ’19
Name: Rachel Doran Class year: 2019 Major: Fiber Science and Apparel Design – Fashion Design Management When did you begin working in the collection and what inspired you to join the CCTC? I started working in the collection spring semester of my freshman year. I actually found out about the collection when I was visiting […]
Potentially Perilous Fashion
Blog post by Samantha Stern ’17. Fashions come in many forms, but few realize the potentially dangerous aspects of vintage and antique fashion. The term “mad hatter” is common vernacular, and comes from milliner’s occupational exposure to mercury (and, as a result, going “mad as a hatter”) in the late 19th century. Less well known […]
Mini Portraits: An Exploration of Childrenswear in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
Blog post by Jacklyn DeVito ’18. The Cornell Costume and Textile Collection holds an array of childrenswear dating back to the eighteenth century. Garments of each time period share common elements, which serve to represent the values and standards of each respective era. As societal expectations of children’s behavior evolved over the 19th and 20th […]
A Dress to Remember
Blog post by Susan W. Greene, MA ’94 In the 1930s, Cornell University’s College of Home Economics received an amazing offer. The head of the Department of Textiles and Clothing, Professor Beulah Blackmore, was contacted by a Cornell alumna, Ida Langdon (MA 1910, PhD 1912) wondering whether the College would be interested in the Victorian […]
Envisioning the Future Through the Past: The Ongoing History of the Cornell Costume & Textile Collection
Blog post by Dr. Denise N. Green ’07 Believe it or not, my career was sparked by the First Ladies of Texas. I attended high school in a Dallas suburb and during my senior year I went on a field trip to the Texas First Ladies Historic Costume Collection. While I had visited every possible […]
A Summer in the Cornell Costume & Textile Collection
Blog post by Rachel Doran (’19) There’s no better way to enjoy a gorgeous Ithaca summer than to spend your days in a windowless room. You may think I’m kidding, but I chose to trade sunshine, gorges, and waterfalls for 19th century dresses. No regrets. This summer I received a College of Human Ecology Summer […]