Whose Clothing, Whose Stories?

The name of the woman who sat for this portrait has been lost to history. So too have the names of many of the women who owned the clothing in this exhibition. Their identities have faded from memory as their garments were passed down through the generations.

Yet clues to who they were live on in their garments. Beautiful, expensive, and well-preserved, their clothing was deemed worthy of saving and worthy of donation to the Illinois State Museum.

Most of the historic clothing in museum collections belonged to middle-class or wealthy people. Those with money had the luxury of wearing a garment only a few times and then saving it to pass on to children. By contrast, clothing belonging to poorer families was usually worn out, made over, or cut up for rags. It was often not considered worthy of being preserved.

The irony of this and most museum exhibitions on fashion is that the people who were most involved in harvesting raw materials, making fabric, sewing garments in sweatshops, and caring for clothing are the least likely to have their own clothing on display. Yet their stories, too, are present, if subtle; woven into the fabric of the garments on view.