EXHIBITION STATEMENT

          If women of the United States from the last 250 years were to be represented by a singular female character, what would she wear? In order to answer this question, a dress for this character was carefully designed and constructed for display. The final product is a dress which compiles the most popular silhouettes and colors for women in the United States for the past 250 years.

           Inspiration was drawn from artists in both mature and professional levels of costume design and construction. One of these artists was Micarah Tewers, a popular Youtuber and free-lance seamstress. Several of her videos were utilized in order to make decisions on construction without pre-existing patterns. Jacqueline Durran is a famous movie costumer for historical films. Much of her work was used to find places to exaggerate features while remaining historically accurate. Both provide references for historical costuming projects that were pulled upon. Research was also pulled from books and websites such as Reforming Women's Fashion, 1850-1920: Politics, Health, and Art by Patricia A Cunningham and Costume Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits by Bobbi Owen.

         A few different research methods have been utilized for this project. One of the first methods used is archival research. The idea is to look at pictures and paintings of outfits directly from the specific time periods (not replicas) such as Dance at Bougival  (Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883).  These can be found in the various books and websites compiled in the annotated bibliography. Each of these sources focuses on the history and development of women’s fashion in the United States, or historical costume design. By seeing these original works, it became easier to gauge which elements of fashion were most prominent as well as what was achievable.

           The “prominent” elements were determined based on information in the historical books and the noticeability of the trend (an example of this may be bonnets). Using the program, “Medibang Paint” on an iPad, the rough and final draft of the costume were sketched using the watercolor brush feature. Patterns were created and used to construct the base of the garment. Different stitches of embroidery were used in order to embellish historical ideas and cultures within United States womanhood.

            This project was created with the intention of reaching two specific audiences. The first are those who are interested in learning about history. The second are young women struggling to find their identity. The viewers should be inspired to look deeper into the past of women’s oppression and how it was reflected in their clothing. Girls specifically should feel empowered by their history and potential. Young women will look at where they came from and be proud. This project has made me very proud to be a woman and know how women expressed their strength and femininity. After completing this project I am a more confident and flexible seamstress.

References.  

Beaudry, Mary Carolyn. Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing. Yale University Press, 2007.

         Beaujot, Ariel. Victorian Fashion Accessories. Berg Publishers, 2011.

Cunningham, Patricia A. Reforming Women's Fashion, 1850-1920: Politics, Health, and Art. Kent State University                    Press, 2015.

Edwards, Lydia. How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century. Bloomsbury             Visual Arts, 2021.

Ingham, Rosemary. The Costume Designer's Handbook: A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional Costume              Designers.

Owen, Bobbi. Costume Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1985. Greenwood Press, 1987.

          Richman-Abdou, Kelly. “Illustrated Timeline Presents Women's Fashion Every Year from 1784-1970.” My                        Modern Met, 31 July 2017, https://mymodernmet.com/womens-fashion-history/.

Victoria and Albert Museum, Digital Media webmaster@vam.ac.uk. “Reflecting Historical Periods in Stage Costume.”             Reflecting Historical Periods in Stage Costume, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, South                              Kensington, London SW7 2RL. Telephone +44 (0)20 7942 2000. Email Vanda@Vam.ac.uk, 26 Apr. 2013,                           http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/reflecting-historical-periods-in-stage-costume.

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Acknowledgements. I would like to thank Harold Burgess for answering my many questions throughout this process. I would also like to thank Lisa Burgess for checking in on my progress and offering support. I give appreciation to Mary and Pedro Guzman for helping me throughout the process to get things done. And finally I would like to give a wholehearted thank you to Katie Quinn for being the most wonderful “accountabilibuddy.”