WOMEN'S
FASHION HISTORY EXPLORED IN NEW EXHIBITION
Exhibit
depicts the history of Atlanta's women through clothing
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| Bicycling
ensemble, ca. 1895. Like other physical activities, the bicycling
craze of the 1890s required special clothing. While some women
donned bloomer costumes, an early type of trousers, many shied
away from this controversial style due to its association
with the suffrage movement. The heavy leather trim at the
skirt of this wool tweed ensemble helped ensure modesty, even
on windy days. Worn by Sarah Frances Grant Slaton. Photo
by Jonathan Hollada; Atlanta History Center |
Expanding
on the idea that fashion both reflects and defines the
moment in which it was created, the Atlanta History Center has
produced a
new exhibition depicting the lifestyle and costume changes of
Atlanta women.
Beginning
November 1, 2003, through April 18, 2004, the Center will feature
Gone with the Girdle: Freedom, Restraint and Power in Women's
Dress, a 3,300 square-foot exhibition that examines the silhouettes
and experiences of Atlanta women from the city's early days to
the present. While the setting may be Atlanta, the clothing follows
the timeline of any city's women - reflecting their dreams, challenges
and successes - from the confining corsets of the 19th century
to today's urban chic.
The
exhibition features a range of clothing and accessories from vintage
to contemporary, along with historic photographs and stories told
in women's own words through letters, diaries and interviews.
This mix of object, image and word enables visitors to meet generations
of working women and mothers, teachers and volunteers, role models
and less traditional women who
together make up the body of Atlanta women's history.
Among
special topics highlighted in the exhibition are the evolution
of undergarments, rise of athletics, changing mourning rituals
and timeless accessories including hats and shoes.
"The
History Center's textile collection includes more than 10,000
artifacts. Highlighting a number of these garments and accessories
- many of which are rare and extraordinary - is a tremendous opportunity
for us to share our scholarship and collections," said Jim
Bruns, executive director of the Atlanta History Center. "This
exhibition, the result of a two-year research effort at the Atlanta
History Center, explores the way women were frequently bound by
custom and costume."
Gone
with the Girdle illustrates changes in silhouettes and related
undergarments over time, explores Atlanta women's access to fashion
and considers the relative freedom of contemporary women to express
themselves through clothing. More than sixty ensembles are presented
from five eras that redefined women's roles: (CONTINUE...)
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