womensclothing Archives - Maureen Taylor The Photo Detective Fri, 06 Dec 2024 15:02:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://maureentaylor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/cropped-site-icon-32x32.png womensclothing Archives - Maureen Taylor 32 32 99869351 Episode 253: Preserving Everyday History: Kiki Smith’s Journey with the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection https://maureentaylor.com/episode-253-preserving-everyday-history-kiki-smiths-journey-with-the-smith-college-historic-clothing-collection/ Sun, 08 Dec 2024 05:05:42 +0000 https://maureentaylor.com/?p=82643       Kiki Smith, a professor from the theater department at Smith College, joins the “Photo Detective” podcast to discuss her unique journey with the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection. Initially joining the department temporarily, Smith found herself organizing a chaotic costume storage area into a vital educational and research resource. Her book “Real […]

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Kiki Smith, a professor from the theater department at Smith College, joins the “Photo Detective” podcast to discuss her unique journey with the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection. Initially joining the department temporarily, Smith found herself organizing a chaotic costume storage area into a vital educational and research resource. Her book “Real Clothes, Real Lives” documents 200 years of women’s everyday attire using items from this collection. With a focus on ordinary garments rather than high fashion, Smith emphasizes the stories and social history these clothes tell. Her efforts have transformed the collection into a recognized academic and historical resource, gaining attention for its unique focus and prompting further institutional support.

  • Her book, “Real Clothes, Real Lives,” explores 200 years of women’s attire, focusing on garments from everyday life.
  • Smith’s work highlights the importance of preserving ordinary clothing for educational and historical insights.
  • The collection started modestly but grew through contributions and Smith’s persistent efforts to catalog and display the items.
  • There is currently an exhibit of clothing from the collection at New York Historical 

Episode 181: Clothing Care at the New Canaan Historical Society 

Episode 135: Stitch by Stitch: Saving Historic Clothing a Piece at a Time with Conservator Maria Vasquez

About My Guest:

Kiki Smith has been a professor of Costume Design at the Smith College Theatre Department in Northampton MA for 49 years.   She is the Director of the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection that was founded 42 years ago by a student and is based there in the basement of the Theatre Building near the Costume Shop.The collection now numbers over 4000 pieces.  Her book Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore (Rizzoli), published this September, documents garments and accessories that are what she calls “real” clothes worn by “real” women for all aspects of their lives.  It has developed a focus on the “uniforms” of women’s many roles and jobs.

She is also a professional costume and set designer, working with theatre companies including Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, Ma and the Talking Band in New York, and received an Obie Award for a production with that company.

She is an Alum of Smith College with advanced degrees in Theatre design from the University of Virginia and the University of Texas in Austin.

 

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen Taylor, The Photo DetectiveÒhelps clients with photo related genealogical problems. Her pioneering work in historic photo research has earned her the title “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective” by The Wall Street Journal and appearances on The View, The Today Show, Pawn Stars, and others.   Learn more at Maureentaylor.com

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

The post Episode 253: Preserving Everyday History: Kiki Smith’s Journey with the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection appeared first on Maureen Taylor.

]]> 82643 Episode 243: The Hidden History of Pockets: A Conversation with Hannah Carlson https://maureentaylor.com/episode-243-the-hidden-history-of-pockets-a-conversation-with-hannah-carlson/ Sun, 08 Sep 2024 04:07:01 +0000 https://maureentaylor.com/?p=80866     In this episode, Hannah Carlson, author of “Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close,” discusses the historical and social significance of pockets. Inspired by a personal experience where she had no pockets during an emergency, Carlson explores how pockets have evolved from medieval times to modern days, highlighting their gender […]

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In this episode, Hannah Carlson, author of “Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close,” discusses the historical and social significance of pockets. Inspired by a personal experience where she had no pockets during an emergency, Carlson explores how pockets have evolved from medieval times to modern days, highlighting their gender disparity. She delves into how pockets in women’s clothing were often inadequate or non-existent, contrasting with men’s standardized pocketed garments. Carlson also examines pockets in historical contexts, like women’s sports and military uniforms, and how pockets have influenced and reflected societal norms and gender roles.

Key Points

  • Inspiration for the Book: Carlson’s interest was piqued by an experience of having no pockets during an emergency, leading her to explore the functionality and history of pockets.
  • Historical Evolution: Pockets have evolved from medieval pocket slits to modern integral pockets in clothing, with men often having more practical pockets than women.
  • Gender Disparity: Women’s clothing historically lacked pockets, reflecting societal views on femininity and practicality, and influencing how women carried their belongings.
  • Pockets and Society: Pockets were banned in some eras due to their association with concealed weapons, and they influenced how people moved and interacted with the world.
  • Modern Pockets: Despite advancements, women today still face issues with inadequate pockets, often expressed through social media and fashion movements.

 

Episode 220: Dress Codes and Fashion Rule Through History with Richard Thompson Ford

Episode 215: The Story Behind Twentieth Century Skirts with Dr. Kimblerly Chrisman Campbell

About My Guest:

Hannah Carlson teaches dress history and material culture at the Rhode Island School of Design. After training as a conservator of costume and textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she received a PhD in material culture from Boston University. She is the author of Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close and has contributed articles to Commonplace: The Journal of Early American Life; Dress: The Journal of the Costume Institute of America; Design Observer; and MacGuffin: The Life of Things.

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen Taylor, The Photo DetectiveÒhelps clients with photo related genealogical problems. Her pioneering work in historic photo research has earned her the title “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective” by The Wall Street Journal and appearances on The View, The Today Show, Pawn Stars, and others.   Learn more at Maureentaylor.com

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

The post Episode 243: The Hidden History of Pockets: A Conversation with Hannah Carlson appeared first on Maureen Taylor.

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