“Fashion is change, and it is progress. It is the history of mankind, for history itself is its constant guide and influence.”
--Nan Duskin Lincoln
Heralded as a “world-class collection of fashion and textiles” by the Wall Street Journal, the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection (FHCC) at Drexel University contains more than 14,000 garments, textiles, and accessories. The FHCC has strong holdings of Parisian haute couture and international high-style garments from the late 19th and 20th centuries. Recent acquisitions have included
Alexander Wang, Prada, and Chado Ralph Rucci. The FHCC was formed to serve as an educational resource for the students of Drexel University and remains a vital part of the design curriculum at The Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design where it is visited by hundreds of students, faculty, and visitors annually.
Please join us next Wednesday for a presentation on the style and impact of jazz icon Bessie Smith!
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Feb 16, 2022 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: BESSIE SMITH, EMPRESS OF THE BLUES, IN 1920s PHILADELPHIA: Modern, Transformative, and Unsung… See more
This Friday, June 4 at 9 a.m. ET, join Drexel’s Design History Forum for a talk with Clare Sauro, Director & Chief Curator, Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, Drexel University. Clare Sauro will be speaking on 2020: The Clothes We Wore and the Stories They Tell, a recent online exhibition at the Fox Historic Costume Collection. A Q&A will follow the presentation. Interested in attending? Please email Professor Joseph Larnerd at [email protected] for the Zoom invitation.
Join us!
On Friday, June 4 at 9 a.m. ET, join Drexel’s Design History Forum for a talk with Clare Sauro, Director & Chief Curator, Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, Drexel University. Clare Sauro will be speaking on 2020: The Clothes We Wore and the Stories They Tell, a recent online exhibition at the Fox Historic Costume Collection. A Q&A will follow the presentation. If you would like to attend, please email Professor Joseph Larnerd at [email protected] for the Zoom invitation.
History Happy Hour: Tiki Thursday
Thursday, May 20th, 5:00 p.m. ET
Register for the Zoom link
https://drexel.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ifh_DO21QyyisNOukkCDQw
Monica Stevens Smyth, Collections Manager of Drexel’s Fox Historic Costume Collection, will host Anya Kurennaya, scholar and doctoral candidate in Drexel University’s Media, Culture and Communication PhD program, for a History Happy Hour on Thursday, May 20th, at 5 pm.
Join Anya and Monica as they discuss the history of the American "tiki bar" and the 20th-century trend of tropical-inspired fashion and design. Anya will discuss the historical and cultural context of the bar and its fashions, and Monica will share pieces from the collection that reflect the era's cultural embrace of tropical aesthetics and cocktail culture. And of course, no History Happy Hour would be complete without a Mai Tai tutorial!
As part of the "Gateway to the University: the Collections" at Drexel special exhibition, opening in fall this year at the Paul Peck Alumni Center Gallery, three Drexel scholars came together to create a video around the celebrated Arts and Crafts designer William Morris (1834–96) and his use of natural dyes, especially indigo, which during the 19th century was imported from India. On Tuesday, May 4 at 7 p.m. ET, Clare Sauro, Debjani Bhattacharyya, and Robert Peck will be joined by other Drexel colleagues for a webinar conversation about Morris’ design philosophy, his use of botanical books as source materials, and the punitive conditions in Bengal under which indigo was grown.
Participants:
• Debjani Bhattacharyya, Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences
• Joseph Larnerd, PhD, Assistant Professor of Design History, Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
• Marina McDougal, Interim Chief Learning and Engagement Officer, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
• Heather Moqtaderi, Adjunct Faculty, History of Modern Design, Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
• Robert Peck, Curator of Art and Artifacts and Senior Fellow, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
• Clare Sauro, Director & Chief Curator, Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection
• Lynn C. Waddell, Director, The Drexel Collection
Register here: https://drexel.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__puHIljTQO-IdqzLtZS63g
What Drexel Does — and Doesn’t — Have From the 1918 Pandemic - DrexelNow
Society & Culture What Drexel Does — and Doesn’t — Have From the 1918 Pandemic By: Alissa Falcone April 20, 2021 One of the combs purchased by Naomi Ford, on top of the original holly wrapping paper. Photo credit: Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection. Credit: Gift of Mrs. Anne Wrig...
Our first online exhibition is now live!
https://theclotheswewore.com
2020: The Clothes We Wore and the Stories They Tell is the first online exhibition from the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University (FHCC). The objects included in this exhibition were submitted by members of the Drexel community as the most reflective of their...
The Couture Accessory Redux: A Conversation with Caroline Rennolds Milbank
Join us for a conversation with fashion historian Caroline Rennolds Milbank about some of her favorite couture accessories in the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University.
Caroline Rennolds Milbank’s work in fashion history has included stints as an auction house expert (Sotheby’s and Doyle New York), appraiser, and consulting curator. However, she is perhaps best known as the author of several definitive volumes on fashion history such as Couture: The Great Designers, New York Fashion, and Fashion: A Timeline in Photographs.
One of her most beloved publications is The Couture Accessory, a book that celebrates the visionary hats, bags, shoes, belts, scarves, gloves, and jewels fashioned by designers of the 20th century, beginning with Poiret, Vionnet, Chanel and Schiaparelli and continuing through to Azzedine Alaia, Jean Paul Gaultier, Moschino and Vivienne Westwood. Many of the accessories featured in the publication are now housed in the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection.
This program will be hosted via Zoom. You will receive additional details upon registration.
https://drexel.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_orDzTSnPSBCct-XZ21zmhQ
We are excited to announce the first online exhibition from Drexel’s Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, “2020: The Clothes We Wore and the Stories They Tell,” an exhibition curated with the help of the Drexel community. The clothes we wear are more than mere decoration – what we choose to wear, or not wear, speaks volumes. Whether you shifted your wardrobe to match the changing environment during a global pandemic, or you used clothing to further express yourself during a year filled with racial, social and political unrest, the Fox Historic Costume Collection wants to hear about it and document a year many of us would like to forget.
The Fox Historic Costume Collection is looking for 20 garments (t-shirts, hats, masks, tote bags, etc.) that best represent the events of this past year. This request of loan objects (to be photographed and returned) and a statement (60 words or less) explaining the significance of the submitted garment to the wearer during 2020’s tumultuous events is open to all Drexel University students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
The deadline for submission is Friday, February 19, 2021. Share your submission with the Fox Historic Costume Collection using this link!
https://drexel.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3fW10mV1bLqZ3Zb
To our community in Philadelphia and across the nation navigating both the COVID-19 pandemic and systemic injustice: We hear you. We support you. We stand with you.
A wonderful shoutout to The FHCC and it’s original curator, Mary Carter!
Happy Mother’s Day!
This is a very thorough article on the best materials for mask-making. Hope it is useful to all of you!
Edmonton, Alberta, April 11, 2020, 6 pm Dear reader, You have likely been bombarded by messages regarding the making and use of cloth facemasks at home. Like me, you may have wanted to know more about the science behind ... Read More ...
As part of Drexel's commitment to preserving and maintaining the health and safety of all members of its community, starting March 16 many professional staff will be working remotely and all university buildings will only be accessible to those who are issued DragonCards. Due to these measures Drexel Unviersity's galleries, including the A. J. Drexel Picture Gallery, Rincliffe Gallery, Pearlstein Gallery and Fox Historic Costume Collection Gallery will be closed until further notice. Efforts are being made to reschedule and/or extend exhibitions that were planned during this time and information will be available on the individual collections' and gallery websites.
This ratty and stained sweater sold this weekend at auction for $334,000!
The long journey of the $137,500 sweater worn by Nirvana’s frontman
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection's cover photo
Please come see our latest exhibition in the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Gallery at Drexel University!
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection has done it again! "Suit Yourself! 75 Years of Powerful Style" is an impressive display of iconic, masterful and timeless pieces from designers such as Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Alexander McQueen, and many more. Visit the new exhibition in the URBN Center Monday-Friday from 9am-3pm now through March 13, 2020.
Learn more ➡️ https://drexel.edu/westphal/news-events/news/2019/September/Suit-Yourself-Fox-Historic-Costume-Collection-Exhibition/
This is so very impressive!
Want to learn how to create those large, towering, and incredible hairstyles like Marie Antoinette? (I mean, who doesn't?) Then you're going to want to get our 2nd book - "The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty" (https://amzn.to/2HKmz94) where we cover everything you could ever want to know about Georgian fashion from the shoulders up.
Hair Care
Cosmetics
Cushions & Rollers
Curls and Buckles of Doom
How to pin curl, crepe, and heat set your hair.
Hoods, Hats, Caps, and Poufs
The secrets of Georgian hairstyling are in this book!
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection's cover photo
Interesting article about the challenges of running a historic costume collection. Special thanks to our favorite student volunteer Mali for sharing this.
Thousands of articles of everyday women’s clothing are being preserved in lockers in a college basement. But where, exactly, does their value lie?
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection's cover photo
Do you listen to podcasts? Do you love fashion history? The Dressed podcast is a must listen!
Dressed explores the incredibly rich and complex history of clothing as it relates to one of the most significant forces that drive the world today: fashion
Fascinating mix of old and new
For Dior Cruise 2019, Maria Grazia Chiuri looked to Potencier Broderies in Northern France, delving through its extensive archives to recreate and further develop an elaborately dense and luxurious embroidered guipure lace. Blending ancestral savoir-faire with modern techniques, it resulted in a pair of dresses whose leaping flounces belied the sensuality of their transparencies. Listen to the interview and go on.dior.com/cruise19 to discover the looks on the runway!
Another great video from Racked! What a fascinating testament to the power of clothing to make history come alive.
“Through fashion, I can connect with my ancestors, but I can also change the future.” - Cheyney McKnight
Racked has been producing some amazing fashion history related videos lately but this behind the scenes video of costume conservation is spectacular!
Here's how The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York preserves centuries-old fashion-- like these hummingbird earrings from 1865.
Congratulations to the wonderful team who put together this exhibition. Special thanks to Tae Smith and Ginny Theerman for making our loan objects (the Halston shirtdress and the Scaasi LBD) look so spectacular!
With its first exhibition since 1944 on clothing design, the Museum of Modern Art gives the Met’s Costume Institute some healthy competition.
National Women's History Museum
from the sensuous cold shoulder dress created by Donna Karan in 1992, to Vera Maxwell's introduction of a weekend wardrobe, fashion and forward thinking female designers established new roles for women. Read how some key designs have challenged the classic ideal of women, http://www.nwhm.org/blog/defining-designs/
This is very sad news. He was truly one of the greats.
In sad news, fashion designer James Galanos has passed away. He rose to fame when one of his clients, Nancy Reagan, became First Lady.
These "100 Years of..." videos are rather fun!
A surprising number of these are still stylish today...
What a wonderful find!
A really old French dress has sold for more than $150,000. The brocade gown is an exquisite example of the loose-fitting dresses that women — fed up with restrictive bodices — embraced in the 1700s.
Spotted any exciting flight attendant uniforms during your summer travels? Take a look at some styles from the past!
Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.The history of flight attendant uniformsUpdated 7:01 AM ET, Wed July 20, 2016 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: United Air Lines, 1939 – United sta...
Ah, the age-old question: Is a t-shirt still "punk" if it's sold for $265??
Well, here's something to chew on. High end fashion retailer Barneys New York is now offering a line of punk rock t-shirts. The shirts cost $265.00 and $175.00 each, depending on the shirt, and don't appear to be made in the USA. (We are trying to find out if they are sweatshop free right now). The....
This video is a treat. See what goes into a luxury designer handbag!
See this Instagram video by • 514 likes
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Here's how you install a plexiglass vitrine cover. @designatdrexel @lpgallery #fhccaccessories #galleryinstall #pearlsteingallery #immortalbeautyfhcc #exhibitioninstall #museumjobs
Dressing for exhibition! See Virginia using tweezers to lace up the bodice on a purple velvet gown from circa 1880. #ImmortalBeautyFHCC #historyofcostume #costumehistory #bodice #costumemounting #museumjob #behindtheseams #behindthescenes #1885 #1880s #19thcentury #19thcenturyfashion #bustle #bustleperiod
Here is the time-lapse video of our Collections Manager making a 1930's-style wig out of Tyvek.
We have finished organizing our infamous room of secondary storage! Check out our blog post at the link below and the accompanying prank video..... https://foxhistoriccostume.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/princess-of-the-dirty-room/
Philadelphia Racquet Club Weddings
S 16th Street
Wagner Free Institute of Science
W Montgomery Avenue
Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm
Germantown Avenue
American Swedish Historical Museum
Pattison Avenue
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