MassFashion all the Rage in 2018

MassFashion is an exhibition bringing together eight Massachusetts museums to showcase the different facets of fashion, and how fashion connects to the modern day individual and history. Each museum has a unique exhibit relating to clothing that ranges from mid-seventeenth century to modern day. Some exhibits focus on hats and shoes, while others focus on the important individuals and events that are connected to that piece. Museum Textile Services has been busy conserving and readying pieces to be displayed for several of the museums associated with the MassFashion exhibitions. 

Massachusetts Historical Society

Massachusetts Historical Society is exhibiting Fashion the New England Family, 17th to 19th Century: Reuse, Refashion, Preserve, and Pass On allowing visitors to learn about the importance of fashion in history. Many pieces were have been in long term storage and are being exhibited for the first time. MTS conserved five historic garments for this exhibit including Mather Byles christening cap. The exhibit opens October 2018.

Mather Byles' Christening Cap

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has two exhibitions with an emphasis on fashion and textiles. The first exhibit is Casanova's Europe: Art, Pleasure, and Power in the 18th Century. This will show how clothing, furniture, and art are woven into Casanova's  travel, courtships, and social activities. The exhibit is open  July 8, 2018.

The second exhibit at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is showcasing is Boston Arts Crafts Jewelry and Metalwork (working title). This exhibit displays the craftsmanship and artistry of jewelry and metalworkers. MFA will showcase how the artists' stories connect and helped make life more worthwhile during an industrial revolution when many things are becoming mass manufactured and less handcrafted. This exhibit will open November 17, 2018.

Man's waistcoat, breeches, and vest. Image from Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Trustees of Reservations

Trustees of Reservations will be exhibiting Leisure Pursuits: The Fashion and Culture of Recreation displaying how people of Massachusetts participated in activities such as gardening, swimming, entertaining, fitness, and equestrian pursuits. Each of these activities required a certain dress and influenced the fashion of the time. MTS had the opportunity to conserve several pieces for Trustees of Reservations. The Driscoll's gown pictured below is a piece MTS conserved. This exhibit will be showcasing what was worn for certain activities and opens May 12, 2018. 

Driscoll's Gown

Historic New England

Historic New England's curator Laura Johnson is focusing on the influence of shoes and hats in Head to Toe: Hat and Shoe Fashions from Historic New England. The 46 shoes and hats show the relationship between these items and New England, highlighting the connections of body image with socio-economics,  cultural appropriation, and activism. The Head to Toe exhibit opens June 1, 2018.

Julia Child's Shoes. Image from Historic New England's Online Collections

Fuller Craft Museum

​Uneasy Beauty: Discomfort in Contemporary Adornment will exhibit at the Fuller Craft Museum. This exhibit will feature 75 pieces of contemporary jewelry and costume. Susan Ramljak's curation will show the connection of fashion to human emotions, intellect, and body through the demands of fashion itself. The exhibition will begin October 26, 2018.

Snake Handbag. Photographed by Bob Toy

Old Sturbridge Village

A Fashion for Preservation: Caring for the Old Sturbridge Village Textile Collection is being exhibited at the ​Old Sturbridge Village. Museum Textile Services surveyed the hanging fashion collection dating from 1780 to 1850 last spring.This program is extremely exclusive, allowing only 15 visitors on June 16, 2018. A Fashion for Preservation is exemplifying how to properly care for textiles and why their new rehousing of 300 items is crucial for the preservation of history.  

Camille and Morgan examining the storage at Old Sturbridge Village

​Peabody Essex Museum

​Peabody Essex Museum is exhibiting the influence of empresses of China during the Qing Dynasty in the exhibit Empresses of China's Forbidden City. One hundred and fifty objects from the Forbidden City will be on display and tell this little known story of the empresses. This will be on exhibit August 18, 2018.

​Concord Museum

Concord Museum is answering questions of how people from the 18th and 19th century obtained their clothing in the exhibit Fresh Goods: Shopping for Clothing in a New England Town, 1750-1900. This exhibit will display clothing that started with cloth purchased in the Concord area, clothing that was purchased by a tailor of dressmaker nearby, or purchased in a major fashion city such as Paris, London, New York, or Boston.  There will be an interactive experience for visitors to "shop" the collection. The exhibit opens March 2, 2018.

Each exhibit is unique and a fantastic opportunity to learn about fashion, history, and the local connections to Massachusetts and the New England area. Fashion connects us all, be it artistically or functionally, we are all connected through this industry. Concord Museum, Fuller Craft Museum, Historic New England, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Old Sturbridge Village, the Peabody Essex Museum, and The Trustees of Reservations are exhibiting this connection through MassFashion. Check out all the current and upcoming exhibits from each museum that is participating in the MassFashion exhibition!​

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Gretta Hempelmann is a graduate from The University of Missouri with a MA in Clothing and Textiles. She has a BA in Fashion Design and Merchandising from West Virginia University. ​ She received a certificate for Care of Special Collections for Textiles from the International Preservation Studies Center in the summer of 2016.