Costume and Textile Collection

A stylish hand-embroidered suit from c. 1914 was a gift of the Treman family.

While the eyes may be windows into the soul, clothing can be a porthole into the past. And to that end, the Cornell Costume and Textile Collection has collected more than 9,000 items of apparel, dating from the 18th century to the present, as well as a substantial collection of ethnographic textiles and costumes.

"Dress provides us with a window into years past, documenting the evolution of society and its values through corresponding changes in concepts of self and individual style," says Charlotte Jirousek, curator of the collection and associate professor in the Department of Textiles and Apparel at Cornell. "Apparel expresses self because there is a shared vocabulary of dress that is common to a broader community in a particular time and place. At the same time, self is shaped by society and by the events of our times."

For example, many collection items reflect how women's roles have changed over time, from the closely corseted upper body and long, full skirt of Victorian times to the less restrictive, relaxed clothing of the 1920s and after when women enjoyed many new rights.

Selected highlights of the collection can be viewed online in Quicktime VR format, where images can be rotated to see all sides. These include a 1760 dress, an 1874 Worth dress, a 1925 beaded gown as well as Indonesian batiks and a growing collection of 19th and 20th century couture. Virtually all of the collection is also available via an online database.

The Elizabeth Schmeck Brown Gallery on the third floor of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall displays selections from the collection. The current exhibit, "Fashioning the Tourist: An Andean Traveler's Wardrobe," was researched and designed by Alana Staiti '06 and will be on display through May. The gallery can be visited Monday through Saturday when the building is open.