|
 |
Sending A Message:
What Your Clothes Reveal About You |
The Archives' Fall 2003 exhibit prompted visitors to
consider how humans have used clothing as a means of communicating who and
what they are and how those themes relate to society in general. From a
cursory glance at a person's apparel, one can, for example, get a sense of
whether the wearer is an individualist or a social conformist and insights
into his or her social status and rules. Clothing can also transmit
unmistakable signals in regard to the wearer's sex, age, marital status
and religious beliefs, their national and political affiliations, and
their hierarchy in the workplace.
To explore the historic role of clothing as messenger, we
drew upon our extensive mid-19th to late 20th century materials,
which we supplemented with articles loaned to us. |
 |
 |
 |
The elegant gown on the left (c1997, Scassi Collection)
was created by the world-renowned designer Arnold Scaasi. Mr. Scaasi is
know for having dressed famous women, such as Jacqueline Kennedy,
former first-lady Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Barbra Streisand. The
gown is made of heavily embroidered organza and gives the appearance of
having nothing underneath.
The gown in the middle (c1961, Emilius
Collection) is made of blue silk shantung and is heavily
embroidered and embellished with clear beads. It would be available to a
much larger group of women than the Scaasi.
The dress on
the right (c1895, William Penn Collection) displays the signature
silhouette of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Women went through
pains, both literally and figuratively speaking, to attain the perfect
hourglass figure. Utilizing hoop skirts, bustles and corsets, they
encased their bodies in pieces of metal and yards of fabric. A woman with
this sought-after figure was certainly not expected to clean a house,
scrub clothes or even pick up a child. She was an idealized creature of
privilege. |
|
This burgundy wool two-piece woman's day suit (c1960's, Harten
Collection) is classic Coco Chanel. Ms. Chanel transformed women's clothing,
giving women the opportunity to wear nonrestrictive, comfortable outfits.
Men's suits in the 1940's (Cory Collection) spoke conservatism. Wartime
restrictions on materials such as wool reduced many fabrics to short supply.
The owner of this outfit, however, was fortunate to own a suit with cuffs
since even such small amounts of material were being eliminated from suits
during this period. |
 Status in the workplace in the early 1900's could be determined by the
type of hat a man wore. The Black Beaver Top Hat (top, c1900, Russell
Collection) signifies an individual in the upper echelon of the workplace.
The Bowler or Derby Hat, (right, c1920, Thrush Collection) would have been
worn by a man who held an upper-level management position. The Wool Tweed
Cap, (lower left, c1920, Stewart Collection) was the laborer's hat. |
Clothing has long provided a way for us to single out others within a crowd.
Organizations have capitalized on this fact, by requiring members to dress
in certain colors or providing clothing with easily recognizable logos or
insignia.
Serving the community has long been the mission of our local police
departments. This police officer's coat (left, c1940's, Cofforth Collection)
belonged to a police woman working in Indiana , PA. |
Established
in 1866, the Ku Klux Klan was a violent response to the enfranchisement of
former male slaves in the post-Civil War south. This Klan outfit (Davis
Collection) was worn in the 1920's during the second, and largest, KKK
movement.
|
|
This
navy enlisted man's uniform (left, c1914, Nickles Collection) made of
signature dark blue wool was worn
during World War I. Distinctive to the navy enlisted personnel, the pant
legs are wider at the bottom, hence the name "bellbottom". This cut traces
back to the sailors' job of "swabbing" their ships' decks with mops. The
extra material enabled them to roll up the pant legs to keep them dry. |
 |
 |
| (Above, c1945, Thompson Collection).
Founded in 1941, the Civil Air Patrol became an official auxiliary of
the Army Air force in 1943. The organization's main purpose was
providing civilian air support to the U.S. armed forces during the
second World War. By joining, men not enlisted in a branch of the
military could help their country by flying along the east and west
coasts searching for enemy submarines and vessels. |
 In
the 1960's, for many, clothing became a means of expressing oneself and
proclaiming defiance of parents' wishes. Blue jeans, headbands, and
Indian-influenced cotton shirts became daily attire. As a means of self
expression, the young wanted clothing tight and their hair long. The green suede mini-dress with
matching purse (Barron Collection) is indicative of the new 1960's style.
The 1970's brought the age of disco; dance floors, flashing lights, and
the now infamous Studio 54 in New York. Disco became not only a way of
dancing but a life. Men's hair was permed and women's hair was curled and
sprayed, all in an attempt to attain that perfect disco look. This light
green polyester leisure suit (Bender Collection) with matching silk print
shirt (Taylor Collection) is typical of the style worn by a very dapper man
of the 1970's.
|
|
|
|
|
Shippensburg University