I’m looking for suggestions for textbooks for a new intro to non-western costume history course.
I have this page of non-western costume resources: https://libguides.library.ohio.edu/costumehistory/nonwestern and would also appreciate any recommendations for resources I can add here to buy or link to. (I can’t afford Bloomsbury online, though)
Thanks for sharing your expertise. I will write a summary of suggestions if there are enough to share back.
The Nicolais/Lewis Dance Company, (@1948-1993), was known for pure movement and intriguing choreography that mixed movement, costume, and setting in new ways. Alwin Nikolais directed the dance school at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York in 1948 and went on to create the music, dance steps, lighting, staging, and costumes for his creations. Murray Louis came on as a dancer but soon was as involved with creation as his partner. Their many years of collaboration resulted in iconic works such as Tensile Involvement, Crucible, and Shadow Dance. (Others are findable on YouTube).
“The Nikolais/Lewis technique is based on the philosophy that the undertaking of dance training is not a simple or singular event, but a lifelong investment in personal enrichment.” – The Nikolais/Lewis Dance Technique
OU libs recently received an NEH grant to plan for the digitization of the media herein. Currently there are a few teaser files in our Digital Collections folders. Over 400 more cubic feet of shelving and boxes wait to be explored.
Brown boxes line a long long library shelf, each with a label about the Nikolais /Lewis collection of OU Libraries.
Looking into just the “sketches” folder of the online items yields doodles and color studies and lighting charts that might be the beginnings of costumes. Many research projects could be imagined from these resources: I had to restrain myself from getting lost tracing a costume from the doodle to the design to the model to the lighting charts to the stage.
Red dancers in many poses sketched on a faded green background with yellow and blue spots.
.
Blue, red, black, green swirls on white paper, like a doodle.A small wooden 3-d figure wears a red body stocking and is encircled by a white cloth.
We invite researchers interested in the history of the evolution of dance and dance costume to contact Greta Suiter, Manuscripts Archivist, for a chance to see these materials in person and build your own story.
The purpose of the Doxsee Collection is to be both a teaching tool for the university and the community and a museum collection to preserve historic dress.
Ohio University’s Mary C. Doxsee Historic Clothing and Textiles Collection was begun by Home Economics Professor Mary Doxsee, /dock’ – see/ who wanted her students to see examples of international and historic dress. A generation later, it has its own storage and display space in Patton College of Education room 123 and holds over 2,500 items.
Detail from Ada O’Bleness graduation gown from Ohio U 1903
The current curator, Trina Gannon, cares for the collection, creates the displays, and manages the webpage and catalog. She got her master’s degree in Apparel and Textile Merchandising at Ohio University, (Historic Costume track (no longer offered)). She apprenticed with Dr. Sky Cone, the second curator, and in 2017 her curatorship became official as part of her FT instructional faculty capacity.
The purpose of the Doxsee Collection is to be both a teaching tool for the university and the community and a museum collection to preserve historic dress. Some deaccessioned pieces have been set aside for “kinetic education” that students can touch and investigate.
The oldest piece is a dress from the 1820’s. Representative pieces from almost every fashion era up through the late 20th C cover the story of dress. “For as small as we are I think the collection is very wide,” says Gannon. “It’s a pretty comprehensive costume collection.”
Some examples that stand out:
· A late 1800’s Charles Frederick Worth black silk dress
· Flapper dresses from the 1920’s
· A wedding dress made of silk from a WW2 parachute
· Military uniforms from WWII and Viet Nam
· A furry hippie coat and a funky Oleg Cassini dress from the 60’s
· A 1980 ‘s Yves St Laurent black and red polka dot dress.
USES
The collection has seen many uses, made many connections, and served to delight and inform the campus and the region.
The pieces are used in classes and assignments in Human and Consumer Sciences Education, Theater Costume, Museum Studies, and History classes, and have been displayed at Alden Library, the Southeast Ohio Historical Society, and Athens County Public Library.
HCSE program faculty and Ohio Libraries’ librarians have collaborated on assignments. For example, in Color Theory students chose one item and researched its origins in order to create a pop-up store with complementary décor and designs. Sherri Saines, librarian for HCSE, created a costume history resource guide and has taught research workshops for the course.
When Assistant Professor of Instruction Gannon needs a new idea for the ever-changing Patton display space, she gets ideas by browsing the collection. She works to present a story and provide context. Her videos on the website flesh out the information. As she notes, “Everyone can relate to clothing.”
Gannon expresses contentment with her work: “I think that anyone who’s lucky enough to have a job that they love is, well, lucky. It’s the best of both worlds. I love teaching and I always wanted to work in a museum collection.”
The collection is available to Ohio university and the community. Researchers can contact Trina (Gannont@ohio.edu) with inquiries.
Highlight of a few of the outfits displayed in a previous exhibit, Textiles of the World.
The designers / contestants in this reality show create products, and each episode’s winning clothes are “immediately” available to actually purchase online via Amazon. I know, I know, its so commercial… and wonderful all at the same time.
Plus I can use the fashions and lessons here in the classroom to show that we can design and market for real people at affordable prices and still make a successful brand.
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn of Project Runway fame, are back with a broader vision: finding not just a good garment, but an all-around designer/entrepreneur to be the “next global fashion brand.” The challenges go beyond the clothes, to include managing a working group, creating an ad campaign, and standing the pressure of competition. In both the first and second season, I thought they picked the person who could do all that and be a design wizard, too.
The week I watched the second season, I dreamed about being a designer — which was useful in that it pushed out so many other contemporary worries. For several days running, there was no pandemic in my thoughts. Nice break.
Also, I thought the styles were worth the watch. In the first challenge, Gary Graham made a handkerchief hem dress out of an army blanket and an indigo batik he created himself. It won the night, as well it should. I seldom disagreed with the judges, so the experience was satisfying.
Several designers on this year’s show emphasized designing for all kinds of bodies, a breath of fresh air. This is something I can take into the classroom as an example of working with real people and being successful. The clothes are not priced in the stratosphere, either. Mr. Graham’s dress is $79.90.
“Many people viewed master needleworker Barnett A. Hook of rural McArthur, Ohio as a curiosity during his lifetime—in fact, he sometimes made his living highlighting his status as one of “only four men in the United States who teach embroidery.” Ohio U has digitized his papers and needlework samples. (Ok, a little local promo here.)
Needlework by Barnett Hook in the collection of Ohio University Libraries
“This collection of images from the Pantagraph, a Bloomington, Illinois newspaper dating back to 1846, records the history of Central Illinois through the work of Pantagraph photographer-reporters between 1940 and 1945. The Pantagraph was known for its coverage of agricultural concerns as well as local sports and social events in 10 counties surrounding McLean County. ”
A search on “fashion” or “apparel” yields a set of black and white photographs with styles from the era. “Campus Fads, Illlinois State Normal University,” shows off jump suits, cuff bracelets, plain pumps, and an alligator clutch bag.
From the “Fashion” subject set of the Pantograph negative collection, 1940-1945
“Europeana works with thousands of European archives, libraries and museums to share cultural heritage for enjoyment, education and research.”
You probably already know about Europeana: catwalks, individual designers, costumes, jewelry items… nearly 800,000 items.
But I enjoyed discovering their “Fashion Stories”: having all these digital objects to choose from means they can create digital collections such as Masks and Head Coverings, which seems apropos of the moment, and Corsets, a popular research topic among undergraduates I work with.
” The Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection contains images from the 1850s to the present, documenting all aspects of life in Southern California, with an emphasis on Los Angeles.”
Subsets of a larger collection of photographs, circa 1930-1964.
This “Street View” tour from the Museum’s Google Culture pages lets you walk through the museum and look at the exhibits. Zoom in to see more details in each display case. Included are outfits, jewelry, shoes, and even weaving looms.
Fashion, Textile & Costume Librarians 