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.
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.
Fashion, Textile & Costume Librarians 