Historic costume collection tells story

The collection includes items from the 16th century.

By Grace Lyden

Published Aug. 31, 2010

At least once a week, professor and curator Laurel Wilson brings a rack of historical artifacts into class at the Department of Textile and Apparel Management. She may choose to exhibit a raccoon coat, 19th century long underwear or Mabel Anheuser's basketball jersey from 1922. The rack, however, holds only a sample of the 5,500 garments from the 16th century to the end of the 20th, a collection known as the Missouri Historic Costume and Textile Collection.

Started by Carolyn Wingo in 1967, the costume closet is funded by what Wilson calls "friends" -- primarily donators in the area. They also hold fundraisers every few years, the most recent being a silent auction, called "History's Closet," in 2009.

Donations not only fund, but also supply, the closet. In 25 years as curator, Wilson has purchased less than 10 items, which were from antique stores or online.

"I would say about .01 percent is purchased," Wilson said. "The rest of it is donation."

Nicole Johnston-Blatz, collection manager, keeps track of new and old pieces, making sure they are handled and stored appropriately -- this takes up to 28 hours per week. The most fragile apparel is kept in acid-free boxes and all costumes are hung on padded hangers, though other handling dilemmas remain.

"Crowding is still a problem," Wilson said. "We don't have quite enough space to store everything."

Within two years, generous donors will enable Wilson and Johnston-Blatz to move their work into a larger storage facility, to be called the Josephine Margaret Holik Conservatory. Wilson believes the new name will better define their purpose.

"We do conserve -- we are trying to make sure (the clothing) is lasting in perpetuity," Wilson said. "(The items) will be here for many future people to see, long after we are gone."

Johnston-Blatz also prepares exhibitions, such as the upcoming Gallery Crawl on Sept. 23 -- a preview of the clothing, especially the lingerie dresses, to be shown at the next fundraiser entitled "Delightful, Delicious and Delovely." The fundraiser will be on March 5 at The Club at Old Hawthorne and will highlight formal wear from the '20s and '30s.

Preparation entails deciding the exhibition's contents, how they will be displayed, the backdrops and the texts describing their various purposes. Photographs, wedding invitations and baby announcements in the collection add to the historical narrative. Wilson says the interpretation of clothing is the most important aspect of the students' study.

"Clothing just as clothing is just clothing," Wilson said. "But if you can put it into a context, it has a meaning."