The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish
Dr. Linda Przybyszewski
5:00 pm
Nebraska Union
1400 R St
Lincoln NE 68508
Lincoln NE 68508
Additional Info: NU
Contact:
Michael James, (402) 472-2911, mjames2@unl.edu
A free public lecture and book signing by Dr. Linda Przybyszewski, associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Modernism and Romanticism: an American Design Approach featuring the work of fashion designers Bill Blass, Geoffrey Beene and Oscar de la Renta. The Lost Art of Dress explains how Americans learned—and forgot—how to dress in the modern age. It draws on Professor Przybyszewski ‘s own collection of over 700 dress and sewing manuals dating from the early 1900s. Listen to an interview with Dr. Przybyszewski by Diane Rehm here: http://thedianerehmshow.org/?s=Linda+Przybyszewski
A skilled dressmaker from a long line of sewing women, Przybyszewski recreated garments from every decade of the 20th Century as part of her research. She tested the Dress Doctors’ prescription for thrift with variety by creating a many-way dress with several changes of collars and cuffs. Would anyone realize she had been wearing it for a month? The answer may surprise you.
Who were the Dress Doctors? They were a group of women, for the most part academics, who over the course of the first half of the twentieth century taught Americans what to wear. They felt women were embarking on a new era of civic and social engagement and needed to learn how to look the part.
The roster of Dress Doctors includes two names with Nebraska ties. Ruth O’Brien held a masters degree in chemistry from the University of Nebraska and became chief of the Division of Textiles and Clothing at the USDA’s Bureau of Home Economics in 1923. Grace Margaret Morton, associate professor of home economics and head of the textiles and clothing division at the University of Nebraska, was the author of The Arts of Costume and Personal Appearance. Originally published in 1943, it became at midcentury the standard textbook in departments of clothing and apparel throughout the U.S.
In addition to her public lecture, Przybyszewski will meet with students and faculty in several courses and small group conversations in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design and the Department of History.
For further information, contact the department office at 402-472-2911.
A skilled dressmaker from a long line of sewing women, Przybyszewski recreated garments from every decade of the 20th Century as part of her research. She tested the Dress Doctors’ prescription for thrift with variety by creating a many-way dress with several changes of collars and cuffs. Would anyone realize she had been wearing it for a month? The answer may surprise you.
Who were the Dress Doctors? They were a group of women, for the most part academics, who over the course of the first half of the twentieth century taught Americans what to wear. They felt women were embarking on a new era of civic and social engagement and needed to learn how to look the part.
The roster of Dress Doctors includes two names with Nebraska ties. Ruth O’Brien held a masters degree in chemistry from the University of Nebraska and became chief of the Division of Textiles and Clothing at the USDA’s Bureau of Home Economics in 1923. Grace Margaret Morton, associate professor of home economics and head of the textiles and clothing division at the University of Nebraska, was the author of The Arts of Costume and Personal Appearance. Originally published in 1943, it became at midcentury the standard textbook in departments of clothing and apparel throughout the U.S.
In addition to her public lecture, Przybyszewski will meet with students and faculty in several courses and small group conversations in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design and the Department of History.
For further information, contact the department office at 402-472-2911.
Additional Public Info:
Free and open to the public
