CHM research and insights analyst Marissa Croft writes about the gap in experience between high society dress and visitors to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition who traveled in from all over the world to attend. If you’re taking a trip to an unfamiliar place, one of the first questions you might ask yourself is “What More
For National Bike Month, CHM research and insights analyst Marissa Croft writes about sewing a women’s bicycle costume using an 1897 pattern from the Abakanowicz Research Center. Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do! I’m half crazy, all for the love of you! It won’t be a stylish marriage, I can’t afford a carriage, More
A Tutorial on Using the National/Diamond Garment Cutter Systems Would you believe me if I told you that drafting custom patterns for historical clothing could be as easy as playing connect-the-dots? And that hundreds of these patterns are already available for free? Welcome to the world of pattern drafting manuals of the late 19th century! More
This post is from Marissa Croft, CHM’s research and insights analyst and author of our Fashion and Costume Research Guide. As a PhD candidate at Northwestern University, she also researches the clothing of the French Revolution and women’s clothing reform movements of the 19th century. As December dawns, many Chicagoans may find themselves fondly reminiscing More