Maine Memory Network

Historic Clothing Collection - Mid to Late Nineteenth Century

"… machine needles, and spring steel wire for hoop skirts and bustle supports. Improved water and rail transport speeded and increased distribution of…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1870-1890 - Page 3 of 4

"… and edge trimming, large looped up bustle, and skirt front with an asymmetrically draped swag. Tapes used to hold bustles in shape survive inside…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1970-1980 - Page 1 of 3

"… and gold madras plaid cotton searsucker maxi skirt, and a white cotton pique skirt printed with an stylized design of navy, red, and green large…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1930-1940 - Page 1 of 4

"By the end of the 1920s, rayon had been improved and developed to make a wide range of pleasing and modest priced fabrics. Silk still held a place in…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1930-1940 - Page 3 of 4

"… ornamented with a diamanté broach, flared hem skirt, and short sleeved little top trimmed with white lace."

Historic Clothing Collection - 1830-1850 - Page 1 of 3

"… bodice pleat and gather detailing, and the fuller skirts, that in combination with the return of the natural waist placed new emphasis on small…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1800-1830 - Page 1 of 2

"The waistline is not quite so high in the other two crepes. Their long loose sleeves are gathered or bunched into floppy puffs at the top, hinting of…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1830-1850 - Page 2 of 3

"… dating towards the end of the era, a specked beige with a red check oval motif, front closure, gathered skirt, inset waist and long cap sleeves."

Historic Clothing Collection - 1940-1950 - Page 2 of 3

"… cocktail dress with trumpet wrist sleeves and a skirt tightly gathered at the hips to drape in a cascade from the waist, showing a wine color…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1950-1960 - Page 2 of 4

"… belt, is mid-calf length with a fully flared skirt stiffened with a navy rayon taffeta lining. Another example, associated with Mabel Graney, is a…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1950-1960 - Page 4 of 4

"… dress with small bows at the waist and a balloon skirt shaped with stiff interlining and a net underskirt."

Historic Clothing Collection - Fashions Far & Away

"… century traditional Chinese embroidered pleated skirt, and other items ranging in use from personal effects, bespoke gifts, and those likely…"

Historic Clothing Collection - White cotton dress with gigot sleeves, Portland, ca. 1828 - Page 1 of 2

"… fashion features included lowered waists, widened skirts, and enlarged sleeves. This dress includes an earlier example of the enlarged sleeve…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1970-1980 - Page 3 of 3

"… to the just below knee length matching quilted skirt. The expertly dressmaker-made ensemble is labelled: "Martha Mclean, Portland." At present…"

Historic Clothing Collection - Square shouldered cape and suit ensemble, ca. 1943 - Page 1 of 3

"… during the 1930s, while the shorter, knife pleat skirt is indicative of war-time fashions. The coordinating cape is reversible—brown on one side…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1900-1910 - Page 2 of 3

"… yoke, shoulder-wide mock collar, and flounced hem skirt with an inner waist tie labeled "S.E. Thomas, Portland." Two more pouched bodice gowns, one…"

Historic Clothing Collection - Northern Threads: Two centuries of dress at Maine Historical Society - Page 3 of 3

"… extreme and short-lived mid-19th century bustle skirt style known as the cuirasse. The French word for fitted military metal armor, cuirasse aptly…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1850-1870 - Page 2 of 4

"… by stiff horsehair petticoats, this period's wide skirts became known as crinolines. The name derives from the French word crin meaning horsehair."

Historic Clothing Collection - Fabric Adaptive Reuse

"… and new dresses required many yards of fabric, women were familiar with the custom of either themselves or their dressmakers altering and updating…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1870-1890 - Page 1 of 4

"Sometimes a group of women clubbed together to make the purchase and share. On the one hand, machine sewing mitigating the endless hours women spent…"

Historic Clothing Collection - Themed Image Galleries

"There are gaps in representation, but as the examples in the overview make clear from the eighteenth to the late twentieth centuries, Maine's…"

Historic Clothing Collection - Eighteenth Century - Page 1 of 3

"… quarter sleeves frilled at the elbow, and a full skirt. The textile’s darkish color and heavy figured pattern are characteristic of the earlier…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1970-1980 - Page 2 of 3

"It closed its doors in 1976 with the retirement of its proprietress, Delia Frances Felix. Of thin polyester knits, there is a red high waisted full…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1850-1870 - Page 1 of 4

"For many women, a silk dress was an investment, a best dress for Sunday, or for special occasions. Looked after, often stored away as they moved past…"