Textiles

Cairo Hat
Silk fabric quilted in indigo and gold
Cairo Museum of Islamic Art

These caps were commonly worn by men, women, and children of Mamluk, Egypt, and they provided a practical purpose of being protective along with a decorative purpose providing quilted, woven elements representing animals, etc.





Velvet Suit, mid 18th century
France

Men’s and women’s fashions were ornate and overly decorated, and the French were the leaders of all things fashionable at this time. Added rows of buttons were added to the pockets, cuffs, and knee breeches, and large cuffs were turned back almost to the elbow to provide a fashionable and elite appearance.





American Linen, cotton
c. Late 1800’s
Owner, Irene Lewisohn Bequest

This type of dress was intended as an imitation of classical Greek and Roman dress. Basically, a soft, thin chemise of cotton or linen that almost fully revealed the breasts, created an Empire line, which was not universally embraced at the time, but had great appeal visually.





Girdle, 1942
American
Silk, elastic
Gift of Prime Fastener Company, 1943

This early 1940s girdle shows the transition away from more corsetlike garments over the course of the 1930s, and provided elastic for the purpose of comfort, ease of movement, and a smoother line under a dress.





Montego Bay Tweed Wool Coat Dress
Vintage 1958

The lightly fitted bodice, with a simple round collar, long sleeves, a straight skirt, faux buttons to the front and cuffs povide a tapered waist line, sleek look, and elegant style to the 1950's silluette.





John Lennon Suit
Grey wool mohair, c1964
Designed by Douglas Millings

This suit was designed as stage wear for John Lennon along with a batch of identical suits, and the design provided a tight, slender look that accomodated and complemented a masculine silluette of 1960's Britain.





Eco Garments of the Future
Dissolving fashion
Designed by Helen Storey and scientist Tony Ryan.

Increased spending and limited technology for recyclable materials has resulted in heaps of fashionable threads taking up space in landfills, even though clothing is a popular and necessary part of society. This garment has been created from polymer-plastic clothing that slowly dissolves away in the wash. The fashions, displayed and dissolved at the Wonderland exhibitions in Sheffield and Belfast, are more of a statement than a new fad - but intriguing, nonetheless. The exhibit at Sheffield also showcased dissolving plastic bottles that miraculously grow colorful flowers after the plastic disappears under the tap.