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Join us for a lecture by Kevin L. Jones, from FIDM Museum, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles, as he presents an overview of the stages of mourning for women during and after the Civil War and touches on the fashionableness of this style of dressing during the 1860s. Jones will also address the design and production of mourning apparel in connection to mid-nineteenth century social history.
It was not until the end of the Civil War in 1865 that the vast human toll on our country was realized as the number of casualties became apparent (estimated at 620,000). Hardly a family was not affected, particularly in the Southern states. The devastation to the nation's geographical infrastructures was much more obvious as whole cities lay in ruin, communication lines were severed, and transportation routes were in upheaval. Amongst all this chaosand with a general attitude toward maintaining "correct" propriety in all circumstancespersonal appearance remained a central focus for those who could muster together enough clothing despite the deprivations of war. Aside from these personal tragedies, the timely deaths of a prince and a president applied a political perspective to sartorial displays of grief. With so large a section of the Western world in mourning, industrial technology was vital to both rejuvenate the US economy and also to provide the goods needed to satisfy the public's demand for "apparel and apparatus of grief" on both sides of the Atlantic.
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LocationPasadena Museum of History (View)
470 West Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
United States
Categories
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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