The mission of the Historic Textile and Costume Collection supports teaching in the Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design, as well as other departments on campus; encourages research by students, faculty, and visiting scholars; and provides artifacts for use in class, exhibitions in the Textile Gallery, and loans at other museums.
Featured Item
Woman's Bonnet
This is a spoonbill bonnet dating between 1850 and 1860. The brim of a spoon bill bonnet flares out to frame the face, maintaining the bavolet popular…
Featured Collection
The Kaleidoscope of Textiles: Dress as Multidimensional Cultural Documents
"Show me the clothes of a culture and I can write its history" - Anatole France (1844-1924)Material culture is the world of things that people – all…
Featured Exhibit
The Kaleidoscope of Textiles: Dress as Multidimensional Cultural Documents
THE KALEIDOSCOPE OF TEXTILES: Dress as Multidimensional Cultural Documents Material culture studies form an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on...
Recently Added Items
Woman's' Evening Dress with Matching Shoes
This dress with matching shoes was donated to the university in 1984 by John Pierrepont Sturges (1912-2001) and his wife Alice Challifoux Ellsworth…
Two Woman's Blouses by Christian Dior
Virevolte Collection
Dominating post-World War II fashion, the House of Christian Dior set a precedent that still carries its legacy today. Christian Dior (1905-1957)…
Woman's Dress from Liberty
This peacock blue dress is from the Liberty department store in London, England. Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917) began his career in fashion at…
Woman's Dress by Hattie Carnegie
This dress was given to the University of Rhode Island prior to the establishment of the Historic Textile and Costume Collection. Information…