Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri has an amazing costume collection. I visited their new facility a little over a year ago and was in vintage textile heaven. I cannot wait to go back, but in the meantime they are nice enough to post some pieces from their collection online. The pieces that you see above are from their latest exhibit, “Ladder of Success: The Power of Style in the Workplace.”
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the exhibit follows women’s fashions in the workplace from the 1890s to 1990s. “It shows how the rise of women in the workplace and the fashion that accompanied their success worked in tandem toward attaining a powerful presence there. The show’s theme originated from a 1940s dress (pictured top, left) made from a print of colorful ladders.”
This is such a fantastic idea for an exhibit and I love that the theme originated from a print!
