La Bricoleuse

The final project in Judy Adamson's period pattern class was to drape on our antique 1900s dress form which is constructed with the unusual "pigeon-breasted" silhouette imparted by the S-curve corsetry of the period. These projects turned out stunning!

( mourning dress and white lace insertion... )

From time to time, i post about donations we receive to our vintage clothing and costume archive, CoStar. We are in the process of digitally documenting the collection, but our grant money only goes so far, and as such, we are perhaps 10-15% of the way through. The things i post about will eventually be more formally documented and become part of the online archive, but i am often so excited about particularly well-preserved donations that i "preview" them here. (For example, this post on a complete 1877 ensemble with underpinnings.)

The piece i want to share today is, as best i can determine from research, a straw hat dating from around 1907, donated to the archive by Anna Marchland.

( photos, including interior structural view! )