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IN
STYLE
Celebrating
Years
Fi;fty
of the
Costume
Institute
JeanL . Druesedow
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin ®
www.jstor.org
DIRECTOR'SN OTE Judgmentso f taste tend to be made The strongesta dvocatef or the full
betweent wo opposingp ointso f view: incorporationo f costumew ithin The
Apollonianr estraintv ies with Diony- Metropolitan Museum of Art was
sian exuberancef or dominance,a nd PolaireW eissman,w ho directed the
it is the fashiono f the day that deter- growtho f the CostumeI nstitutef rom
minest he victor.T he degreet o which its foundingi n 1937,t hroughi ts mer-
one or the other triumphsi n matters ger with the Museumi n 1945, to her
of dress, wheret he urge to changei s retirementin 1971.S ubsequentlys,h e
pronouncedi,s verym ucht ied to nov- worked tirelessly in its behalf until
elty;b ut fashioni s complex,a ndi n its her deatho n November1 1,1 986.H er
continuing series of maneuvers it dream of a publication devoted to
rarely reaches either extreme. This the costume collection of the Met-
contest can be seen in the varying ropolitan has now been realized
emphasiso n forma nd ornamentation throught he combinede fforts of the
illustratedi n the followingp ages by Costume Institute Staff, and par-
costumess panninga lmostt hree cen- ticularlyJ eanL . DruesedowA, ssoci-
turieso f fashionabled ress. Both this ate Curator-in-Chargwe,h o selected
publicationa nd the exhibitioni t ac- the costumes, supervisedt heir dis-
companiesr evealt hroughs omeo f the play and photographya, nd provided
most splendid examplesi n the Mu- the text.
seum'sc ollectiont he taste of the mo-
ment of a costume's creation, and Philipped e Montebello
thereby the balance struck between Director
the two tendenciesa t thatm oment.I n
eache xamplet he finestm aterialsa nd
craftsmanshipa re present, whether
the item is finisheds implyi n lustrous
silks of brilliant hue or intricately
with dazzling embellishment of
woven patternsa nd applied decora-
tion. Manh as a need to ornament,t o
decorate,a nd to make his works at-
tractive,a nd by so doing, he can ex-
press the finest aspirations of his
time. These works,t hen, becomeo b-
jects worthyo f collection.
Costumec learlyd emonstratesth at
functional qualities are no impedi- The MetropolitanM useumo f Art Bulletin
ment to the creationo f art. As with a Fall 1987
chairo r sconcei n the eighteenth-cen- VolumeX LV,N umber2 (ISSN 0026-1521)
turyW rightsmanro oms,o r evenw ith Publishedq uarterly? 1987b y The Metropolitan
a masterfuln arrativea ltarpieces erv- Museumo f Art, Fifth Avenuea nd 82ndS treet,N ew
York,N .Y. 10028.S econd-clasps ostagep aida t New
ing to describet he Scriptures,f orm York,N .Y. andA dditionaMl ailingO ffices.T he
ando rnamentc an be seen to combine MetropolitaMn useumo f ArtB ulletini s provideda s a
benefitt o Museumm embersa nd availableb y sub-
very effectivelyw ith function to re- scription.S ubscription$s1 8.00a year.S inglec opies
vealb otht he arta ndt he artificeo f the $4.75. Fourw eeks'n oticer equiredf or changeo f
address. POSTMASTERSe:n d address changes to Mem-
time: art through its expression of bershipD epartmentT, he MetropolitanM useumo f
Art, FifthA venuea nd 82ndS treet,N ew York,N .Y.
what is consideredb eautiful;a rtifice 10028.B acki ssuesa vailableo n microfilmf, rom
throught he calculatede ffect on the UniversityM icrofilms3, 13N . First Street,A nn
ArborM, ichiganV. olumesI -XXVIII (1905-1942)
beholder. If such effects were not availablea s a clothboundr eprints et or as individual
sought, then why sufferw oment o be yIneac.r,l 9yv9 o MluamineS sft rroemetT ,S haele Amy,eN r.C Ho. m03p0a7n9yP,,o urb frliosmhet rhse,
corsetedt hroughoutt he centurieso r Museum,B ox 700, MiddleV illage,N .Y. 11379.
GeneraMl anagero f PublicationsJ:o hnP . O'Neill.
why beribbon generals in Louis Editori n Chiefo f the Bulletin:J oanH olt. Associate
XIV's France. Costumeh elps to in- Editor:M eropeL olis. Editoro f this issue:J oanna
Ekman.D esign:A lvinG rossman
form us closely of the ethos of a par-
Fronta nd backc overs:W hitec ottond ressesm ade
ticularg enerationa, ndf or the Metro- for a womana nd childa bout1 818( p. 28). Detailo f an
politan Museum costume completes embroideredfr onts ectiono f a man'sc oatr eadyt o be
cut and sewn( p. 22). Inside covers:M icrophotogra-
the study of man and whath e makes phy of two tulle ballg ownsb y ChristianD ior
for his aesthetics ubsistence. embroiderewd ith iridescentp aillettesa nd sequins
(p. 60)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin ®
www.jstor.org
INTR ODUCTION The costumesi n the collectiono f the The year 1987 marks the fiftieth
CostumeI nstitutew ere createdt o be anniversaryo f the founding of the
wornb y realp eoplei n realt imes and CostumeI nstitutea s the Museumo f
realp laces.I n fact, the wordc ostume, Costume Art, Costume Institute,
which has been used to denote Inc., by a group of people deeply
clothing only since the eighteenth committedt o the concepto f costume
century,u ltimatelyd erivesf rom the as arta ndt o the need for a museumi n
Latin consuetudom, eaning" custom" whicht o studya ndd isplayi t. Its orig-
or "usage"I n a museumc ontext,c os- inal statemento f purpose indicated
tumes are three-dimensionaol bjects that this new museumw as to include
that are alliedt o the other decorative the dress and accessories "of all
arts but combineb oth function and epochs and all peoples, which may
beauty.I n a collectiona s rich and di- serve industrialists,a rtists, art histo-
versea s thato f the CostumeI nstitute, rians, craftsmen,a nd studentso f all
the social and historicali mplications kinds as well as stimulatei n the gen-
of costumes make them important eralp ublica n awarenesos f the impor-
records of their civilizations. De- tance of dress in the developmento f
pendingu pon its culturalc ontext, a the human race and the relationo f
costumec an revealt he age, sex, and this field of design to the presenta nd
religion and the marital, economic, futurec reativei mpulsesi n American
social, and political status of the life."A mongt hose signingt he certifi-
wearera, s wella s its owng eographical cate of incorporation on April 30,
origin plus much other data more 1937, were Irene Lewisohn, who
subjectivea nd psychologicali n na- foundeda nd built the Neighborhood
ture. Consideredw ithin its aesthetic Playhouseo f the Henry StreetS ettle-
and culturalc ontext, a garmentc an ment on the LowerE ast Side of New
give us vivid and intimateg limpses York, the theater designer Aline
botho f the artistw ho createdi t ando f Bernstein,w ho becamet he firstp res-
its wearer. ident of the Costume Institute, and
The formals tudyo f costumeb egan Polaire Weissman,w ho became the
in 1589o r 1590,w hen CesareV ecellio executive director. They had all
(ca. 1530-1600)p ublishedi n Venicea workedc loselyt ogethera t the Neigh-
book illustratedw ith figures repre- borhoodP layhousea nd had acquired
senting peoples of different lands. an appreciationo f the importanceo f
Travelers'd iaries and journals had costume in revealing the cultural
alsor ecordede xampleso f dress,s ome heritage of the immigrant peoples
exotic and some simply variationso f with whomt hey workeda t the Henry
Europeanc lothing.I n the eighteenth Street Settlement. Irene Lewisohn
century the Englishman Joseph and her sister Alice Lewisohn
Strutt (1749-1802)p ublisheds everal Crowley began to collect costumes
volumes of drawings documenting earlyi n the century,a nd the ideaf or a
costumes depicted in works of art, museum of costume was first for-
and these volumes became the malized when the Lewisohns and
sourcesf or manyn ineteenth-century Aline Bernsteinj oined a group that
English investigationsi nto the his- organizeda n exhibitiono f costumea t
tory of dress. The Germans cholars the Art Centero n 57th Streeti n 1928.
Karl Kohler (1825-1876) and Max The Depression delayed the imple-
Tilke (1869-1942) published books mentationo f the plan for a museum,
that advanced the serious study of however,u ntil 1937.
costume history through evidence As the reputationo f the Costume
found in archaeologyt, he arts, and Instituteg rew amongt hose using its
extant exampleso f actual costumes. resourcesf or study, as its collection
Such studies continuedi n the early expanded,a nda s its exhibitionsd rew
twentiethc enturyw itha ddede mpha- acclaim,t he ideaw asa dvancedf or an
sis on the sociology of dress. Many association with The Metropolitan
museums, including this one, ac- Museum of Art. On December 11,
quired costumes shortly afterb eing 1944, the Museum announced that
founded, but these were primarily the CostumeI nstitutew ouldb ecome
collecteda s textileso r embroideries. a brancho f the Metropolitana, move
3
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin ®
www.jstor.org
thatg reatlyb enefitedt he field of cos- whole? When worn, would the
tume study. A major collection of costumeb e beautifuli n motion?
dress, added to the Metropolitan's The costumesr eproducedo n these
own holdings of superb examples, pagesi llustratet he broadr angeo f our
was now to be housed in a context collection of fashionable Western
where the art of costume could be urban dress. (Another publication
studied and exhibitedi n relationt o wouldb e necessaryt o encompasst he
other arts, and its importancet hus non-Westerna nd regionalt raditional
couldb e betteru nderstoodT. he col- costumesi n the CostumeI nstitute.)
lection broughtt o the Metropolitan No two costumes among the more
consistedo f ten thousandp ieces.T he than forty thousand pieces in the
first severalh undredo f these were collectiona re exactly alike, and the
gifts from Irene Lewisohn, Alice sixty-six costumes selected for this
Lewisohn Crowley,a nd the theater publicationr epresentt he individual-
designerL ee Simonson.A s early as ity of their makersa nd wearerso ver
1944I sabelS hults,a devoteeo f fash- threec enturies.T he photographas re
ion, begana long historyo f generous arranged in chronological order,
donationso f costume and endowed beginningw ith the earliestc omplete
acquisitionfu ndsf ort he CostumeI n- fashionablec ostume in this hemis-
stitute. Both Lewisohn sisters also phere, an elaboratelye mbroidered
providedf undsf ori mportanat cquisi- dressf rom about1 695.I t is our hope
tions,m anyo f whicha rei llustratedin that the costumes shown will illus-
this publicationI. ndividuadl onorso f tratew aysi n whicht he historyo f cos-
costumes, accessories,l ibrarym ate- tumec an be studied,t he problemso f
rials,a ndf undsf or purchasea llowu s documenting dress, the dangers of
to continue to expand and improve the easya ssumptionth ato ne example
the scopeo f our collection,p roviding representsa ll possibilities, and the
ever more opportunitiesfo r scholars insightsi nto aesthetica nd socialh is-
and the generalp ublic to learnf rom tory that costume can provide.T he
actuale xamples. opportunityt o publisht his selection
Therea ret hreec riteriab y whicha is a welcome one, since the fragile
costumei s judgedb eforee nteringt he natureo f costumesp reventsa nyk ind
collection.A estheticq ualitiesa rep ar- of permanente xhibition and man-
amount, and an attempti s made to dates that they remain in storage
determinei f the costumer epresents exceptf or speciale xhibitionso f short
the best use of the elementso f cos- duration.
tumed esignb y the artist.T he place- As we celebratet he anniversaryo f
ment of the costume in its cultural the foundingo f the CostumeI nstitute
contexth elps to determinei f it is in and look back at the history of the
the forefronto f the designo f its time department, we realize how many,
and place. Finally,t he conditiono f many individuals,d onors, staff, and
the piece indicatesw hetheri t can be volunteers have made possible the
effectivelyp reservedf or future ap- achievementso f these five decades.
preciationa nd understanding.T he PolaireW eissman,w ho devotedh er
elements used by an artist who entire career to the Costume In-
choosesc ostumea s a meanso f expres- stitute,m ustb e creditedw itht he idea
sion-line, color,t exture,m ass, and for this publication.I t is fitting that
movement-can be analyzedf or their we dedicatet his volumet o her mem-
individuali mportancei n achieving ory and strivet o build on her accom-
the beautyo f the whole. The follow- plishmentsi n the future.
ing questionsc anb e consideredH: ow
NOTES
strongi s the line of the silhouette,o r Jean L. Druesedow
the overall shape of the costume? AssociateC uratorin Charge P. 26, li.10:B etty-BrighPt . Low," OfM uslinsa nd
MerveilleusesE:x cerptsf romt he Letterso f Josephine
How effectivei s the use of color,a nd du Ponta ndM argareMt anigault,"W interthPuor rtfolio
howd oesi t enhancet he qualityo f the 9 (1974):p . 29.
line?D oes thtteet rx tureaa d d tt o the ele- P. 33, li. 8: C. Willett Cunnington, FeminineA ttitudes
ments of color and line? Does the in the NineteenthC entury( London, 1935), pp. 130-32.
masso r volumeo f eacho f the preced- P. 63, li.22: ElizabethA nnC olemanT, heG eniuso f
CharleJsa mes,e xh. cat., BrooklynM useum( New
ing contributet o the beauty of the York,1 982),p . 9.
4
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