“Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore” is an exhibit at the New York Historical Society, open through June 22nd. Real Clothes, Real Lives is also the title of a book by Kiki Smith and the Smith College Historical Clothing Collection, released last year. The book and the exhibit demonstrate the value and meaning found in everyday clothing.
In museums, one expects ephemera from the who’s who; however, this exhibit allows viewers to stop and appreciate ordinary lives from the not-too-distant past. It expands common assumptions of what and who is history-making. As the viewer stands in front of a McDonald’s uniform designed for a pregnant woman or a depression-era housedress, in clothes they may later wear to work or around the house; this exhibit takes on a personal meaning. It raises our clothes, which perhaps we only put a passing thought into, to the position of historical artifact. The relatability creates a sense of appreciation for the clothes all women wear as we go about humble, mundane tasks.
Looking at these clothes leads one to consider women’s bodies and embodiment. Some dresses contain extra fabric, so women could alter them as their bodies changed, whether due to pregnancy or general fluctuations. One imagines what these clothes felt like to wear, their weight, and the texture against their skin. How did the fabric feel when wet from washing dishes or cleaning floors? As they wore these clothes, they embodied society’s construction of womanhood. As we stand in our clothes, in front of their clothes, embodying society’s beliefs, we become aware of how our clothes feel, too.
The curators of this exhibit are Anna Danzinger Halperin, Associate Director of the Center for Women’s History at New York Historical; Keren Ben-Horin, a fashion historian and curatorial scholar at the Center for Women’s History; and Rebecca Shea and Kiki Smith of Smith College. They designed the exhibit to seamlessly flow through five themes: housework, service work, social, rites of passage, and gender boundaries. Thirty pieces comprise the five themes, reinforcing the nature of everyday clothes as something one can look at quickly yet contains a wealth of meaning and significance.
