Historic clothing collection in Milam Hall is hidden fashion treasure | OSU Today

Heavily embroidered cloaks are getting ready for a winter clothing display (photo by Theresa Hogue)

Imagine sitting in a university classroom learning about historical fashion, and then walking across the hallway to view closets full of clothing from the era you’ve been studying. That’s how the OSU Historic and Cultural Textiles and Apparel Collection on the second floor of Milam Hall helps bring fashion throughout the ages to life for students. Whether you’re learning about hats from the 1940s or trying to make your first corset in the sewing lab, the collection offers beautifully preserved examples of clothing and textiles from the 17th century onwards for up-close viewing.

Jennifer Mower is a graduate of Oregon State University with a masters and PhD in historical and cultural aspects of dress and she was thrilled to become the collection manager in 2022. As a design instructor in the College of Business, running the collection is only a small portion of her work, but a huge part of her passion.

Jennifer Mower stands with some pieces of the historic textile collection

Managing this collection had been my dream,” Mower said. While she had known about the collection as a student, it wasn’t broadly known on campus or in the Corvallis community. When Mower took over the collection, most of the pieces had been digitally cataloged on the Oregon Digital site, so she was able to focus on strategically adding pieces to an already crowded and extensive collection, as well as finding new and interesting ways to work with campus and community groups to give the collection more public exposure.

During winter term, Mower’s historic fashion class students each pick a decade during the 20th century and curate a small collection based on items found within the apparel collection. Their work is then put on display for the campus community, and the director of the Corvallis Museum selects one student to display their selection at the museum.

Mower is always looking to show off pieces beyond display areas in Milam and Austin Hall. For example, last year the Asian and Pacific Islander Cultural Center wanted to look at clothing as a facet of cultural identity, so she helped curate vignettes for the center, including Korean, Indian and Chinese pieces. Then all the items were brought together for a fashion show.

“I am hoping to find the space to do more work like that,” Mower said.

Image

A metal cabinet is filled to the brim with dresses, most from the Victorian and Edwardian eras

The collection started as a way for faculty members to donate items they’d collected over the years, and has slowly expanded to a two-room space in Milam – now filled to capacity – that houses most of the items. Mower now has to be extremely strategic with what she accepts, making sure items fill holes in eras and styles that are currently missing. She also wants pieces with historic connections to the university and the community. For example, recently she took in hundreds of vintage hats from a local Corvallis resident who had a lifelong passion for millinery.

Mower’s dream is to remodel the physical space in Milam so that there is more room for the collection and more public display space. She’d also like to replace some of the vintage wood cabinets, which aren’t good for storing delicate textiles, with metal cabinets, and generally make the collection more accessible. But that project will take time and donors, so for now she’s focused on new opportunities to educate the Corvallis campus and community about the resources available within the textile collection.

Image

This display on the third floor of Milam shows how medieval prints were used in mid century attire, demonstrating how historical fashion constantly influences more modern pieces.

“The College of Business recognizes what a great resource this is, but what’s the next phase? Right now, I’m doing what I can to let people know we’re here, and that we have items in our collection with a great connection to Oregon State and to the town,” she said.

Through November, a student-curated collection of mourning clothes is on display in the Dean’s Suite on the fourth floor of Austin Hall. In winter term, the student curated collections will be displayed in Milam Hall on the second floor.

~ Theresa Hogue