In the past, Mainers imported costly silk, and dresses required many yards of fabric. To keep up with constantly changing fashions, women themselves created, or employed dressmakers to alter and update existing garments. At a minimum, seams were discretely let out, or new trimmings applied, but sometimes the job was much more extensive, as illustrated by this informative and unusual group of surviving items in the collection.
The Maine Memory Network online portal Historic Clothing, Costume, and Dress at Maine Historical Society includes essays and themed image galleries by textile and dress historian Jacqueline Field, including Fabric Adaptive Reuse on which this vignette is based. Supported by an Institute of Museum and Library services grant, the website portal explores many different garments and highlights in the clothing collection, beyond those exhibited in Northern Threads.
