Collection
clothes to the very fine and fancy,” said Neal Hurst, Colonial Williamsburg’s curator of historic dress and textiles. “Clothes are remarkable windows into people’s lives and tastes, and we’re grateful so much of it is still here for us to see.”
The initial exhibit will run through March 2, 2025, and showcase about 40 pieces, including gowns and coats; cotton, silk and velvet textiles; and shoes and shoe buckles (the latter used in place of shoelaces for 150-odd years in America).
There is also a stay, a corset-like garment worn by women for support and by young boys and girls to promote good posture.
The exhibit will be the first in the renovated DeWitt Wallace’s new Mary Turner Gilliland and Clinton R. Gilliland Gallery, which is dedicated to historic costume. The gallery is in a former gift shop area on the ground floor.
Because too much cumulative light can fade dyes and degrade fabrics, the space has low-level lighting turned on by motion detectors. Objects are housed in sturdy glass and granite cases.
Mary D. Doering, a Northern Virginia resident born in 1952, is a lifelong curator and educator with thousands of pieces in a historic dress collection. Her interest began at age 16 when she received a trunk of early 20th-century clothing from a great-aunt.
For more than 50 years, Doering hand-selected items from flea markets, stores, antiques dealers and auctions around the world. Although she rarely grants media interviews, she has shared her expertise with students, historians and museums for decades.
Early American clothing “was made by hand; it was a valuable commodity,” she told The Washington Post in 2002. “There was a concept of using the clothing and the textiles and reusing and adapting it. Whereas today, when we don’t like something because it’s not comfortable or it’s the wrong size, we tend to think it’s disposable.”
While Colonial Williamsburg has displayed objects from Doering’s collection before, this exhibit is much more extensive, Hurst said. Heavy on American and English pieces, it also features items from the Netherlands, France and other
countries.
“Just like today, historic fashion is rich with examples of different places influencing one another,” Hurst noted. A printed textile from early 19th-century France, for instance, features symbols drawn from Roman and Egyptian mythology and archaeology.
One exhibit highlight is a blue silk Englishman’s waistcoat, likely embroidered in the 1760s in China, that Doering bought at a 1974 auction in London. The purchase kicked off a collection of pre-1840s waistcoats that eventually grew to more than 100.
Another standout is an ivory silk and satin “round gown,” a popular 18th-century style that integrated a petticoat — a type of undergarment — into the structure of its skirt. In near-perfect condition, it is believed to be a wedding dress worn in England.
Among Hurst’s favorite pieces is a green gown made of wool, circa 1815. Most surviving dresses from that era were made of thinner, lighter fabrics, as woolen materials tended to be destroyed by moths and
carpet beetles.
“This was a very practical fabric and, in reality, probably quite common,” Hurst said. “We just don’t have many examples because they’re basically Thanksgiving feasts for pests.”
To protect historic dress, CW staffers wash their hands before touching all items and wear gloves to handle objects containing metallic materials such as silver and gold, which tarnish more quickly with exposure to skin oils.
Items are kept in darkness when not on display, stored in boxes and drawers with tissue paper for padding and prevention of creases.
“Many years from now, people should still be able to learn from these pieces,” Hurst said. “It’s a responsibility we take very seriously.”
IF YOU GO
Where: DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, 301 S. Nassau St., Williamsburg Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Tickets: Full-day access to the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg is $14.99 for adults (ages 13 and older); $8.99 for youths ages 6 to 12; free for children under 6.
Details: colonial williamsburg.org