Summer of Tours: OSU Historic Costume & Textiles Collection

The Historic Costume & Textiles Collection at Ohio State University (OSU) is a scholarly and artistic resource of apparel and textile material culture. The approximately 12,000 artifacts encompass a range of objects, such as textiles and articles of clothing and accessories for men, women, and children, including national dress costume from the mid-18th century to contemporary 21st century designers. The Collection also houses a number of period fashion magazines, fashion plates, swatch books and commercial patterns. Particular strengths of the Collection are objects pertaining to central Ohio and the U.S. fashion industry.

Our hosts will be Gayle Strege, Curator, and Marlise Schoeny, Assistant Curator.

Ms. Strege has a BA in Fashion Design from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, and an MA in Museum Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Between degrees, Strege worked in costume shops for several professional regional theaters, and just prior to OSU worked at the Chicago Historical Society. In addition to the OSU Costume Collection where she has worked the past 23 years, Gayle mounts historic fashion and costume for other Midwestern museums.

Ms. Schoeny has a BA in History from Miami University and an MS in Textiles and Clothing from Ohio State University. In addition to the digitization of collection holdings, her research interests include late nineteenth-century clothing and its role in gender and social identity, and how clothing can be used to teach history in public schools. She is also an instructor in the Fashion Design program at the Columbus College of Art & Design.

Our hosts will talk about the challenges regarding this material culture special collection, relationships with libraries on campus, and ongoing digital projects during our tour of the Collection’s storage areas.

WHEN: Friday, July 12
9:30 AM – networking and light refreshments
10:00 AM – presentation and tour

WHERE: Ohio State University
Campbell Hall 281 (Columbia Gas Student and Alumni Lounge)
1787 Neil Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210 (map)

Visitor parking is available at the 12th Ave. garage