Ecouterre

Photo by Shutterstock Do you care about connecting with your clothing or would you rather wear it without a second thought?  Most people would say the latter. In fact, when it comes to…

“Jewel and Harold Walker, 6 and 5 years old, pick 20 to 25 pounds of cotton a day” in Comanche County, Okla., 1916. HISTORY IN PICTURES For nearly two decades, Hine traveled…

DOWNTON EFFECT Unlike the fictional Crawleys, Lucile is part of British history. Founded by Belle Epoque “It” girl Lady Lucy Duff Gordon over a decade before the doomed…

Native American textiles aren’t just a bunch of pretty pictures pieced together. Their colors, patterns, and even weave variations are replete with historical meaning and cultural…

1900s “BLOGGER” Photography gave Sambourne the ability to use friends, family members, and professional models as references for his cartoons, according to the Library Time…

Archaeologists have unearthed several 600-year-old bras that experts say could rewrite fashion history. While they’ll hardly send pulses racing by today’s standards, the…

German archaeologists have unearthed what may be the remains of the world’s oldest handbag. Although the purse itself, which was likely made of leather or linen, has long…

The original DIY doyenne, Mrs. Sew and Sew taught British civilians how to extend the lives of wardrobe staples at the height of clothes-rationing during World War II. Among the raft of…

MRS. SEW AND SEW SAYS On darning holes and tears Do not wait for holes to develop. It is better to darn as soon as garments begin to wear thin. Imitate, as well as possible, the texture…

At the height of clothes rationing during World War II, U.K. civilians were introduced to Mrs. Sew-and-Sew, a fictional character cooked up by the British Board of Trade to promote the…

It’s been said that dead men tell no tales, but would they stay equally mum about their tailoring? For artist Hormazd Narielwalla, author of the limited-edition book Dead…

It’s been 70 years since living with less was viewed as one’s patriotic duty. But then it was a different time: the Axis and Allies were duking it out across Europe and…

“Make do and mend” was an oft-repeated mantra in 1940s Britain, when manufactured commodities were in scant supply and clothes rationing became a vital part of the British…

GARMENT HISTORY Designed as a national project, the register’s first phase focuses on capturing clothes relating to pre-1945 New South Wales, from a high-collar lace dress worn in…

As outlandish as some of their ideas may be, the soothsayers from 1930s news program Pathetone Weekly weren’t completely off the mark. Multifunctional garments, as the broadcast…

Photos by Zenzie Tinker It took 1,300 hours and £50,000 ($81,000), but a glittering emerald gown made from 1,000 beetle parts is ready for its stage entrance once more. Decked with the…

Call it the ultimate vintage score. Archaeologists from the University of California Los Angeles and Ireland have discovered the world’s oldest known enclosed leather shoe: a…