One hundred years of fashion in one lecture

WINSTED — The Beardsley and Memorial Library hosted a lecture July 16 on Connecticut fashion in collaboration with the Connecticut Historical Society.

The From Bonnets to Bell Bottoms program covered the rich history of Connecticut fashion, covering roughly 100 years from the Civil War to the 1960s.

Jenny Steadman, who has taught at Trinity College and worked at art museums in New York, presented the lecture.

“Fashion is not a way that people often look for history,” Steadman said. “But you can really see social progress in fashion. It helps us think about history in ways we might not expect.”

A large crowd of fashionable people poured into the library meeting room, to the point where library program director Linda Gordon was forced to bring in more chairs from other parts of the library.

Beginning with the huge and heavy handmade dresses of the 19th century and ending with examples of bright flower-power, loose-fitting pieces from the 1960s, Steadman showed photographs and offered background information on the diverse trends in American fashion, focusing on Connecticut’s role. 

Many of the pieces were available to be viewed at the society’s museum in Hartford, Steadman said.

With a focus on feminism and women’s issues, Steadman revealed how an examination of fashion could show the way “clothing tells a story of social changes and social class.” 

In the comparison of a servant’s dress and a dress worn by a society woman, it was possible to see the various expectations, class differences and duties of women in that era, she said.

Corsets, an academic specialty of Steadman’s, figured prominently in the talk. 

Connecticut’s contribution of whalebone, the material used to brace the extremely tight laces in the undergarment, was also highlighted.

“How could they even eat?” asked one attendee who looked at an undergarment on display.

Another Connecticut figure in the world of fashion was Hollywood star Katherine Hepburn, born and raised in the Hartford area. 

Her independence, tomboy attitudes and consistent wearing of pants in public at a time when it was unacceptable for a woman to do so laid the groundwork for many advances in women’s rights during the 20th century, according to Steadman.

Most interesting to attendees, however, was the era of “crazy excess” in the 1910s and 1920s. 

Images of opulent, intricate evening gowns full of glittering patterns and shining sequins elicited excitement from the crowd.

“Will people ever go back to wearing those sorts of things?” wondered one attendee.