detail: Wedding Dress / Day Dress, 1872-76. Queen's University Collection of Canadian Dress. Photo: Paul Litherland, Montreal
Exhibitions
Beyond the Silhouette: Fashion and the Women of Historic Kingston
Historical Feature and R. Fraser Elliott Galleries
22 July 2007 - 6 April 2008
The venerable city of Kingston is celebrated as one of the founding settlements of Ontario, a former capital, and today boasts a significant architectural heritage. In the attics of Kingston's fine old limestone houses was stored a treasure-trove of women's garments, from wedding and trousseau gowns to mourning apparel and party dresses, that survive today as part of the Queen's University Collection of Canadian Dress. It provides a window onto the history of women in Kingston. The collection is an outstanding expression of Kingston's material culture reflecting both the prominent families of this historic city and the skills of those essential seamstresses who made the garments so beautifully.
The Art Centre is home to this, one of finest costume collections in Canada. Established by Dr. Margaret Angus, its first curator, it has grown over a period of some 60 years from donations from families in the Kingston area. In recent years, its care and research been sustained by support from Dr. Isabel Bader.
In 2007-2008, Beyond the Silhouette will be the focus of the Art Centre's popular program for elementary schools in the Kingston Region. Selected garments will be discussed in terms of social customs and their visual aspects, followed by hands-on activities in the studio.
A sumptuously illustrated catalogue, featuring 20 women's dresses along with selected accessories, will also accompany this exhibition. Through a thoughtful essay, costume specialist M. Elaine MacKay provides an in-depth introduction to these garments dating from 1815 to the 1930s.
Dorothy Farr