Personally, I think that it would be INCREDIBLY stupid to post pictures of
this kind of activity and label them honestly. What I think has happened is
that the blogger has created a "cute" fantasy story situation without
thinking that it might be seen by anyone who would take offense to it. She
may have removed it, stunned and freaked out, after finding out that it had
been distributed much farther than she anticipated and that people were
taking her seriously. Of course, the bright thing to do in this case would
be to post that it was a joke, and that she was terribly sorry for the
offense... but who knows, that may be coming down the pipeline. Plus... how
would they be certain that the garments would fit them (however imperfectly)
and be able to get them properly BACK onto the mannequins without anyone
noticing? Mannequin dressing isn't exactly a simple task, especially for
period garments like those!
I would never seek to minimize the criminality of treating museum objects as
your playthings, especially given that my field is museum work in garments
and textiles! Perhaps I am wrong in giving this woman the benefit of the
doubt. I do think that museum security is highly important, and that
stealing the dresses and wearing them around would be an unbelievably
reprehensible act. I simply don't think that this is what happened in this
case.
In any event, what an interesting discussion this has raised!

Whitney A. J. Robertson
Fashion and Textile Specialist
M.A. Fashion and Textile Studies, FIT '09
B.A. with Distinction, Music, UVa '06
http://fashion-museum.blogspot.com

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