OK, I gotta jump in here.

First of all, nothing personal to Frances or anyone else, but...

PLEASE think carefully before using extant period costume ("vintage") for
anything other than museum exhibit.  If it's yours, and its long-term
existance is unimportant, then of course you can do with it what you
choose.  But use in uncontrolled conditions, including wearing, severely
compromises any textile or clothing object.  Alterations to extant period
costume can quite literally destroy any historical significance that
piece may have had.

To quote a 1986 resolution of the Costume Society of America: "The Costume
 Society of America acknowledges that clothing is designed an created to
be worn.  However with age or associations, clothing takes on particular
values and meanings and deserves special care and consideration.  The
wearing of articles of attire inevitably exposes them to dangers of
damage and deterioration; these dangers increase with the age and/or
fragility of such articles.
        Therefore, The Costume Society of America encourages persons and
organizations carged with the preservation of costume to prohibit the
wearing or modeling of articles INTENDED FOR PRESERVATION.
          Further, The Costume Society of America discourages any action
which alters the original state of such articles.  Since any information
related to the provenance, condition and treatment of costume enhances
the understanding, meaning and value of an article of adornment, The
Costume Society of America strongly urges that all such information
should be collected and made available when that article is transferred
to another party."

For those of you who wonder what the CSA is, its succintly stated mission
is to "advance the global understanding of all aspects of dress and
appearance".

Now, reproduction is an entirely different issue...

Pat Roath
Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
[log in to unmask]


On Mon, 19 Aug 1996, Frances Grimble wrote:

> I wrote a book titled _After a Fashion:  How to Reproduce, Restore, and
> Wear Vintage Styles_.  It covers making authentic reproductions of
> men's and women's styles from the 12th century through the 1920s.  It
> includes researching and planning a costume; choosing fabrics and
> trims; and using and altering modern reproduction patterns, scale drafts
> of period garments, and vintage patterns.  There is an extensive
> bibliography and list of mail-order suppliers.  The book is an 8 1/2" x
> 11" quality paperback with 352 pages and 147 new line drawings.  It is
> available from Lavolta Press, 20 Meadowbrook Drive, San Francisco, CA
> 94132.  The price is $35 + sales tax for California residents + $3.50
> shipping.  There are wholesale terms for multiple-copy orders from
> bookstores, museum shops, libraries, etc.
>
> Frances Grimble
>