Since Jason called me out for my knowledge of antique dress ;), I do think
these could be authentic. The white is spot on, and the blue is probably
low-cut in the front and would have been over the shoulder by the original
(with a white blouse or dickie underneath, with a high collar), but pulled
wide and worn off the shoulder by the "model". These would have been ca.
1900-1910.

Aesthetically, I find the photos rather charming, and if these were study
collection items, a fantastic use of them. But like so many of you, I'm more
than a bit troubled by the story behind it, and the way it's presented.
Obviously none of us want to encourage our staff and volunteers to be
borrowing collections at their own discretion for vanity or art photos. So
even if these were reproductions, the concern is, of course, that it doesn't
matter.

Regardless, this could be a good opportunity to a) educate our staff and
volunteers in what not to do (should be obvious, but...) and b) think about
ways our public would want to use our collections, or reproductions of. I'm
a big fan of hands-on as a learning tool, with a particular interest in
costume. Obviously it's time consuming to make reproductions, but you'd be
surprised at the amount of energy local costumer or craft societies can be.
I can see some fantastic public programs coming out of this.

My .02

~Perian

Perian Sully
Project Manager: Digital Asset Management & Online Access
Balboa Park Online Collaborative
San Diego

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