Shippensburg University’s Fashion Archives and Museum (FA&M) will release a new catalogue that will bring fictional literary characters to life.

The new catalogue will complement its previous exhibit “The Fashions of Fiction from Pamela to Gatsby.” Several grants from foundations and organizations, including the Maryland Historical Society and The Coby Foundation Ltd. made the exhibit possible.

According to its website, FA&M has a 15,000-item collection that focuses on middle and working class Americans. It features items from Victorian corsets to Chinese binding shoes.

Next year, FA&M will feature outfits that were worn by dancers in a new exhibit “Fashionable Dances and Dancing Fashions” that will aim to capture the history of dance.

According to an SU News release, the inspiration for the exhibit came from Karin J. Bohleke, the director of FA&M, following her guest teaching about historical dance in America.

“I wanted to offer students a chance to see additional material relating to the topic in a very visual and engaging way,” Bohleke said. “At the same time, the exhibit also offers community and other viewers the exciting spectrum of social and costume history that they have come to expect from Fashion Archives and Museum displays.”

Previously, students were able to learn about the history of dance through her guest lectures in her Interdisciplinary Arts classes, and this exhibit will be offered to provide additional information in an engaging way.

FA&M offers a distinctive laboratory for students as well as a museum that strives to further the understanding of culture and history through fashion from the 18th to 20th centuries.

SU students, community members and staff members all worked to create the exhibit. It will run from January to July 2.

Share