I was working at the American Textile History Museum at the time, and there was a little antique store on the side of the road. […] You know, I was browsing, and ended up finding this book. […] I actually haven’t touched the book since really, its been sitting on my bookshelf.

I’ve just been working on some research of a 1920’s dress, it has a very curious alteration. It’s a beaded dress that was worn by a woman who her husband owned a department store in Minneapolis. […] The hemlines gets really short in the 1920’s, up to the knee, and you know we’d never seen dresses that short before.

So I’m doing research and I said, “hey, I wonder if there’s something in this book that’s been sitting on my bookshelf for the last six years!” So I pulled it out and there is a reference to making alterations and how to decide what you’re going to do based on looking at popular magazines. […]

This belongs in the Museum of Textile history

Exhibited by Jacqueline WayneGuite

Transcript edited by Sarah Crawford