ββFlapper Style: Fashions of the 1920sβ to run Sept. 25, 2015 - Sept. 4, 2016
βPreview reception Sept. 24 β call 330-672-0300 to RSVP
βFree tie-in lecture Oct. 3 in museumβs Murphy Auditorium β call 330-672-5368 to RSVP
The ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum will present its new exhibit βFlapper Style: Fashions of the 1920sβ in the museumβs Broadbent Gallery from Sept. 25, 2015, to Sept. 4, 2016. The museum will also host a special preview reception, featuring drinks and refreshments, on Thursday, Sept. 24. Admission to the reception is $15; to RSVP, please call 330-672-0300.
According to Museum and exhibit curator Sara Hume, Ph.D., the flapper style epitomized the glamor and decadence of the Roaring Twenties.
βThe term βflapperβ refers to the generation of young women who came of age just as World War I ended and shocked the older generation with their short hair and short skirts, their drinking and smoking and swearing,β says Hume. βFlappers faced a world strikingly different from the one their mothers knew and their clothing reflected this dramatic break with the past.β
Flapper fashion emphasized a slim and boyish silhouette, which evolved alongside womenβs changing roles during the World War I era (as documented in the museumβs previous exhibit βThe Great War: Women and Fashion in a World at Warβ).
While the flapper look is well known, this exhibit looks beyond the iconic beaded dress to explore the wide array of influences on 1920s fashion, including sportswear and artistic movements such as Bauhaus and Art Deco. βFlapper Styleβ features more than forty pieces, including undergarments, evening wraps, sportswear, menswear and footwear.
Curator Sara Hume will also present a βFlapper Styleβ lecture on Saturday, Oct. 3, as part of ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμβs Homecoming Weekend festivities. The lecture, which takes place at 12:30 p.m. in the museumβs Murphy Auditorium, is free and open to the public. As space is limited, please .
The ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum is located at 515 Hilltop Drive, at the corner of E. Main St. and S. Lincoln St. in Kent, Ohio. The museum is open to the public on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. - 8:45 p.m.; and Sunday from noon - 4:45 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children under 18. The museum is free with a ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ ID and free to the public on Sunday. Parking is free. For more information, call 330-672-3450 or visit www.kent.edu/museum.
ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ the Curator
Sara Hume is curator and an associate professor at the ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum. She earned her Ph.D. in modern European history from the University of Chicago. Her dissertation examines the development and preservation of traditional or folk dress practices in Alsace in the face of pressure from political conflict and mainstream fashion. She is interested in exploring the use of material culture, specifically clothing, in historical scholarship. She also holds a B.A. in art from Yale University and an M.A. in museum studies (with a concentration in costume and textiles) from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Media Contact: Alex Parrott, marketing assistant, cparrot1@kent.edu, 330-672-2714 (office)
Image: Cream silk satin dress with pearls and beaded fringe; American, 1920s; KSUM 1983.1.2488