Textiles

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The Perils of Wearing Clothes

From toxins in textile dyes to torturous corsets, beauty has a long history of coming at a high cost

A History of Sequins from King Tut to the King of Pop

As you don your sparkly holiday fashions, think of the trend's start in an Egyptian tomb

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The Best in Fashion History: Penny Loafers, Forgotten Suitcases and Hermès Scarves

Three good reads to accessorize your daily routine

Matchbook in the shape of a folded men’s shirt, with incised checkerboard-patterned weave, cuffs and bib, smiling child’s head peering out from opening at collar. Reverse inscribed “New York Clothing House, 102 & 104 Baltimore St., Baltimore.” Upper curved section swings open to reveal match compartment, c. mid-19th century.

Favorites From the Cooper-Hewitt’s New Online Collection

The museum's clothing and textiles are unwrapped for view as never before

Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors original label featured a topless cowgirl (left) who got a fringed bolero in 1963.

As a Matter of Fact: Jockeys, Tartans and Cowboy Glam

The real stories behind some fashion fads and classics hold some surprising twists

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Orlon! Dacron! Antron! The Great American Knits of Fall 1965

As this old newspaper ad supplement shows, in the heydey of synthetic knits, DuPont advanced its chemically made fibers as a key to "Better Living"

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Stockings Series, Part 3: Ads from the Archives, 1890-1939

For decades, Ivory sold itself as the suds that made legwear last longer

Living Better Now

Q&A: Jayson Musson Breaks Down Coogi Sweaters

With the '80s and '90s status-symbol clothing a bargain on eBay, the Brooklyn artist buys, disassembles and reconstructs them to make abstract "paintings"

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The Long Journey of Chief Joseph’s War Shirt

Important Native American artifact seen in Smithsonian portrait fetches $877,500 at Nevada auction

The bra is a lot older than we thought.

Q&A: Archaeologist Unearths 600-year-old Bra in Castle

Though in tatters, the undergarment looks thoroughly modern. But was it comfortable!?

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Wearing Wool, All Summer Long

Layered, corseted summer garments kept women proper and fashionable, if not cool

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Show Us Your Costume

The arduous task of silkworm cultivation involved keeping the tiny silkworm eggs (about 35,000 of them weigh only an ounce) at the correct temperature. Hatched worms then had to be fed mulberry leaves around the clock.

Spin Cycle

Silkworm farming, or sericulture, was a backbreaking job that often required the participation of entire families

Asafo Flag, No. 2 Company; created by Akwa Osei, Ghana, Fante people; c. 1900, Cotton and rayon, embroidery and appliqué

Dueling Banners

Proverbs in the asafo flags of Ghana

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Finding a Knight in Shining Armor

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Timeless Tweed

On the Hebrides Isle of Harris, weavers are still producing their sought-after textile

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Itchiku Kubota's Fascination With an Ancient Textile Art

The Japanese master has devoted his life to reviving a long-lost technique of fabric design and to creating handcrafted kimonos of lasting beauty

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