| This contextual essay accompanies a major professional exhibition and catalogue for "Fashion on the Ohio Frontier: 1790--1840," held at the Kent State University Museum, between July 26, 2003, and January 18, 2004. The research question is "Are there surviving garments which can indicate that fashionable clothes were worn in the Ohio territory from 1790 to 1840, and what can these artifacts convey about late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Ohio history?"; Through field research in Ohio historical societies, museums and costume collections, surviving garments that stylistically emulate high fashion were found that confirm the possibility that fashionable clothing was worn in the Ohio territory between 1790 and 1840. Although many artifacts did not have provenance, some had credible information that helps historians, museum curators, and a general audience understand similar artifacts without provenance found in different institutions. A material culture methodology is used to study artifacts and text-based sources helped to contextualize these objects.; Although limitations exist in the use of nontextual artifacts in historical research, garments found indicate that the meaning of fashion for settlers did not change with the movement of a population to the Ohio territory. The cut, construction and fabrics of surviving fashionable garments suggest the presence of a type of social behavior that has not been traditionally associated with Ohio's frontier days. Although not representative of what the majority of settlers could have worn, these garments nevertheless reveal a diversity of settling experiences and can help expand our vision of Ohio history. The artifacts also represent new sources of evidence that address the behavior and lives of women and children, which are fields of study neglected by many scholars. |
