MN Couture

The Art of High Style: Minnesota Couture

The Art of High Style: Minnesota Couture 1880–1914 will be opening May 16, 2019 – August 4, 2019.

Explore Minnesota’s little-known historic couture fashion industry and learn about the female artisans who led it. Minneapolis and St. Paul designers had strong ties with metropolitan Europe, particularly Paris and London, with respect to training, design trends, and fashion fabrics. Minnesota’s couturiers satisfied more than just vanity; they offered proof that a refined lifestyle was possible in a young, developing state. Featured in this installation will be historic dress from the Minnesota Historical Society collection—most never displayed before—set in context with paintings and works on paper from Mia’s collection.

Here are the panels from this exhibition:

MN Couture Panel and Wall Text_D&E EDIT

Here are the exhibition labels:

MN Couture Label Text_CurLI_D&E EDIT

Following are some online resources from artsmia and the Minnesota Historical Society:

(includes links to the collections within the article)
Nicole LaBouff has also provided a photograph of the label inside JJ Hill’s suit, as requested from the gallery training session:
Here are some additional research resources and information from Josie Owens:
From Emily Post’s column: Hats Off! Hat Etiquette for Everyone
From the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco: Corsets in Context: A History
And finally, a fun little video to answer one question which came up in the session on women’s dress: