Behringer-Crawford Museum is bringing fashion history beyond the exhibit gallery with a series of interactive workshops and demonstrations led by historical clothing specialist Robert Haven. The programs, connected to the museum’s exhibit Treasures From the Attic: 250 Years of Fashion and Furniture, offer visitors new ways to explore how clothing reflected identity, craftsmanship and daily life across different eras.
Through hands-on sewing workshops and engaging dressing demonstrations, Haven will guide participants through the construction, structure and cultural significance of historic garments. From Colonial court gowns and Victorian hoop skirts to Gibson Girl silhouettes and 1920s flapper dresses, these programs reveal how clothing evolved alongside changing social customs and technology.
These workshops and demonstrations are part of a larger lineup of events connected to Treasures From the Attic, which explores how clothing, furniture and decorative arts reflect everyday life and social change over the past 250 years. Additional lectures, demonstrations and special programs tied to the exhibit can be found at www.bcmuseum.org/treasures-programs.
A longtime historical costume maker and educator, Haven specializes in historically accurate garment construction and has worked with museums and theatrical productions to recreate clothing from a variety of time periods. His programs combine practical instruction with insights into the social history of fashion, helping participants understand how garments were designed, worn and experienced in their time.
How to Make a Flapper Dress
March 14–15, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (2-Day Workshop)
Learn how to create a classic 1920s flapper dress using an authentic 1923 vintage pattern in this two-day sewing workshop. Participants will learn how to read an unprinted vintage pattern and adjust the sizing to fit their own measurements.
Guests should bring two yards of soft fabric such as crepe, challis, lace or a border print. Participants may wish to use inexpensive fabric for an initial mock-up to test sizing before cutting their final material. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a custom-sized pattern they can use again for future garments.
Cost: $75 members, $100 nonmembers
Space is limited to 10 participants.
Getting Dressed in the 18th Century
March 21, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Discover the elegance and complexity of Colonial fashion during this lecture and live dressing demonstration. Haven will assemble an 18th century court gown layer by layer while explaining the structure, etiquette and craftsmanship behind these garments.
Guests will learn how clothing reflected social status and daily life in early America while seeing firsthand the many layers that shaped the iconic silhouette of the era.
Included with museum admission.
Mid-Victorian Dress Demonstration
May 9, 1–3 p.m.
Explore how women’s fashion evolved during the mid-19th century through a lecture and live dressing demonstration featuring a Victorian hoop skirt. Haven will discuss how undergarments created the dramatic silhouettes that defined the era and demonstrate how these garments were worn.
Included with museum admission.
Constructing the Victorian Walking Skirt
May 16–17, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Create your own late-1890s “straight-to-bias” walking skirt in this two-day sewing workshop inspired by the iconic Gibson Girl silhouette. Participants will learn how to draft the skirt pattern directly onto fabric using their own measurements and discover which fabrics work best for this style of garment.
Beginners are encouraged to start with plain muslin for their first attempt, which can later function as a petticoat.
Cost: $75 members, $100 nonmembers.
Shaker Straw Bonnet Workshop
June 20, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Create a traditional Shaker straw bonnet using historic patterns from the archives of Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. Using pre-woven cane and pre-cut pieces, participants will learn how to assemble this distinctive bonnet style and explore the craftsmanship and design traditions unique to the Shaker community.
Cost: $35 members, $50 nonmembers.
Edwardian Fashion in Form
July 11, 1–3 p.m.
Explore the transition from Victorian to Edwardian fashion during this lecture and live dressing demonstration focusing on corsetry and gown construction. Haven will discuss the understructures that shaped women’s silhouettes during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and demonstrate how these garments worked together to create fashionable forms.
Included with museum admission.
Space is limited for workshop programs. To register, call 859-491-4003 or email education@bcmuseum.org.
Treasures From the Attic: 250 Years of Fashion & Furniture is on exhibit at Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park through August 9. For admission information and additional programs connected to the exhibition, visit www.bcmuseum.org.
For more information on this and other Kentucky history projects, visit history.ky.gov.
Behringer-Crawford Museum