Continuous innovation and experimentation with the materials used in constructing textiles, apparel, and accessories creates an ever-growing challenge for professional curators and collectors. Recognizing problematic fibers, dyes, finishes, and fabric and yarn constructions is crucial for maintaining objects’ appearance, minimizing deterioration, and isolating those that are potentially harmful to other objects.

On February 29, 1968, the White House hosted its first—and only—fashion show. At the time, the patriotic event was lauded by the press, and many predicted it would become an annual occasion, especially since fashion had grown to become the fourth largest industry in the United States, employing 1.4 million Americans, more than 80 percent of them women. But the social and political turmoil of that particular year—from the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy—cast a shadow over the festivities.

Wearable prints are not only a decorative art form but also the product of a range of complex industrial processes and an eco- nomically important commodity. But when did textile printing originate, and how can we identify the fabrics, inks, dyes, and printing processes used on surviving historical examples?

In an engaging narrative history, the beautifully illustrated Women’s Shoes in America investigates an aspect of American material culture not previously examined and provides a detailed reference for dating women’s footwear. Part One, “A History of Women’s Footwear in America,” discusses the history of the American shoe industry and surveys changing styles of shoes, boots, boudoir slippers, overshoes, and sports shoes. Part Two, “Dating Women’s Shoes, 1795-1930,” a detailed reference for dating surviving shoes, will be of particular use to museums, dealers, collectors, material culture historians, and reenactors. Over four hundred clear and detailed drawings make identification as simple and accurate as possible.

In Pantaloons and Power, Gayle V. Fischer depicts how the reformers’ denouncement of conventional dress highlighted the role of clothing in the struggle of power relations between the sexes. Wearing pantaloons was considered a subversive act and was often met with social ostracism. This carefully researched interdisciplinary study successfully combines the fields of costume history, women’s history, material culture, and social history to tell the story of one highly charged dress reform and its resonance in nineteenth-century society.

During the latter half of the nineteenth and the first decade of the twentieth centuries, books, periodicals, and newspapers were rich in discussions related to women’s roles, health, beauty, and dress. Many believed that restrictive and unwieldy women’s fashions compromised health, distorted women’s true physical beauty, and curtailed the potential role of women in society. Reforming Women’s Fashion, 1850–1920 focuses on the efforts toward reforming women’s dress that took place in Europe and America during this period and the types of garments adopted by women to overcome the challenges posed by fashionable dress.