About the Historical Costume Collection

The collection's permanent exhibition space is in part of the Walter and Olive Stiemke Memorial Hall on the second floor of Notre Dame Hall.

Exhibits are free to the public and are usually open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Call Mount Mary College, (414) 258-4810, to confirm availability.

The exhibitions promote the appreciation of aesthetic, historical and cultural issues expressed by dress. Annual changing exhibitions are developed around themes which show the changing silhouettes of time. Exhibitions are mounted on campus as well as in community venues.

"Chic Shapes:  The Architecture of Fashion"
on exhibit from now until June 1, 2009

The most celebrated international fashion designers of the late 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s and beyond used textiles and patterns to express how shape and form could create an intimate architecture for the body.  Couturiers like Cristobal Balenciaga, Norman Norell, Adele Simpson, Geoffrey Beene and Chanel created garments that not only draped the body but also signaled the wearer’s place in society.

Mount Mary College has culled examples of these fashion icons’ work from its Historic Costume Collection for a yearlong exhibition titled “Chic Shapes:  The Architecture of Fashion.” Visitors may view the exhibition without charge from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. weekdays from now until June 1, 2009. The exhibition is located in the college’s Walter and Olive Stiemke Memorial Hall, which is on the second floor (north side) of Notre Dame Hall. Read the complete press release.  

Past Exhibits:

All the World's a Stage - 2007 to 2008
Designed by Women: Fashions from 1900 to the present - 2006 to 2007
The Designer's Eye: The Historic Costume Collection of Charles Kliebacker - 2005 to 2006
Fantasy of Nature: Fashion, Flora and Fauna - 2004 to 2005
Looking the Part: Lynn Fontanne - 2003 to 2004

See the Historic Costume Collection photo gallery.

The Mount Mary College Historic Costume Collection serves as an educational, scholarly, and artistic resource for Mount Mary students and the Milwaukee community. The collection preserves and exhibits historically significant garments and accessories, as well as fashion art, tools and periodicals. The exhibitions promote the appreciation of aesthetic, historical and cultural issues expressed by dress.

The Mount Mary College Historic Costume Collection contains over 9,000 objects for children and adults dating from 1750 to the present. Objects are accepted from local, national, and international donors. The collection's strength lies in its holdings of 20th century women's couture and ready-to-wear garments.

Notable Wisconsin women are represented by extensive collections of their garments; these include the chanteuse Hildegarde, designer Florence Eiseman, and actress Lynn Fontanne. The New York designer, Charles Kleibacker, recently donated his large historic costume collection increasing the depth of the collection. This donation added works by many important designers including Chanel, Patou, Adrian, Irene, Charles James, Madame Gres and Karl Lagerfeld.