Fashioning Montana: Clothing and Culture in the Victorian and Edwardian Eras

How can a hoopskirt be liberating, a corset comfortable, and just how do you sit down in a bustle? Foster answers these questions and more in a presentation combining historical photographs and reproduction clothing. More than simply whims of fashion, clothing design is a reflection of society, technology, and the economy. Using styles from 1850-1920, Foster links fashion to changes in gender roles, social status, industrialization, and politics. At the conclusion of the program, two volunteers are dressed in reproduction outfits to illustrate the evolution of style and social expectations over time.