Costume Institute: FAMILY GUIDE Swords into Ploughshares THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
How many people do you know who wear Military Dress and the Civilian Wardrobe uniforms? How many people do you see every day who wear uniforms?The answer is probably a great many. But wait. Sometimes people who work in a certain profession all dress the same way.That is kind of a uniform, too. Maybe you dress like people you know — that is another kind of uniform.
Many of the clothes you and your friends wear probably were derived from military uni forms. That is what this exhibition is all about. You will see some real uniforms and some clothes that were adapted from uniforms.
Can you think of clothes you wear that were adapted from military clothing? Why do you think people wear clothing that resembles that worn by officers and soldiers? Think about those questions as you walk through this exhibition.
First, let us look at some real uniforms.
Find a red wool coat with gold braid on it.
To many people, this is a real symbol of mili tary style. Look at the buttons. When soldiers ran out of bullets, they would pull off the but tons and use them instead!
This coat was probably worn during the War English U.S. Militia, Musician's Coatee, 1810-18 of 1812. Would you see someone wearing a Red wool with gilt braid coat like this today? Gift of Mrs. DeVV/tt Clinton Cohen, 1941 (41.1 14.1) German Boy Full Dress Uniform, ca. 1900 Find the child's uniform Blue wool uniform with silver braid, gray wool overcoat with blue, red, and white wool with a hat, jacJcet, breech Courtesy the collection, CAVALRY ROAD, of es, boots, an overcoat, and Christopher Ross a sword.
*
The child who wore this uniform would not have fought in a battle; it was worn at cere monies. In the late nineteenth and early twen tieth centuries, it was not unusual to make children's military uniforms that looked just like adults'. Sometimes children were even given real military titles — you could be a colonel even if you were only six years old!
Can you think of modern children's clothes that look like adult clothing?
Now let us look at some clothing that was adapted from military styles.
Find the man's suit in a yel low, orange, red, and blue camouflage pattern
Camouflage clothing is worn by soldiers to allow them to blend into their environment so they cannot be seen. Here, the effect is just the opposite — this suit was made to be seen! What started as a purely practical piece of clothing has turned into an eye-catching outfit that has come a long way from its beginnings.
Stephen Sprouse Man's Suit 1988 Yellow, orange, red, and blue printed cotton Gift of Michael Macko, 1991 (I99l.35a,b) 3 Now walk through the exhibition until you find three evening gowns made of gray parachute silk. •
What is a parachute normally used for? Why would someone make an evening gown out of that fabric? Some of the pieces on display even have ripcords — the cord that lifts the parachute out of its container.
Seeing a fancy dress of parachute fabric makes you look at the dress in a new way. What other unusual fabrics could you make into clothing?
Norma Kamali Evening Gown, 1977 Gray parachute silk
5 Find the white halter dress With blue trim and a red silk scarf,
Today, plenty of people wear clothes adapted from navy uniforms. Kids often wear sailor suits, women wear sailor blouses, and everybody wears "navy blue." You'll see many clothes in the exhibition that owe their background to navy uniforms. This dress has the barest hint of those elements — what are they?
tUHBK you have finished the walking part of the guide Traina-Norell Be sure to try the drawing Halter dress, 1954 activity! White linen with blue linen trim and red silk scarf Gift of Mrs. Max M. Fisher, 1977 (I977.279.la-c) Read Afore about It*
Baker Patricia. Fashions of the Decade: The 1940s. Facts on File, Inc., 1992.
Perl, Lila. From Top Hats to Baseball Caps: From Bustles to Blue Jeans. Clarion Books, 1990.
* Both books are available in the Uris Library.
Do you have ideas for guides for kids? Send us your thoughts, artwork, poems, and so forth. Address them to:
I Used a Museum Guide Education The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue NewYork NY 10028
Use this page to design your own adaptation of a military uniform. You might want to use some of the elements you have seen in the exhibition. Take the guide home and color in the pictures.
This publication distributed in memory of Esther Hoffman Beller and William C. Beller was made possible through their generous bequest to the Museum in honor of David Wolfson
drawings by Sunyong Kjm