Welcome to Our Fashions in History Homeschool History Course

More about This Fashions in History Homeschool History Course

This Fashions in History homeschool history course actually started with the designer’s seventh grade class project on antebellum US history! She used her sewing and needlework skills to create two antebellum-style doll dresses that accompanied the antebellum meal and toothpick model of a log cabin with cotton in the chimney that her classmates created. Not believing she would find much more than information about hoop skirts or the nondescript calico dresses seen on the Little House on the Prairie and Bonanza television programs, Shanna Duck made the thirty-minute trip from her rural home to the nearest library to complete her research. At the library, however, the librarian put into her hands a book, a rather substantial tome titled 20,000 Years of Fashion. Looking through the book, she soon became fascinated by historic clothing.

Not many people homeschooled back then, so Shanna had few opportunities to continue to study old clothing in depth. Later, however, she went to a boarding school where the teachers encouraged students to pursue their interests. One even gave her the chance to make a historic costume for an independent study. Shanna went on to study history in college, worked in the archives, and then went to graduate school and became a museum curator. While she no longer works in a museum, she does curate a small private collection of artifacts. People can visit the collection and study old photos and clothing, sit on the world’s most uncomfortable couch (a 1920s reproduction of a Victorian sofa), and read issues of Godey’s Lady’s Book.

But why should modern-day homeschool history students study historic costume?

There are several benefits to having knowledge of fashion history besides becoming a museum curator, a professional theatrical costume designer, or a history professor:

• Enjoyment (Some antique clothes are honestly pretty funny)
• Making costumes for “pioneer days” events
• Dating family photos and paintings
• Understanding the past better
• Learning vocabulary
• Understanding history and historical literature better
• Gaining perspective on modern culture
• Being more conscious of choices in dress