Vivienne Tam Mao dress, 1995
  Mao Dress detailVivienne Tam Spring/Summer 1995 Museum Purchase 2007.5.2 Vivienne Tam's (b. 1958) Mao collection was a breakout success. Though she'd been designing under her own name since the early 1980s, it was her irreverent garments... Read Article ››

Silk gauze dress, c. 1855-1860
  c. 1855-1860 Gift of Jane M. Gincig and Patricia Larson KalayjianS2011.1087.189 With a low, curved neckline and short sleeves, this silk gauze dress was meant for evening. Day dresses of this era featured long sleeves and modest necklines, but evening... Read Article ››

Embroidered cotton lawn dress, c. 1923
  Day dressc. 1923Cotton lawn with machine embroideryGift of Mary Davenport2000.219.2 Made from cool, lightweight cotton lawn, this sleeveless 1920s dress is the perfect spring frock. Like many fashionable 1920s dresses, it is shaped only by minimal... Read Article ››

Celebrate Spring
  Spring has officially arrived! March 20 was the first day of the spring in the Northern Hemisphere. From here on out, the weather gradually gets warmer and days are longer. Warm days encourage colorful spring flowers to bloom: cherry blossoms, tulips,... Read Article ››

Jacques Fath, Spring/Summer 1953
  "St. Charles" afternoon dress Jacques Fath Spring/Summer 1953 Museum Purchase 2010.5.26 Jacques Fath (1912-1954) was an impish designer who imbued his clothes with a sense of fun and glamour. Vogue praised his "unexpected mix of casual... Read Article ››

From the Archives: The Little Black Dress
First published in 2010, this post briefly outlines the history of the little black dress, complete with examples from the FIDM Museum collection. ********** During the nineteenth century, black clothing was usually worn to signify a special status, i.e.... Read Article ››

Thea Porter butterfly print dress
Want to see this vibrant Thea Porter dress in person? Make a beeline for the MFA Boston, where it's currently on display in Hippie Chic, an exhibit celebrating the fashions of the Woodstock generation. On view through November 11, 2013, Hippie Chic... Read Article ››

Helmut Lang sheer dress, c. 1994
If something is good, it doesn't go out of style every six months. — Helmut Lang1 Helmut Langc. 1994Gift of Doris Raymond in honor of Kevin Jones2011.800.1 Almost classical in its simplicity, this black dress demonstrates Helmut Lang's (b. 1956)... Read Article ››

Evening dress, c. 1926
No matter what your feelings about director Baz Luhrmann's new cinematic adaption of  F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic American novel The Great Gatsby, you can't deny that the film is generating interest in 1920s fashion. Though reaction to the... Read Article ››

Merlot-Larchevêque day ensemble, c. 1867
Day Ensemble c. 1867 Madame Merlot-Larchevêque Museum Purchase 2008.5.45A-C The rise of France's haute couture industry in the mid-nineteenth century coincided with the astounding growth of industrial family fortunes in the United States. Couturiers... Read Article ››
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