Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore

by Kiki Smith, Diane Von Furstenberg (Foreword), Vanessa Friedman (Introduction)

An unprecedented look at women’s everyday clothes—from Sylvia Plath’s Girl Scout uniform to psychedelic microminis, modern suits, and fast-food workers’ uniforms—this fascinating volume shows how American women from every background have lived, worked, and dressed for 200 years.

Groundbreaking in its focus on the everyday clothing of ordinary American women—a subject neglected in most fashion histories— Real Clothes, Real Lives highlights over 300 garments and accessories from the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection. This unique survey honors countless lives, tracing through the lens of dress how women’s roles have changed over the decades. Each piece holds colorful stories about the woman who wore it, the one who made or bought it, and her context in place and time. Whether homemade or ready-made, many of the garments are modest and inexpensive. Some are one-of-a-kind pieces; others are examples of clever making-do, which seems particularly relevant today; and most reflect the popular styles of their era. Among the many extraordinary examples are a rare World War I uniform worn by an American woman working behind enemy lines and a 1970s go-go dancer’s costume. Exceptional photography and rich archival visuals accompany the highly readable texts, which offer a wealth of historical and social analysis of a side of fashion and feminism rarely considered.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, History, Fashion History

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 5, 2023

Reviews

[QNPoohBear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Clothes, worn by real women in their every day lives. There are undergarments, hats, house dresses, casual clothes, cotton, rayon, special occasion clothes and clothes to wear to work in, including house work and farm work. I've never seen a collection like this before and this book is well worth checking out with full color photos and a lot of text to put the clothes in context.

[Kamryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is gorgeous! It would have been so simple for the author to marginalize the clothes worn by women of color, and I’m so pleased she didn’t. I noticed there weren’t many pieces (if any) on Native Americans, but that might be a limitation of the collection at Smith College rather than a specific omission by the author.

[Nann · Rating 5 out of 5]

So often costume collections and exhibitions showcase clothing worn by famous women (First Ladies, movie stars, and socialites) or to clothing made by well-known designers (Chanel, Dior, Worth). One of the reasons is that those clothes were worn for special occasions or by women who had extensive wardrobes.

Instead, the Smith College collection is devoted to what women in the 19th and 20th centuries wore every day. Chapters differentiate what women wore at home and in public; accessories (underwear, hats), uniforms (waitresses, maids, nurses, military), rites of passage (mourning, maternity, quinceneara), and suits. Photographs show the full-0n garments and closeups. Advertisements and other commentary add context to the entries.

It's a wonderful history. I'd love to tour the collection!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grand tour of fashion trends over the years. Fascinating text and photographs, especially of the older pieces.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a excellent fashion research book. I spent quite a bit of time with this book and I love how this is a great look in every day fashions.

[Juli Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous and useful volume the fills a gap in the popular literature.

[Sarah Matchette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic exhibition catalog, and I really enjoyed reading it. I have been wanting to see the exhibit it is based on at the New York Historical Society since I learned about it, but living on the opposite end of the country meant that buying the catalog was the next best thing.

It was so wonderful to see a museum fashion exhibit and collection focused on clothing worn by everyday women. Most of what is seen in these collections and on display focus on clothing worn by wealthy individuals, and that are usually in good condition- no sign of the daily wear-and-tear clothing generally sees. Beautiful and important pieces to be sure, but not truly representative of textiles and fashions across time, classes, and more.

Some of the details I enjoyed the most in the exhibit were the pieces of clothing that included the story of the person who actually owned it, and even had pictures of them in the outfit. I especially loved the wedding dresses worn in the ‘70s, as well as Sylvia Plath’s Girl Scout uniform.

Clothing is a great way to analyze history on a micro and macro level, and I really enjoyed seeing how the textile pieces and accessories fit into that and told their own stories. This was definitely a catalog worth purchasing- I will continue to recommend it, as well!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that I'd just skim for the pictures, but I wound up reading almost everything. Fascinating. Now, I don't know how many petticoats the women who were on the Oregon Trail actually wore, but these pieces do contrast with the fancy gowns usually preserved, at least. These are the garments thought worth preserving, not the ones completely worn out, of course.

I love the chapter on accessories. So much I always wondered about.

By the end I wanted more. Of course.

Recommended if you're interested, but the high rating is my own.

Bookdarts:

I love that Manzanar is referred to as a 'prison' camp, not an 'internment' camp. The latter is a gentler sounding euphemism the camps do not deserve.

I might have to read Tales of the South Pacific because in a mention of the musical, Smith says "Several of the Americans fall in love with native residents and must confront their own racial prejudices."

[Tatyana Vogt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooooo, I did not see myself reading a 'coffee table' reference book from front cover to back (although I did not read all the 'foot notes' just the main text) BUT boy was it good! I had a great time learning about the different garments, learning about the history behind things and hearing all the strong feminist commentary sprinkled in. It was so much more than just a reference book and I really enjoyed it!

[CharlotteReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book on women's clothes and some of the history surrounding the clothes. The selection of items come from the Smith College collection of over 4,000 items and has thoughtful annotations and photos with commentary. It is both quite illuminating and a lovely trip down memory lane.

[MaryJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book to savor -- to open whenever you want and see the beautifully photographed and colorful clothing through the years, plus photos in largely black and white of people who wore the outfits or how they were advertised at the time.

[Carmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library, but worth buying a copy for at home. I can just pour over it for hours.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of clothing from various periods of history. I loved reading how women wore these lovely dresses for housework and cooking! Yikes!

[Heather Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great lens to bring out lots of aspects of women’s history

[Alina Yasnaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, illuminating, and definitely worth the time. Lots of illustrations for the reader to scrutinize. Very interesting.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cool to read this book and be able to see the exhibit at the New York Historical Society.

[ツツ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes me feel educated; an accessible introduction to the history of dress, or costume history, (1860s~1990s) in the USA.

Book 6 of 2025, (4 /February)