Collection of late 19th century and early 20th century suits and dresses

Few human devices are so full of meaning.  The form, colour, material, tailoring and function are genuinely indicative of an identity achieved through the tension caused by the synbolism of luxury and the diffusion of the popular.

The way people dress reveals social position, tastes, prospects and attitudes.   Clothes are made, purchased, washed, mended, used and disgarded, offering us -through a permanent tug of war between similarity and difference- fascinating period material.

Dress as a sign system, reflects values, aspirations and social yearning, deployed in a single differentiation-similarity device... dress represents convention, essence, tradition, prerrogatives,
lineage, ethnic group, generation, religion, geography, status, beliefs and gender.  Dress is one of the non-linguistic signs of social communication that represents much more than merely a protection against the natural elements.

The functions of the garment condition its form and these forms in turn originate behaviour, postures, and gestures.  It communicates a multitude of signs and symbols about the person who wears it.   It transmits significant messages from the past, of times and cultures that have disappeared.

Suits and dresses contain a great deal of information about society and its values.