Costume and Textile Resource Center

The FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY COSTUME AND TEXTILES RESOURCE CENTER is a study and research center which houses approximately 4,000 costumes, accessories, textiles, books and periodicals. 

The Resource Center includes:

  •            Costume archives
  •            Flat textile archives
  •            Reference library of texts and periodicals
  •            The Sonny Otero Collection of fashion books
  •            The Eleanor Gawne Collection of costume, flat textiles, books

The Resource Center has items from mid-1800s to the present day and includes items such as: 1960s mini dresses; 1918 US Naval Reserve uniform; women's shoes from the late 1800s; Chinese textiles; and Vogue magazine.

Student in textile room
COSTUME AND TEXTILES RESOURCE CENTER VISION AND MISSION

COSTUME AND TEXTILES RESOURCE CENTER VISION AND MISSION

The Framingham State University Costume and Textile Resource Center is a teaching/learning resource for the campus: faculty, students, staff; community at large; historical societies; and individuals.  The Research Center consists of historic and contemporary textiles, apparel, and accessories.  Multimedia, periodicals, and library materials are available to supplement costume documentation.

The Framingham State University Costume and Textile Resource Center provides examples in period, cultural, and contemporary artifacts related to costume and textiles, and, provides examples in period, fashion design and retailing.  Items in the Resource Center are used in classes to demonstrate, critique, and analyze the relationship of the artifact to social, political, artistic, and economic factors.

  • Period Costume: 19th, 20th, and 21st century.
  • Cultural Dress: Tourist and 20th and 21st century.
  • Accessories:  19th, 20th, and 21st century, hats, shoes, jewelry, stockings.
  • Textiles:  19th, 20th, 21st century, western and cross cultural.
  • Multimedia: 19th, 20th, and 21st century, periodicals, books, postcards, photographs, slides, video, patterns, historic sewing machines and fibers.
  • Framingham State University memorabilia:  faculty and student samples, Sesquicentennial costumes and accessories, historically significant laboratory equipment.

The Resource Center is utilized as a teaching/learning and public relations tool for the Fashion  Design and Retailing Program, Consumer Sciences Department and Framingham State University.  The collection strengthens and enhances the curriculum.  For more information contact Professor Pam Sebor-Cable at pseborcable [at] cn-sportgoods.com (pseborcable[at]framingham[dot]edu)