Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls from 1800 to 1960

Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls from 1800 to 1960 will be the first exhibition to explore the evolution of women’s sporting attire in Western fashion over this 160 year period. Beginning with the turn of the 19th century, when women ventured outside the domestic sphere to partake in outdoor activities, and concluding with the mid-20th century, when the basic forms of women’s sportswear we know today were codified, this exhibition will trace the accessories and garments that defined women’s participation in the sporting world as athletes and spectators. Examining the competing priorities of fashion, function, and property, Outdoor Girls will feature approximately 65 full accessorized ensembles and a selection of sport-related accessories and ephemera, all drawn from the exceptional collections of FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles. This exhibition represents an unprecedented opportunity for a significant portion of the FIDM Museum’s extensive holdings, which are marked by their outstanding design merit, to be seen outside of Los Angeles.

Organized by the American Federation of Arts and the FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles.

Support for the national tour is provided by the AFA’s Gold Medal Circle: Elizabeth Belfer, Stephanie Borynack Clark, Ashleigh Fernandez, Lee White Galvis, Stephanie R. La Nasa, Merrill Mahan, Clare E. McKeon, Jennifer New, Angela Timashev, and Victoria Ershova Triplett.

Lead Sponsor for the Cummer Museum: Joan and Jim Van Vleck

Images Courtesy of the Pittsburgh City Paper, USA.