This Side of Paradise: Clothing of the Jazz Age and Beyond

Students conducted this research for Laura Michele Diener’s History 467: The History of Fashion and Textiles (Spring 2021). Students used materials in Marshall University Special Collections to provide cultural context to these fascinating artifacts in the collection of the Marshall University Theatre Department. The goal of the assignment was to read a textile as one would read a text in order to understand the historical significance of clothing.

We would like to thank the Theatre Department, specifically Olivia Trees, as well as the Women’s and Gender Center for sponsoring this event. Thank you to Lori Thompson at Special Collections for her collaboration and creativity, and Kristen Vannatter in IT for her assistance.

FEELIN’ SO GATSBY FOR THAT WHOLE YEAR by Carlie Harrah	THE HUNTINGTON VICTORIAN GIRL by Hannah Liu	WOMEN’S CLOTHES AS NEW VOTERS by Amber Stone
BEADS OF SWEAT: THE LABOR-INTENSIVE BEADING DECOR OF 1920S FASHION by Ashton Webb	EVENINGS IN THE LATE EDWARDIAN AGE by Kendra Williams	MU THEATER DEPARTMENT ANTIQUE CLOTHING by Olivia Trees