Clothing
: Costume Design
: Dressing for the Occasion
By Mary Miley Theobald
|
 |
 |
When it became obvious that costuming a tour guide was more complicated than stitching up a dress,
a permanent in-house costume department was proposed. Mrs. H.G. Cooley, the local seamstress
who had sewed the first gowns in her home on Jamestown Road, agreed to become
its supervisor. The cost per dress was pegged at $30.00.
Over the next few months, an enthusiastic Chorley added gaolers, janitors, coachmen, laundry and
kitchen workers, and waiters to the list of employees who would work in costume.
"It would seem inconsistent to omit the costumes of the period which, after all, were one of the most
colorful and important adjuncts to the life of that day. . . Williamsburg has a wider
scope than that of being an architectural and historical Restoration. Other
phases of eighteenth-century life, as well as the historical events and the
buildings in which they occurred, played an important part."
Chorley backed his words with action. In less than two years, 53 employees were wearing costumes and
two seamstresses and two laundresses were busy serving them.
"In the past, costuming in this country has been more for effect than for accuracy," Chorley wrote.
It would not be that way at Colonial Williamsburg. "The Restoration has made
a careful study of old costumes, prints, portraits, and records dealing with
18th century dress both in this country and abroad in order that the costumes
worn in the Exhibition Buildings should be accurate in every possible detail."
To back up the costume program, Curator James Cogar began purchasing articles of antique clothing to
use as models.
| 
Historic Triangle