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Student Perspectives

   

Involvement & Interest

There has been consistent student interest in the collection since it began. Over the years, many students have completed internships and research projects surrounding the collection. Therefore, to gain a better understanding of how the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection exists on campus, student viewpoints are also necessary. 

In order to gather student feedback for this project, I made a Google Form. In an effort to collect data from a variety of students, I posted this survey in my house group chat as well as on my personal social media. 

Students were asked: 

  • Do you know anything about the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection?
    • If yes, what do you know?
  • Have you taken a class that used the collection as part of its curriculum? 
    • If yes, what class and do you think it was beneficial? 
  • Would you take a course focused around the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection? 
  • Would you be interested in learning more about the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection? 
    • If yes, what would you like to know? 
  • If Smith were to establish a Center for the Study of Historic Dress, would you be interested in visiting and interacting with the space?

Do you know anything about the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection?

If yes, what do you know?

In general, even students who responded “yes” to having knowledge of the collection still knew very little. Most students who knew of the collection simply knew that Smith had a collection of historic clothing and that it has some relation to the theatre department. A few responses mentioned a connection to Professor Kiki Smith, acknowledging her role as the steward of the collection. Only one student referenced the specifics of the collection as an archive of women’s clothing.

Student Responses:

  • “Collects historic clothing mainly worn by women, especially more middle class and working women. Located in the basement of Mendenhall.” 
  • “Honestly I know we have it but I’ve only ever heard of it in reference to the class Kiki teaches! Wish it was more accessible to students!”
  • “I know that it exists and is very extensive, and I attended a friend’s final class presentation on an outfit from the collection once, but that’s it!”
  • “That it exists”
  • “I know that Kiki Smith runs it, and that it’s somehow tied to the theater department”
  • “It is one of the largest collections of historic clothing in the country, the head of the collection is Kiki Smith”
  • “I’ve heard that Smith does have a historic clothing collection, but I am not sure what it actually is. My thoughts were that it was a part of the theatre department.” 
  • “It is managed by Kiki Smith.”
  • “We have a collection of articles of clothing that are centuries old.” 
  • “I worked three for a summer so I’m pretty familiar with the ins and outs”
  • “It exists and lives in the Mendenhall basement with Kiki Smith as the curator.”

Have you taken a class at Smith that used the collection as part of its curriculum?

If yes, what class and do you think it was beneficial?

Student Responses: 

  • “Reading Dress with Kiki Smith. Yes, I greatly enjoyed researching these “everyday” garments and connecting with women’s history through clothing.” 
  • “ANT 281, modern material culture; I think it was a cool addition to the class but we really only spend a day on it. Plus it was a zoom class so we couldn’t visit in person.” 
  • “I went to Mendenhall once for my FYS. We were shown past articles of clothing dating back to the nineteenth century. Yes, it was an enriching experience.” 
  • “Reading the Dress and yes very beneficial”

Would you take a course focused around the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection?

Would you be interested in learning more about the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection?

If yes, what would you like to know?

Overall, students expressed interest in learning more about the contents of the collection and how Smith came to acquire the objects. Students seem to know very little about where the garments came from or their connection to Smith students and alumnae. This feedback was surprising as these questions seem to be about foundational information about the collection which is relatively accessible. Students consistently expressed interest in learning more about the collection.

Student Responses: 

  • “Where are the clothes from, why are they here?” 
  • “I would like to know more about how the pieces were acquired and how they will be displayed and used in the future.” 
  • “Literally everything! Would love to know the range of time periods and locations we have garments from, or if we have any particularly unique pieces” 
  • “What types of clothing it has and from which time periods; why it was established; if it’s still actively collecting or not (and if so, what kinds of things is the collection looking for?) 
  • “Where the clothes come from and the stories/relevance associated with them” 
  • “How the collection was acquired, if active collecting is happening, what kinds of clothing are represented in the collection” 
  • “Everything! What kinds of garments do they have, how did they get them, how do they preserve them, expansion? Etc.” 
  • “What’s the oldest piece in the collection? Is there information about the people who wore the clothes?” 
  • “I just want to explore it more!” 
  • “What is going on!”
  • “What it is”
  • “I’d like to know what it is and what you can learn from the collection – can you see the clothes? What kinds of clothes are in the collection? From where? All around the globe? Or just clothes from a certain place and era?” 
  • “More details about what’s in it, where it’s located, what it’s used for/its purpose”
  • “The history of how it came to be!”
  • “How old it is, how to get involved with it, more about period dress in general”

If Smith were to establish a Center for the Study of Historic Dress, would you be interested in visiting and interacting with the space?