Curator Linda Baumgarten
Colonial Williamsburg is recognized worldwide for its interpretive history programming, museum collections and scholarship in 18th century fashion.
Linda Baumgarten, Curator of Textiles and Costumes, oversees the collection housed at the Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Center. Most of the collection dates to the 18th century and it includes representative examples from the 19th century. Only about 10 percent of the museum’s holdings are from Virginia.
Garments and accessories in the collection are for men, women and children. All are kept in three storerooms housed at the museum and at the Bruton Heights School Education Center. Costumes rotate on and off exhibit, depending on the theme of the current exhibit.
Helping bring history to life through clothing, the Costume Design Center fabricates and provides working clothes for costumed interpreters and professionals in the shops, trades and interpretive programs in Millinery, Tailoring and Wigmaking fill out the story of what people wore in Williamsburg.
Learn more about clothing and costumes
Overview of 18th Century Clothing
Historic Threads online exhibit
Article: Dressing for the Occasion
Articles: The Milliner’s Shop and the Tailor
What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America
Listen to “Fashion Accessories from Head to Toe” podcast
Listen to “Clothing Speaks” podcast
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