Blouse

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is from a collection of textiles, regional costume, and related objects originally owned by Morris de Camp (M.D.C.) Crawford, editor of "Women's Wear Daily" from 1915 to 1949, and advisor to the Brooklyn Museum for much of that time. From 1920 to 1929 Crawford collaborated with Stewart Culin, Brooklyn Museum Curator of Ethnology from 1903 to 1929, to unite the fashion industry and museum community in the study of costume and textiles. Crawford believed strongly in the importance of using museum collections for design research, and worked tirelessly to promote this idea both in his work at "W.W.D." and in an advisory capacity with Brooklyn and other museums including the American Museum of Natural History, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. After Culin's death in 1929, Crawford continued to collaborate with other Brooklyn Museum personnel. His work culminated in the opening of the Edward C. Blum Design Laboratory at the museum in 1948. Included in Crawford's collection are many regional pieces, which he believed to be particularly rich for inspiration.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art