By Tony Cappasso
This is the second post that Tony had done on Strawbery Banke for us. See the first here: Strawbery Banke.
Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire was home to a thriving community from the 1600s until the 1950s. For much of that time, the city was the fourth busiest port in the United States.
Ship captains and merchants had access to the trendiest goods from abroad, from spices for their food, to shoes for their feet. Those with the money to do so took advantage of the window on the larger world opened by this thriving seaport.
All this season, The Strawbery Banke Museum is hosting “Thread, Stories of Fashion at Strawbery Banke from 1740 to 2012.”
The exhibition displays more than two dozen fashionable items, from high-toned, high-heeled shoes made in the mid-1700s to men’s and women’s bathing costumes al la 1920 to a 1954 prom dress.
Using the older items as their inspiration, modern fashion designers in London, Boston, New York, St. Louis and elsewhere were asked to produce current versions of the classics displayed in Thread. So, the high-heeled dress shoe from the early 1800s is flanked by the two modern dress shoes inspired by it.
The exhibition is in the spread across the entire ten-acres of Strawbery Banke, including in the Rowland Gallery and six of the restored historic houses on the site.
The Thread exhibition began on May 1 and extends through October 31, 2012.
About the Author
Tony Cappasso is the author of the e-book America’s Highway: A Journey of Discovery Along US Route 1 in which he recounts his journey from Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida. You can learn more about Tony on his website Americas Highway US Route 1, and his Facebook page.
