|
|
 |
|
|
Rachel: What kind of skills would a girl need to do your job?
Robin: Part of what you'd need are people skills, like patience. You're dealing with students on a day-to-day basis. That means answering questions and being interrupted a lot. And no matter what you're doing, the students come first. You also need a background in costume history and costume construction. You need to be able to catalogue any costume that comes in. You have to know what year that costume is from and what fabrics that costume is made of. You need to know how a garment is put together. You'll also need sewing and reconstruction skills in order to repair costumes. And you need museum archival skills.. Rachel: What kind of sewing skills would a girl need? Robin: You would have to be able to reconstruct a garment, by hand if need be. Think about what you would do if a costume came in to be placed on exhibit and one armhole was torn out and the fabric was shredded?
You have to be able to look at that garment and figure out how to repair it and what it will take to make it useable for your exhibit. The trick is, that repair can't be noticeable and it can't change the value or the look of the costume.
So, I use a wide range of hand sewing techniques. That's because, very often, couture garments are constructed by hand. And certainly, many historical garments were constructed by hand. And a lot of those sewing techniques are lost arts.
Rachel: Okay, what's a museum archival skill? What's that all about?
Robin: An archivist knows how to store garments and what is the best method of storing each individual item. For instance, some items are better off hanging on a padded hangar. Some items are better off laid flat in acid free tissue, in metal drawers. Some are best kept laid flat in acid free boxes with enough air around them so that they don't get squashed. To keep everything in shape, there are a number of choices you have to know how to make when you're storing the garments.
Rachel: What kind of teaching skills do you need?
Robin: You have to be able to prepare lectures and handouts and answer students questions. Part of it is knowing your costume history. Let's say a student comes to you with a project and wants to know what happened in this time period, what this garment looked like, and what a specific undergarment looked like. You have to know not only what it looked like and how to draw it, but also where to find background information on that garment.
Rachel: What kind of advice can you give to a girl who wants to do your job?
Robin: Learn everything you can about costumes and sewing. Learn everything you can about fashion. Read everything you can on costume history, or any history book. History and fashion are very tightly linked.
 |
 |
 |
 
|
Angela
& Gina's Room |
Brigid
& Kayla's Room |
Christine
& Erika's Room |
Lauren
& Sarada's Room | Circle of Friends PenPal Club | Site Map |
|
Since 1996, your space on the web : written and edited by girls and teens from all over the world. Media Kit Feedback Newsletter Write FOR us Contact Us |
|
Copyright © 2006 A Girl's World Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|
