RI Beauty Expert: Daytripping for Fashionistas

RI Beauty Expert: Daytripping for Fashionistas

Everyone knows that New York is the hub of fashion in the USA and THE place for amazing costume exhibits. But what if you're taking a staycation this summer yet you still want to soak up some gorgeous fashion? Day trip to one of these more local museums and collections and feed your need for beauty, fashion, and textiles: 

Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence 

This Providence gem contains one of the very finest collections of historical dress in the country and it's right in the hood! The richness of their holdings span centuries and include Elizabethan needlework, Italian Renaissance textiles, French printed toile de Jouey, and fashions from acclaimed European and American designers. 

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South County Museum, Narragansett 

Both fascinating and charming, this little museum has long sought to preserve the heritage of Rhode Island's rural coastal life. Local donations have resulted in a fine collection of vintage wedding gowns (some of which are not white!) and day clothes. The Metz Exhibit Hall also has an impressive collection of fanciful and beribboned hats and accompanying hat boxes. 

Rough Point, Newport 

There is no doubt that heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke was an icon of fashion. Her Newport mansion, Rough Point, showcases her unusual taste in fashion. With her diverse interests in decorative arts well-displayed in her breathtaking gorgeous home, it's not difficult to see that she lived by her own lights. Duke's eclectic taste in furnishings, ceramics, and clothing is spellbinding. 

The University of Rhode Island, Kingstown 

URI's Historic Textile and Costume Collection is located in Quinn Hall on campus and contains almost 20,000 objects. The mission is to include both costumes and textiles from all over the world, right here in Rhode Island. Most of the holdings date back to the late 18th century which include clothing from local families and a fascinating study of everyday garments. If you want to know just what women wore, here is the place to find out. There is also a stunning sewing pattern archive where one can really sense what women home-sewed for their own personal wardrobes in the mid-20th century. Special appointments can be made. 

The Preservation Society of Newport

Newport's grand mansions provide much fodder for the fashionista's imagination with over 7,000 objects in its fashion arts collection. Elaborate ball gowns, bathing costumes, shoes, hats, fans, and parasols from a bygone era provide a unique window into the much-exalted Gilded Age summer cottages. Just gazing at a beautiful costume and studying its meticulous detail takes the breath away to think of the hard-working fingers that sewed clothing for the very richest Rhode Islanders. As well, The Preservation Society of Newport is well-represented with their online archives of past fashion exhibits.

Donna Macdonald is a freelance writer who enjoys covering topics of interest to women, especially fragrance, style, beauty. She has also written marketing material for a women's book that hit the New York Times Bestseller list and netted her an up close and personal discussion on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Donna currently writes her own personal blog, alovelyinconsequence.blogspot.com, where she also writes about issues close to a woman's heart. Donna believes that when a woman finds beauty in the world, she will find beauty in herself.