Clothing center offers historical Nevada items
“Clothes make the man (or woman). Naked people have little or no influence in society.” — Mark Twain When first lady Dawn Gibbons decided to donate her inaugural gown, much of the news coverage surrounded the gown’s cost. Seemingly lost in the debate was an in-depth discussion of a great Nevada resource located in Carson City.
Under the direction of the Nevada State Museum and Nevada Historical Society, the Marjorie Russell Clothing and Textile Research Center is both a repository for more than 10,000 artifacts and a first-class research facility. Created in 1992, the center was the inspiration of the late former Nevada First Lady Marjorie Russell, who was a strong supporter of the collection. Russell was the wife of the late Nevada governor Charles Russell.
A group of local appraisers and I recently had the opportunity to tour the facility with its textile curator, Jan Loverin. We learned that the collection’s strength is its women’s collection, which contains an 18th-century gown as well as dozens, if not hundreds of hats, gowns worn by other Nevada first ladies, turn-of-the-century ready-to-wear, entertainment costumes from the state’s gaming industry and more than eight decades of 20th century women’s fashions.
Check out a black beaded evening dress. It’s decorated with silver seed and bugel beads that radiate from the center front in a sunburst effect. The dress dates to circa 1920. Or what about a beautiful two-piece silk wedding dress dating to 1897? The inaugural gowns range from those worn by first lady Idelle Balzar in the 1920s and ’30s to those worn by Dema Guinn and Dawn Gibbons. But lest you think this is all about women’s clothing, the collection also includes a pair of former Gov.