Costume, Fashion & Textile Dictionary

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The Costume, Fashion & Textile Dictionary provides definitions and history within these three and other related industries. Today, the Dictionary includes 456 definitions and 208 webpages. The sections “A” through “G” are open for our online Library subscribers to use. Non-subscribers may view the indexes for these sections at no charge. Click here subscribe to our online Costume Research Library. More sections of the Dictionary will be added frequently.

In 2003, The Costume Gallery’s online Research Library became a subscription based service. Since that date, I have challenged our Library subscribers to learn one new fashion-history related term a day. To learn history, one must know the terms used during specific eras. Our subscribers receive a daily newsletter with a definition for the day. It is a lot easier to learn one definition a day, than be bomb-barded with thousands of new terms. Our subscribers have encouraged me to place these definitions online as a resource.

An example of this clarification need for dictionary: During the 19^th Century a “waist” refers to a ladies’ bodice. Today, the word refers to a waistline. In our Dictionary when a period term carries a different modern interpretation, brackets [ ] will follow the term with an explanation. Example: waist [bodice.]

Our Dictionary’s definitions include an 1894 book, “Cole’s Dictionary of Dry Goods.” A partial definition of dry goods from the book:

“Textile fabrics, and related articles of trade; as, cloth, shawls, wraps, ready-made garments, blankets, ribbons, thread, yarn, hosiery, millinery, etc., in distinction from hardware, groceries, etc. In this sense the term is used almost exclusively in the United States, though not, as generally supposed, a term of American origin. ”

Cole’s was used by various professionals in the dry goods industry including retailers, wholesalers, forecasters, manufacturers, tailors, etc.

My father’s Grandfather, Samuel E. Usher, owned a dry goods store in Lancaster County, South Carolina from 1890s-1902. I have a copy of his store’s inventory of goods and the previous dry goods definition holds true to his merchandise. I came from a long line of ancestors in the fashion & textile industries in the U.S. My mother’s grandfather owned a dry goods store in southern Alabama. In the early 20^th Century, my Grandmother Della and aunts worked in a cotton mill. My father’s first childhood home was owned by the Standard Mills in Rock Hill, South Carolina and it was termed, a mill house. Grandmother Della was a spinner and weaver at the Standard Mill. Many of my ancestors grew cotton for the local textile mills during the 19^th Century. Our Dictionary presentation is to honor their hard work and the thousands of people who have toiled in the textile and fashion related industries in the past and present.

The difference in our presentation of Cole’s Dictionary is that it has been edited and all hand-typed by me and our assistants. Cole’s Dictionary had some typos and very lengthy paragraphs that would go on for a page or two. I broke the lengthy paragraphs and formatted topics and sub-topics for ease in reading and navigation. A good reason why Cole’s needed formatting is because some definitions are so long and detailed that not everyone would want to know explicit details of a term, such as, how to plant cotton in the 19^th Century. But if you did what to know how to plant cotton in the late 19^th Century the information has topic and sub-topic, From the Field to the Factory: Field. If you only wanted to know how cotton was manufactured, one can click on the topic, Factory. The extensive tables in the book have also been formatted for ease in viewing for the reader.

Our online Dictionary is being presented in Abode Acrobat Reader 8. The Reader is available for free download. Our Dictionary is fully searchable and indexed. Each letter of the alphabet has an index. Readers with visual impairment may also enlarge the text with this software.

I would like to thank all the people who have made it possible for this massive Dictionary possible. Our devoted subscribers, Costume Classroom students, who have offered encouragement to build the Dictionary and their financial support so we could purchase software, equipment, and reference books. Our advertisers whose support has assisted in keeping the Library subscription price low so that all could afford subscriptions. In an economy where everyone is raising prices, our Library subscription rates were lowered because of our advertisers. Many, many thanks to our interns of 5+ years, who have typed and worked on webpage design and images. Their work has been a beacon of devotion and a labor of love for anything related to past fashions. Lastly, and most important, much appreciation to my family…my husband, Joe, whose hair has become a little grayer while putting the Dictionary in a user-friendly software and making sure of the format is consistent. My sister, Della, has been working with the advertisers and proof-reading behind me. My six kids who have been so patient and supportive for the past 12 years as Mom has worked on the computer. My daughter, the youngest, when little would go to sleep in my lap, while I worked. And finally my Mom! She taught me to sew at age four, gave me her love for fashion, perfectionism, and business sense. She can not physically work with the Gallery websites, she still asks every time that we chat, “How’s the business doing?” She was our bookkeeper for years.

Many people have come together to provide this Dictionary online. We all hope that learn more than you ever dreamed!

Warmest regards!

Penny E. Dunlap Ladnier

Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites

The Costume, Fashion & Textile Dictionary, www.costumedictionary.com is a division of

The Costume Gallery Websites and is owned by Penny E. Dunlap Ladnier.

Disclaimer: This Dictionary is being presented as an educational resource of the fashion and textile industries during this specific time eras. This publication text’s spelling or grammar may not appear to be correct, but were standard for the original publication date in the 19^th Century. The Costume Gallery Websites, or its owner, Penny E. Dunlap Ladnier, does NOT sell or make sewing patterns or costumes. This website and its contents may NOT be downloaded to your computer, but you do have permission to print one copy of this webpages. Copyright, 1996-2008, The Costume Gallery Websites. Questions??? Email, click HERE.