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Skidmore College
First-Year Experience

Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description

20th Century Apparel in the United States

Instructor(s): Betty Balevic, Management & Business

How has history helped shape the dress of contemporary men, women, and children?  Through critical reading, films, expert speakers, and field trips, students will examine the social, cultural, economic, artistic, and technological forces that have helped shape apparel in the US through the 20th Century and beyond.  Students will explore American dress from 1898 to 2008 to identify the conformists and rebels of every era: from the Arrow Collar Man and the Gibson Girl to bell-bottom-clad hippies and Jackie Kennedy.  Students will also consider influences from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Coursework will also focus on changes in manufacturing, marketing, and retailing, from the US sweatshops of yesterday to the internet shopping of today. 

Course Offered