CSA E-News
Volume 2 No. 15
November 1, 2003 Edition
Costume Society of America
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com


CONTENTS:
1.  Board of Directors Fall Meeting
2.  New Officers Elected
3.  First "CSA Series" Book Featured on Website
4.  Call for Papers: Pleats Conference in Greece
5.  Claire Shaeffer Honored
6.  Louisiana Royalty
7.  Technology Updates
8.  Holiday Shopping!
9.  Fashion Legends and Legacies
10. Membership Survey Results


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1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS FALL MEETING

The CSA Board of Directors and Executive Committee met in
October in Minneapolis, MN for their annual fall meeting.
Results of the membership survey taken this summer were
discussed and analyzed for ways to serve the membership more
effectively and efficiently. [See item #10 in this E-News.]
Also on the agenda, the program for the 2004 Annual Meeting
and Symposium in Houston and the announcement that the 2005
National Symposium will be held in Philadelphia, hosted by
the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Drexel University and Region
II. The invitation to Philadelphia was extended by Region II
President Kristina Haugland, announcing that Barbara Darlin
of Swarthmore College has agreed to co-chair the meeting.
Charlotte Hall Hamilton was announced as the new National
Symposia Chair and Joy Emery, past President, reported on
her ongoing project of updating the Policies & Procedures
document.

The weekend Board of Directors business meeting was
interlaced with enjoyable and informative visits to museums
and collections in Minneapolis and St. Paul, for first-hand
learning from the CSA members hosting the visits.

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2. NEW OFFICERS ELECTED

The slate of new officers for the CSA Executive Committee
was announced by the nomination committee and voted on by
the Board of Directors at the board meeting last month. They
are: Kay King (Region VII), President-Elect; Jacqueline
Field (Region I), Secretary (2nd term); Caralee Smith
(Region VII), Treasurer; Vicki Berger (Region VII), Vice
President of Education & Programs. Their two-year term of
office will begin in May 2004. Jo Ann Stabb (Region V) was
elected to fill the last year term of office of the Vice
President of Awards & Honors when current VP, Kay King,
begins her new post next year. Congratulations and thanks to
you all!

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3. FIRST "CSA SERIES" BOOK FEATURED ON WEBSITE

A. THE BOOK: "A Separate Sphere: Dressmakers in Cincinnati's
Golden Age 1877-1922" by CSA member Cynthia Amneus is the
first book in the "CSA Series" in partnership with Texas
Tech University Press. All publications in the CSA Series
are available at a member discount from the CSA National
Office. Call 800-272-9447 or 410-275-1619 for details.
The book is also now available on Amazon.com and is reviewed
as the featured Book-of-the-Month in our Online Bookstore at
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/Bookstore/index.html
The review is by CSA members Phyllis Specht, CSA Series
Editor, and Judith Keeling of TTUP. Also to note, Region III
member Anne Bissonnette contributed an essay in the book on
the subject of tea gowns.

B. THE EXHIBITION: The exhibition of "A Separate Sphere"
opened last month in Cincinnati to rave reviews. This from
Louise Benner and Dale Liles, Region VI members who visited
the exhibit and attended the Region III Symposium in
October:

"The exhibition curated by Cindy Amneus at the Cincinnati
Art Museum, 'A Separate Sphere: Dressmakers in Cincinnati's
Golden Age 1877-1922,' exceeded the expectations raised for
us by the preview at the National Symposium in Charleston.
Beautiful dresses -- beautifully mounted -- illustrated the
success of the Cincinnati dressmakers who, for various
reasons, expanded their 'separate sphere' of home and
children to the profession of dressmaking and the wider
world of commerce."
To begin a virtual tour of the exhibition, click here:
http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.com/separatesphere/index.html

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4. CALL FOR PAPERS: PLEATS CONFERENCE IN GREECE

The Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation of Greece, aiming to
create an international landmark in the field of
costume-study, is planning a four-day International
Conference on the subject of the sartorial convention of
antique and contemporary types of wrapped and pleated
garments. "Ptychosis: From Ancient Greek Dress to
21st-Century Fashion" is scheduled for June 22-25, 2004 and
will coincide with the grand opening of an exhibition of the
same name. (The word "ptychosis" originates from an ancient
Greek verb which means to fold, drape and pleat.) A call for
papers with a deadline of November 28, 2003 is announced.
Contact person is Dr. Marlen Mouliou at
mailto:mmouliou@otenet.gr. The exhibition, part of the
official 2001-2004 program of the Cultural Olympiad, will be
hosted at the Benaki Museum in Athens from June 21, 2004
until October, 2004. For more information about the exhibit,
see http://www.pli.gr/

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5. CLAIRE SHAEFFER HONORED

CSA member and author Claire Shaeffer was recently awarded
the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Professional
Association of Custom Clothiers (PACC) at its annual
conference. Claire's latest book "Sew Any Fabric" will be
released this month. Claire teaches couture workshops in
Palm Springs, CA. Contact her at
mailto:sewfari@earthlink.net. For more information about
PACC, contact their national office at 877-755-0303.

And just confirmed! Claire will be presenting one of the
Pre-Symposium Workshops at the 2004 CSA Symposium in
Houston. In addition to Claire's "What Makes the Haute in
Haute Couture" Workshop, there will be an array of workshops
to choose from on Wednesday morning May 26. Stay tuned for
more information! For Symposium info, see
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/natsym.html

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6. LOUISIANA ROYALTY

A. EMPRESS JOSEPHINE IN BATON ROUGE: An exhibition at the
Louisiana Art & Science Museum in Baton Rouge opened last
month entitled "Josephine, Le Grand Amour de Napoleon," and
will continue through February 1, 2004. The exhibition draws
on collections of Malmaison, Josephine's home outside of
Paris, and from private collections. Most of the objects on
display have never been publicly exhibited and include
several pieces of clothing and jewelry from her renowned
wardrobe. The exhibition is part of the Bicentennial

Celebration of the Louisiana Purchase and this is its final
showing.

CSA Board Member Mark Hutter of Colonial Williamsburg was
asked to create the wardrobe worn by Deborah Elder, the
interpreter who portrayed Josephine at the opening
reception! See http://www.empressjosephine.net/ for more
exhibition details. Mark reports that there is a beautiful
exhibition catalogue that can be ordered for those of us not
able to attend the exhibit!

B. THE CROWN JEWELS: "Crown Jewels of Carnival," curated by
New Orleans designer and author Henri Schindler, opens at
the Louisiana State Museum's Presbytere in New Orleans on
December 5, 2003 and runs through December 5, 2004. Crowns,
scepters, cups, and bejeweled mantles adorned the Carnival's
masked gods, bearded kings, and lovely debutante queens
during their reign. CSA member Wayne Phillips, Curator of
Costumes and Textiles at LSM, tells us that this exhibition
presents a fabulous collection of royal jewels from the
Golden Age of Mardi Gras, from the early 1870s to 1930. See
the website at http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/

SPECIAL NOTE! The preview opening of the exhibit on the
evening of December 4 will be a CSA Region VI mini-meeting,
and Henri Schindler, the Guest Curator, will be in
attendance. Contact Wayne for more info at
mailto:wphillips@crt.state.la.us.

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7. TECHNOLOGY UPDATES

A. NEW WEBMASTER ANNOUNCED: Kathi Martin, CSA VP of
Technology, is most pleased to announce that Thomas Mitchell
of Literae Interactive Design will be maintaining the CSA
website as well as working with her website team on some
redesign of the site. Literae Interactive his the web
development company that designed the Textile Society's
beautiful new website. Great news, Kathi, and many thanks
for your creative and diligent work!

B. MANAGING EDITOR: CSA E-News Editor, Cornelia Powell, is
delighted to announce that Jean Parsons of Iowa State
University is now the "Managing Editor" of the E-News. Jean
will manage the copyediting and the distribution of our
electronic newsletter. Welcome and thanks to Jean! Please
send any suggestions you have for the CSA E-News to Cornelia
at mailto:cpowell@corneliapowell.com or to Jean at
mailto:jparsons@MAIL.FCS.IASTATE.EDU. Thanks!

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8. HOLIDAY SHOPPING!

A. ORDER YOUR CALENDARS: Don't forget that the 2004 Historic
Fashions Calendar "The Wedding Dress" is available at a 25%
discount price to CSA members. Call the National Office for
more information: 800-272-9447. Order now for holiday gifts
and to support CSA publication projects!

B. WEBSITE BOOKSTORE: You will be benefiting CSA if you
order *any* books, videos or CDs for holiday gifts by
*clicking through* the CSA Website Amazon.com Bookstore!
Click on the Amazon.com logo on the CSA Website -- home page
or Bookstore page -- and you're in! Shopping is easy and a
portion of each sale benefits CSA's scholarships, programs
and grants. Click here:
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/Bookstore/index.html

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9. FASHION LEGENDS AND LEGACIES

New York University's fifth annual fashion conference,
"Fashion Legends and Legacies," is December 4-7, 2004 in
NYC. The conference affirms the importance of legendary
figures in the fashion world and the vitality of their
legacies. CSA members Harold Koda, curator at The Costume
Institute, and Valerie Steele, director at The Museum at
FIT, will be among the presenters -- joining Eleanor
Lambert, Grace Mirabella, Zandra Rhodes and John Loring. For
more information, to request a brochure, or to register, go
to:
http://www.scps.nyu.edu/about/article.jsp?artId=10041 or call
212-998-7130.

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10. MEMBERSHIP SURVEY RESULTS

The results of the CSA Membership Survey taken this summer
are being printed in the Fall issue of "CSA News" due out
this month. One of the findings of the survey was that some
members were not aware of certain membership benefits, even
though many members found the same benefits useful. Some of
these benefits were the CSA Website, CSA E-News, and CSA
Website link to Amazon.com. If any of you have suggestions
on ways to enhance the promotion of these benefits, please
email your ideas to the National Office at
mailto:national.office@costumesocietyamerica.com

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