Costume Society of America Celebrates its 50th National Annual Meeting and Symposium
It’s a wrap! Our 50th annual symposium in Washington, DC, has now become part of our history. The Grand Hyatt, in the heart of the city, was a fitting venue for this grand occasion. The hotel conference staff was enthusiastic about hosting our golden anniversary and was a pleasure to work with.
The Board of Directors met Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Participant events began Wednesday morning with a trip to Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. Onsite workshops allowed participants to learn about sewing for museums, teaching zero waste to design students, doing restorative research, examining Chanel suits and copies close-up, and doing hands-on fabric design. The George Washington Museum and The Textile Museum also hosted a workshop, the first of three events at that institution.
Founding members Elizabeth Ann Coleman and Elizabeth Jachimowicz led off the evening celebrations with the keynote beginning with “The Dark Ages” of the founding and how the Society grew. Grants, awards, and honors recipients were recognized (a full list can be found here), and then the group adjourned to food, beverages, music, and dancing.
Presentations began Thursday morning. Each day led off one of the grants, awards, and honors presentations in plenary session to bring us all together before we split up to visit one of four or five concurrent sessions. Thursday afternoon, attendees left the hotel for organized tours to Arena Stage, the DAR Museum, Ford’s Theatre, the Library of Congress, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Textile Museum, and a special added treat at the National Museum of American History. Our hosts and hostesses extended warm hospitality. Some stayed behind to meet CSA’s editors, while others went on their own to some of the many other museums in the area.
Meanwhile, the silent auction, ably directed by symposium co-chair Debbie Farthing and a crew of volunteers, got the massive donations organized in order for us to start bidding at noon. As usual, there were many treasures. A new feature was the cash and carry dollar table. We are pleased to say that these efforts yielded over $5,500—thanks go to all those who donated and purchased items. Later that day, student members met and then went out to dinner. Registrants were also invited to the Textile Museum for an evening lecture, “Three Centuries of Europe’s ‘Clouded’ Ikat Textiles,” by Martina D’Amato.
Friday featured the Creative Works Exhibition in addition to plenary and concurrent research sessions. In the evening, former First Lady Dolley Madison (aka living history interpreter Katherine Spivey) came to dine with a small group at the fundraising dinner.
Saturday morning, the Town Hall gave attendees a chance to express their concerns with newly installed President Leon Wiebers. As a result of this discussion, a task force is being assembled to review the DEAB language in symposium rubrics before the next call for abstracts is released this summer. If you have an interest in serving or a concern to add to this review, please let the national office know as soon as possible by sending an email to national.office@costumesocietyamerica.com.
The symposium came to a close at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. However, some attendees remained to get in one last museum visit or enjoy some of the vibrant nightlife.
Abstracts of this 50th Annual Meeting and Symposium can be downloaded on the members-only site. You can see some of the action as participants shared photos on social media with the hashtag, #CSA50th. If you attended and haven’t shared your photos yet, please take a moment to do so. We want to hear from you! Whether you attended this year’s symposium or not, please give us your thoughts by clicking here. Your feedback is valuable to us as we plan for the future.
We extend our sincere appreciation to our sponsors, Bloomsbury Publishing, DittoForm LLC Michigan, and UOVO Fashion all at the Silver Level; Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and Zephyr Preservation Studio, LLC at the Bronze Level; 2024 Angels Project sponsors University Products, Talas, Gaylord Archival, and Archival Methods; Creative Works Exhibition sponsors Marymount University, Arlington, VA, and Fashion Archives and Museum of Shippensburg University, PA. Thanks also to our marketplace participants and advertisers: Intellect Books, Past Crafts, Yale University Press, and Cora Ginsburg. Attendees also showed their individual support through sponsorships named after First Ladies’ Gowns. At the $500, Dolley Payne Todd Madison Level: Annie Pacious, Anne Sullivan Waskom, and Ann Wass. At the $200, Mary Todd Lincoln Level: Lalon Alexander, Theresa Alexander, Jennifer Tracz, and Polly Willman. At the $100, Lou Henry Hoover Level: June Burns Bové; Debbie Farthing; Margaret Ordoñez; and Sarah Stevens. At the $50, Mamie Doud Eisenhower Level: Elizabeth Ann Coleman, Mary Gibson, Marjorie Jonas, and Leigh Southward. At the $25, Rosalyn Smith Carter Level: Ann Braaten, Deborah Brothers, Jennifer Brown, Judi Dawainis, Michaele Haynes, Erin Howell-Gritsch, Deborah Miller, Nan H. Mutnick, Susan Picinich, Colleen Pokorny, Elizabeth Potter, Danielle Reeves, Claire Shaeffer, Arlesa Shephard, Constance Spotts, and Susan Yanofsky. At the $10, Nancy Davis Reagan Level: Heidi Cochran, Arti Sandhu, Jenise Sileo, and Michelle Tarantina.
We would like to express our immense gratitude for the hard work of our fantastic local arrangements team, led by the dynamic duo Co-Chairs: Ann Wass, Debbie Farthing; Hotel Site Visits: Tanya Wetenhall; Abstracts Co-Administrators: Theresa Alexander, Karin Bohleke; Abstracts Editor: Gail Alterman; Angels Project: Martha Grimm, Margaret Ordoñez; Keynote: Alden O’Brien, Ann Wass; First Timers/Member-to-Member Meet and Greet: Monica Sklar, Petra Slinkard; Student Meet and Greet: Dyese Matthews, Paige Tomfohrde; Reception Dance Leader: Jim Wass; Professional Development Workshops: Brian Centrone, Angel DuBose, Katrina Orsini; Scholars’ Roundtable: Jaleesa Reed, Ginger Stanciel; Creative Works Exhibition: Jean Parsons, Julia Ravindran; Tours: Howard Vincent Kurtz, Katherine Hill McIntyre, Megan Martinelli, Alden O’Brien, Katrina Orsini, Shelly Foote, Laura Johnson; Marketplace: Deborah Miller, Debbie Farthing; Silent Auction: Debbie Farthing, Heidi Cochrane, Charlene Gross, Polly Willman ; Fundraiser Event: Katherine Spivey, Ann Wass; Social Media: Katrina Orsini, Frank Gabriel New; Evaluations: Ann Wass; Volunteers: Mid-Atlantic Members and Friends. Special thanks go to the more than 30 abstract reviewers who made our symposium possible.
Next Year’s Plans
Next year, we will convene across the country in Los Angeles. CSA's Western Region will host the 51st National Annual Meeting and Symposium at Loyola Marymount University. Hope to see you there!
Images top row left to right:
The record number of Fellows who joined us for the festivities; Symposium Co-Chair Ann Wass in character as Ann Brodeau with Katherine Spivey as Dolley Madison at the Friday night fundraiser; Symposium Co-Chair Debbie Farthing, queen of the Silent Auction; Jeremy M. Bernardoni shows his work in the Creative Design Exhibition; attendees view rare books on the Library of Congress Tour
Images bottom row left to right:
Nadege Pierre, her mother, Sarah Hixson, Talia Spielholz, Monica Sklar, and Charlene Gross during their trip to the Library of Congress during the Thursday afternoon tours; Angels Project participants at The Howard County Historical Society in Ellicott City, Maryland; Howard Vincent Kurtz with the winners of the award that bears his name: Yee Lin Elaine Yuen (2022 winner), Mona Jahani (2023 winner), Kessler Jones (2024 winner)
