Our Mission
The History of Dress. The Future of Fashion.
Costume Society of America
Our Mission
The Costume Society of America unites scholars, creators, educators, and advocates to preserve, explore, and share global dress practices through innovative research, publication, design, and community engagement.
About
The Costume Society of America (CSA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded on March 23, 1973, and incorporated in the state of New York on September 12, 1973.
CSA serves it members, and promotes its goals with national symposia and publications including the journal
Dress and its monthly electronic newsletter CSA
e-News.
The organization began forming regional groups in 1978. There are six regional groups in the United States and Canada, and one international group. Individual regions hold annual meetings, sponsor programs and publish newsletters.
Overview
CSA serves individuals, students, institutions, and libraries. Our primary membership consists of individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, both generalist and specialist, who share a passion for the history and serious study of costume. We seek members who are involved in the study, education, collection, and preservation, presentation, and interpretation of dress and appearance in our past, present, and future. Our purposes are:
To encourage study and advance scholarship in the rich and diverse field of costume (such as dress, fashion, appearance, performance), including hidden, overlooked, and marginalized topics.
To function as a respected and vital organization that provides education, mentorship, and networking resources for our members.
To promote communication and collaboration among designers, costumers, makers, museum professionals, conservators, academics, librarians, archivists, private collectors, appraisers, reenactors, historians, and enthusiasts.
To disseminate information on costume to the field and the public through symposia, educational programs, publications, digital engagement, and philanthropic initiatives.
To support and showcase excellence in the field through grants, awards, and honors
Statement on the Preservation of Costume
CSA acknowledges that clothing is designed and created to be worn. However, with age or associations, clothing takes on particular values and meanings and deserves special care and consideration. The wearing of articles of attire inevitably exposes them to dangers of damage and deterioration; these dangers increase with the age and/ or fragility of such articles. Therefore, CSA encourages persons and organizations charged with the preservation of costume to prohibit the wearing or modeling of articles intended for preservation. Further, CSA discourages any action which alters the original state of such articles. Since any information related to the provenance, condition, and treatment of costume enhances the understanding, meaning, and value of an article of adornment, CSA strongly urges that all such information should be collected and made available when that article is transferred to another party.