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The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education
Patton Hall
100 East Union St.
Athens, OH 45701-2979

The Mary C Doxsee Historic Clothing and Textile Collection

Various clothing items from collection

The Mary C. Doxsee Historic Clothing and Textiles Collection holds over 2,500 historical costume pieces that range from an 1820s day dress to 1920's scarab beetle hairpins to 1980's color-block tops and everything in between. The Doxsee Collection prides itself on being a teaching tool for individual student use, classroom presentations, community outreach, and other roles it is used for academic and community purposes.

Current Exhibitions

Winter/Spring 2025: Leisure Suits

 

Past Exhibitions

Clothing Curiosities & Fun Facts

WEDDING BOUQUETS...MORE REALISTIC THAN ROMANTIC

While the video discusses some of the lore surrounding weddings, there's quite a few traditions in weddings that have interesting origins; let's look a little closer at the flower bouquets...

None can doubt that bouquets are lovely in general, even more so at weddings, and are seen as part of the bride's outfit; many considerations and symbolic meanings can go into the bridal bouquet. From the color choices to the types of flowers, they are an integral part of the ceremony. This has been true throughout history as well, with brides carrying bouquets that were a little more utilitarian, yet still held symbolic meaning to the new couple. Ancient Greeks, Egyptians and others believed that carrying certain plants would ward off ill health and evil spirits. Sometimes the herbs would be part of the hairstyle, other times carried as a bouquet. Rosemary was for loyalty, dill was believed to increase lust, thyme and basil would be for luck and fertility and so on; there are a number of others as this practice crosses many cultural and ethnic historical backgrounds globally. The herbs could then be used in the wedding feast, dried and used at a later date or taken home to be planted in the garden. These beliefs and traditions for wedding bouquets carried through the Middle Ages all the way until the Victorian Era, when a young Queen Elizabeth carried a small bouquet of flowers instead of herbs for her wedding - thus setting another trend! 

Another interesting use of the bouquet can be seen as another one of its utilitarian features. While the wedding dresses of today serve a single purpose for the most part, they are not ripped to shreds as they were hundreds of years ago. During the Medieval Era in Europe, and most likely earlier, after the ceremony was over the bride would be chased by people that would rip the wedding dress apart and keep the pieces as part of a fertility ritual; not only for the new couple but for the people involved in the ripping. The dress pieces were seen as a sort of good luck. The flower bouquets that the brides would carry were thrown at the crowd chasing the bride as a sort of decoy to get people to chase that while the bride tried to get away.

Does it need mentioned that such pungent herbs were also used to possibly mask any odor as well? Whether or not a bouquet has flowers, herbs, or other plants like ferns, it is still seen as an integral part of the bridal ceremony today - albeit, more decorative than utilitarian. It is still an investment for a young couple, with the average price of a bouquet these days in the $200 range.

Resources

  • We are currently working to modernize the collection for use by Ohio University students, faculty as well as the global online community - check back soon for links and updates!

What We Do

The Mary C. Doxsee Historic Clothing and Textile Collection is a proud addition to the Retail and Fashion Merchandising program here at the Patton College of Education. We strive to be a learning tool for students, faculty as well as the general public. Since the Doxsee Collection is a museum collection we also seek to preserve history/culture through clothing and dress items. There are over 2,500 items in the collection that range from an 1820s day dress to 1920's scarab beetle hair pins to 1980s color-block tops and everything in between. The Doxsee Collection prides itself on being a teaching tool for individual student use, classroom presentations, community outreach, and other roles it is used for academic and community purposes. 

History

Mary C. Doxsee Historic Clothing and Textile Collection began as a passion for Ms. Doxsee, who was a professor in the Home Economics department here at Ohio University. Her interest in clothing and textiles was well-known and faculty, students, and community members from around the area would offer her items to use as teaching tools in her class or just to keep to show students. Her husband, Gifford Doxsee, was a professor of Middle Eastern/North African studies and when he traveled to that area of the world he also brought back textiles and clothing for her to add to the growing collection. Eventually, when Mary retired in the early 1980s the collection was named in her honor and is still used as a teaching tool at Ohio University for present and future generations of students.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Mary C. Doxsee Collection is to educate students and the interested public about dress and textiles of historical significance. The Doxsee Collection is a repository for examples of historical dress and textiles. The mission includes a focus on the education and conservation, preservation, and restoration of dress and textiles through consultation and direct

Contact

Trina Gannon
Doxsee Collection
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Retail and Fashion Merchandising
Patton Hall 123