WHAT CAN ARTIFACTS TELL US ABOUT HISTORY?

A look at gender roles and attire

Gender & Attire What do the clothes that a person wears

tell us about the time, place, and society in which they live?

Can you tell by looking at clothing, the time period in which it was worn?

Dress #1: Take a Guess…

What can you guess about the woman who wore the dress?

When do you think it was worn?

Dress # 2: What do you think?

How does the length and silhouette of this dress influence our feelings about the girl wearing it?

Dress # 3: And this one???

Who was this

woman?

Dress # 4

What does this dress tell us about morals?

Dress # 5?

What did it mean to be beautiful in this time?

Now for the men… While most societies have historically

given men dominance over women, what it means to be a man has changed over time.

From the following, can you tell how masculinity and manhood was defined in each historical time period?

Item # 1 What can you tell

about this man from his clothing?

Was he rich or poor?

Men’s # 2 What are the

expectations of masculinity based on this man’s clothing?

Men’s Clothing # 3

What about those pants? YIKES!

Men’s clothing # 4 How important is this

man?

Do you think he really needs that cane to walk?

Men’s Clothing # 5 What about

the man who wears this?