PORT TOWNSEND — Historic versions of the little black dress will be on view at the Rothschild House Museum until it closes for the season Sept. 30.
The black dresses on display at the museum, the only Victorian house museum in Port Townsend, range from elegant 19th century evening gowns to a 1920s flapper chemise of black satin.
The exhibit will end when the season closes, said Phyllis Snyder, Rothschild House manager.
“Black Dresses” comes from the textile collection of the Jefferson County Historical Society, which manages the museum at 418 Taylor St., Port Townsend.
Exhibit designer Becky Schurmann creates a new textile exhibit in the Rothschild House every year from the historical society’s collection.
The historical society has an extensive textile collection, “but many of the pieces are too fragile to be on long-term display, so these shorter exhibits are perfect,” Schurmann said.
The clothing is displayed on the main floor of the house and covers the span of time from the late 1880s to the 1950s.
The historic home was built in 1868 for D.C.H. Rothschild, a prominent Port Townsend merchant. It is furnished with artifacts original to the Rothschild family, and is now a state park.
The Rothschild House is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m..
Admission is $4 for adults and $1 for children from 3 to 12.
Group rates are available by prior arrangement by phoning 360-385-1003.
Admission is free for historical society members and on the first Saturday of each month for Jefferson County residents.
For more information, see www.jchsmuseum.org/index.html.
