Virtual Event: Fall of the American Dressmaker (Far Hills Speaker Series)

Thank you to everyone who attended this Far Hills Speaker Series virtual lecture.  If you missed it, you can view the recording.  Angela's dresses are on display in the library through August 28.

Wright Public Library and the Oakwood Historical Society present a summer Far Hills Speaker Series virtual event, The Fall of the American Dressmaker presented by Angela Cramer-Reichelderfer.  The event will take place as a Zoom webinar.  Please register here to attend.  If you have not used Zoom before, you will be prompted to install the Zoom client.  Additional help is available here.   

During America's Progressive Era, the dressmaking and millinery trades offered women unique employment and entrepreneurial opportunities and a real alternative to both middle-class domesticity and the working-class wage. As women became more socially visible through their pursuits in education, employment, and sport, their clothing and headwear began to reflect their active lifestyles. Consequently, women's journey toward female emancipation post-Civil War set in motion the dramatic decline of the very trades – dressmaking and millinery – which gave the women who worked them social influence, professional respect, and economic independence.

About the speaker:  Angela Reichelderfer has spent her career in banking; however, she has always pursued her interest in public history. In 2019 Angela received her Master's degree in public history from Wright State University. Angela is also a dressmaker and milliner.