History of Clothing in the Pajaro Valley

1940’s Velvet Suit & U.S. Army Air Force Uniform

Rust colored velvet suit with asymmetrical peplum jacket, bandana effect collar, self-belted by “Helen of California”. Donor: Kathi Alasti Uniform worn by Eric Barnes when serving in WWII

1930’s Two piece knit lavender dress

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long-dress

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World War II Attire

Wool coat & camera bag belonging to 1st Lt. Frank Orr, World War II Photographer.

1940’s Turquoise Knit Two-piece Suit

Short sleeves & self-ties. Possibly home fashioned. Donor: Edna Chadwell Slayton

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Bride’s dress – bride unknown. Donor: Jim Negus. West Point Cadet Uniform worn by Windsor Shane Buzza, class of 1988. Donor: Shirley Spain.

1896 Velvet two piece dress with fitted bodice, mandarin collar and silk braid on the skirt. The dress was made in Denmark for Mrs. P.H. Schmidt. She was born in 1852 in Denmark and died in 1920 in Watsonville. Mrs. Schmidt, along with her husband, established Schmidt’s dry goods store in Freedom. Donor: Helen Bowen

1890’s Ball Gown: Ivory silk two piece dress with ecru lace trim. “Leg o’mutton” style sleeves. Donor: Joanne Baade

Children’s Clothes & Shoes

Kids’ clothes are always adorable no matter what the year.

Purses, Hats & Shoes

Some of the purses used decades ago in our collection look like something you could find at Macys today! We house a variety of fur coats, once part of every well-to-do woman’s wardrobe, but out of favor for some time, as well as gloves designed in Paris, and jewelry.

Hats are the icing on the cake for any outfit and are an important part of the fashion of every age. Our collection of some 500 hats include practical sunbonnets of the 1880s, cloche hats of the 20s, and whimsical birdcage hats and pillboxes of the 60s.