Inside Out: Women, Fashion & Suffrage

Children under 7 are free (due to COVID-19 conditions, admission is limited, and prepaid tickets are required)

The struggle for suffrage affected American women’s lives both before and after they won the vote. In this special Centennial Exhibition, we mine the Historical Society of Rockland County’s collections to address questions about how the fight for women’s suffrage changed fashion, and how women’s fashion—and lives—changed in response to suffrage.

Fashion served women as social currency for centuries and has been used to oppress as much as to express. By 1920, however, women were using fashion to proclaim their freedom and political independence. What may have been the most significant evolution in American women’s fashion happened alongside the ratification of the 19th Amendment as the New Woman proudly took her place in American society, dressed to the nines.

COVID-19 Prevention Rules

The HSRC is compliant with the rules and regulations set by the Rockland County Department of Health, New York State Department of Health, and Centers for Disease Control for the reopening of a low-risk Indoor arts/entertainment Center. Rules and regulations are subject to change and will be updated as changes are made.

• All visitors age 2 and over must wear a mask or other face covering while visiting the exhibition.
• Occupancy in the galleries is ino more than five visitors per day, with tickets purchased in advance via Brown Paper Tickets or by calling the museum office. 
• Visiting time is limited to 90 minutes between 1 and 4 pm.
• In August and September, the gallery exhibitions will be open only on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. No opening reception will be held, and we will add select Sundays in the fall as conditions permit.
• Groups are required to maintain physical distance of at least six feet from one another inside the galleries and on the HSRC grounds.

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“Inside Out: Women, Fashion & The Fight for the Vote” was curated by HSRC Education Coordinator Jennifer Brooks and Museum Services Assistant Christine Kowalski. We thank HSRC Senior Historian Marianne Leese, HSRC Volunteer Clare Sheridan, Caretaker Bob Carroll, and Executive Director Susan Deeks for assistance with research and installation.

"Inside Out: Women, Fashion & The Fight for Suffrage" was made possible by a grant from the Office of the Rockland County Executive, Department of Economic Development and Tourism. We are grateful for the support. We also thank the Hon. Harriet Cornell, Rockland County Legislator, and Paulette Ross of the organization SuffrageForward for their personal support of this exhibition.