Man's Costume c. 1936

Curator: Ah, isn't this lovely? Jessie M. Benge created this piece, titled "Man's Costume," around 1936. It’s a pencil and colored pencil drawing on paper. What are your initial impressions? Editor: Oh, wow. It’s very...precise, like a technical drawing, almost. But there’s also something quite delicate about it, particularly with the frills around the cuffs and neck. Sort of faded elegance. Curator: The ruffles definitely evoke that sense of a bygone era, right? Looking closer, you notice the buttons and detailing, which connect us to concepts of power and status encoded in the attire itself. These clothes silently narrated stories of who belonged where in the social pecking order. Editor: Absolutely! It’s almost like it's hinting at some story hidden inside the garment. What gets me are those pants, though. So bifurcated! They make me think of courtly dances and powdered wigs...like some eccentric lord could walk right out of the page! I mean, how comfortable would that even be? Curator: Perhaps more comfortable than we give it credit! But on a deeper level, there is meaning embedded in every item; Benge is carefully cataloging markers of identity, signifiers of aspiration. Each layer and contour communicates aspects of masculinity at that moment. Editor: It’s fascinating how a single outfit could contain so much! Curator: Indeed. Costume throughout history serves not just a functional, but an incredibly rich symbolic role. Editor: It all boils down to the language clothes speak, doesn't it? Makes you wonder what today’s fashion choices will communicate centuries from now. Thanks for shining a light on that for me! Curator: My pleasure. Considering what you observed about subtle narratives, that language will still echo...