COSTUME CULTURE

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT ) ©SHAWN FINK; ©MARK J. SINDLER/LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM; ©CHERYL GERBER; ©MARK J. SINDLER/LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM; (OPPOSITE PAGE) ©CHERYL GERBER ne would think that, as Curator of the Carnival Collection at the Louisiana State Museum, I enthusiastically costume on Mardi Gras, along with thousands of others. However, in the 20-plus years that I’ve had this job, I’ve generally looked at Mardi Gras as a working holiday. I’ve got my eyes wide open to take in all the color and creativity and a handful of business cards at the ready to possibly do a little “shopping” for a costume or two that would have a nice home in the museum’s permanent collection. Rather than wear costumes, I study and preserve them. My responsibilities include watching over a collection of 40,000 artifacts; there’s no doubt you have to like Carnival to do well in this job. The Louisiana State Museum is the only local museum that continually takes in costumes to preserve as artifacts. That decision was made back in the 1920s, when it was first recognized that costumes weren’t just for playing dressup but were in fact precious works of art and craft. The approximately 500 costumes kept by the museum include outfits worn by kings, queens, members of courts, those presented at balls, as well as homemade getups once worn by adults and children—a wide cross section to cover every type. Certainly, the finest costumes in the collection are those worn by the pretend monarchs of Carnival balls. Since 1872, Rex has served as King of Carnival, and his costume is particularly admired and historically important. No doubt the most valuable costume in the museum’s collection is one that was worn by Howard Stringfellow as Rex in 1881, a character from the Arabian Nights tales. He wore a long orange silk velvet robe trimmed with heavy gold bullion

Clockwise from top left: A Krewe of Red Beans showstopper, a Mardi Gras Indian suit and royal regalia. Opposite page: A colorful member of the Society of St. Anne.

Clockwise from left: The robe worn by Rex 1881, Howard P. Stringfellow, the museum’s oldest costume; Rex 1892, Robert S. Day; an original watercolor design of the 1871 Twelfth Night Revelers Parade by Charles Briton from the Historic New Orleans Collection.

fringe and large colored glass stones and bearing a long train. It also happens to be my favorite in the collection. The Louisiana State Museum has put on Carnival exhibits since the 1950s. This remarkable continuum shows how important the event is to locals and visitors alike. In addition to a permanent exhibition on Carnival history, the museum has mounted more than a dozen temporary exhibits in recent years on topics such as Mardi Gras in the movies, women’s krewes, float designs and, most recently, gay Carnival. Because Mardi Gras is at its core an artistic celebration, it has always been a priority of the museum to collect the work of recognized costume and float designers, going all the way back to the first known Carnival artist, Charles Briton, from the 1870s. Naturally, for spatial reasons, it is easier to collect costume and float sketches than it is the originals. A glance at the museum’s database reveals a list of more than 7,700 sketches executed by over 50 different artists. A common refrain whenever I bring visitors through the costume storage room is, “You have the coolest job.” I have to agree. With such a trove of historic clothing all around me, it’s easy to imagine the pageantry of Carnival seasons past and the creative costumes of those yet to come. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even wear one of my own.