MUSEUM OF SOUTH TEXAS HISTORY: A Crimp in Their Style

By Melissa Peña, Exhibits & Collections Coordinator at MOSTHistory

In the River Crossroads gallery at the Museum of South Texas History, a small but heavy artifact showcases the importance of fashion throughout the centuries.

Pleated or crimped clothing has been part of fashion for decades. During the Victorian era, women’s fashions relied heavily on adornments like ruffles and pleats on removable items like collars, cuffs, and hems. When laundered, these sections would lose their crisp shape, and a crimper, or pleater, would be used to reproduce the look.

This crimper has an inner brick that is meant to heat on the stove and placed back into the main box. Pieces of fabric are placed between the two fluted parts, and the handled part would be rolled over the top. Starched water might have been used to help hold the shape. Women in the Rio Grande Valley would have used a pleater like this on their best Sunday dress and special occasions such as the laying of the cornerstone at the new Hidalgo County courthouse in downtown Edinburg.

Visit the Museum of South Texas History to view this artifact in the museum’s General Store gallery.