Fancy Goods in the Local History Gallery

By Eileen Corcoran

People buy clothes not just for their utility, but because they signify something about the wearer to society at large. The history of clothing is the history of the public’s changing norms and values, as well as the relationship between manufacturing, markets, and consumers. In the middle of the 19th century, industrialization began to change the kinds of products available to buyers, bringing more variety and consumer goods, like disposable trinkets and mass-produced clothing, into stores. In many small towns in Vermont and elsewhere, those items were called “fancy goods.” The term broadly applied to novelties, accessories, or notions that are primarily ornamental or designed to appeal to taste or preference, rather than essential.

Around the turn of the 20th century, Julia Adams operated a millinery and fancy goods store in the Adams House, now the home of the Middletown Springs Historical Society. A photo of Julia with members of her Sunday school class sitting on the steps of the shop beneath the sign “Mrs. S.C. Adams Millinery & Fancy Goods” inspired the exhibit Fancy Goods: Hats and Fashion Accessories, 1850-1950, curated by the Middletown Springs Historical Society. It documents what residents of Middletown Springs considered fancy goods, and includes items such as hats, purses, shawls, and ties. The items were donated to the Middletown Springs Historical Society collection by local families.

Portrait of Kay Avery by artist Mary Seymour Pastel, 1928. Gift of Kay Avery, a founder of the Middletown Springs Historical Society.

“While I love all the hats and fashion accessories,” exhibit curator Mary Lou Willits explained, “my favorite object in the exhibit is a framed pastel portrait of the late Kay Avery, a resident of Middletown Springs, painted by artist Mary Seymour in 1928. She is posed in a lovely soft green sleeveless chiffon dress with a draped ruffle on one side, and she is wearing a long string of white pearls.” Kay Avery (1908-2005) was one of the founding members of the Middletown Springs Historical Society back in 1969.

The exhibit was on view at the Middletown Springs Historical Society last year, and visitors commented on how pleased they were to see a part of the collection that had not previously been on display. The Vermont Historical Society is excited to bring this exhibit to the Local History Gallery at the Vermont History Museum to further expand its reach and introduce the town’s fancy goods to the greater public. The Middletown Springs Historical Society’s Collections Care Committee works year-round to catalog and properly house textiles and other objects, archival material, and photographs so they can be enjoyed and studied by future generations.

This exhibit was on view in the Local History Gallery from August 5, 2023 to January 27, 2024.

This article originally appeared in the Summer/Fall 2023 issue of our member magazine, History Connections. To get it and support the Vermont Historical Society, sign up as a member.