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Family and Consumer Sciences

Lois Jett Historical Fashion Collection

The Lois Jett Historical Fashion Collection (LJHFC) was started in 1962 by Lois Jett, a Fashion Design and Merchandising faculty member within the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Today, this teaching collection houses more than 2,000 items of dress, textiles, and associated artifacts from around the world. Items in the LJHCC date from 700 CE to today.

Contact

For more information contact LJHFC Director:
Jennifer Banning, Ph.D.
(309) 438-5960
jbannin@IllinoisState.edu

  • Vision, Mission, & Values

    The vision of the LJHFC is to stimulate interest and further study in all aspects of fashion history.

  • The mission of the LJHFC is to enhance teaching and learning by connecting students with items of dress that represent concepts discussed in courses. Hands on experiences with artifacts is emphasized.

  • The LJHFC values integrity, respect, equity, inclusion, stewardship, and experiential learning.

  • Education

    • LJHFC resources can be integrated into courses throughout the university by requesting object(s) to use in class and/or scheduling a visit to the LJHFC.

  • Exhibitions

    • Exhibtions with LJHFC holdings are displayed in the gallery at Turner Hall 126. Open hours for visitors are held regularly throughout each fall and spring semester. Fall 2025 hours are Tuesdays, 10am-12pm; Wednesdays, 1-3pm; Thursdays, 10am-12pm, and Fridays, 10am-12pm.

    • Current Exhibit

    • The current exhibition, Mending Matters, will be on display through January 30, 2026. 
    • “Mending Matters” displays clothing that has been worn, mended, and re-purposed to investigate the ways we have cared for the garments in our closets throughout time. It asks what small interventions we might make as consumers to slow down the consumption of the fast fashion system through garments such as a mended 1940s chore dress, an early 20th century gown turned theater costume, a pair of patchwork jeans from the 1970s, and much more.

    • Past Exhibits

    • Past student-curated exhibitions include Threads of Tradition, Herstory: Extraordinary Women in History,  Fashion in Film, Boot Camp, The Color Experience, and Grooving through the 1960s.

  • Preservation

  • All artifacts donated to the LJHFC are used only for educational and research purposes. Museum standards are followed for handling, cataloging, and storage. All facilities are climate-controlled for consistent temperature and humidity.
  • Donations of artifacts to the LJHFC are not being accepted at this time while current holdings are being digitized.

 

Social Media

Follow the LJHFC on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube for highlights of collection holdings.