Martha of Taos Label

Karen Sandler

Karen Sandler

Registered Guest
Sometime in the last 10 years I bought the attached skirt and blouse to wear at a folk dance camp. It also came with a sash.

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I know very little about vintage clothing (although I love it), and knew nothing about Martha Reed. I thought the "Martha of Taos" label was just a home seamstress's custom label.

I'm planning to either sell or donate the dress since it's too fancy for my weekly folk dance sessions, and it's been sitting unused in the closet. The style certainly looks like other dresses Martha Reed designed, but I don't want to represent the dress as something it's not. I'd like to know if the tag is a style that Martha of Taos used. The only other tag I've seen (on the Vintage Fashion Guild site) looked totally different.

martha-of-taos-label.jpg


Also, recommendations of museums, universities, or other organizations that would welcome the dress would be appreciated. If that's not appropriate for this label-only convo, is there another conversation more appropriate?
 
northstarvintage said:
Beautiful! I love the colors and that you have all the pieces!

I've seen outfits like this referred to as "patio sets." They do quite well - the rockabilly girls love them.
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I saw that term, patio sets, on the web, but didn't know what they were. The outfit seems very appropriate for square dancing (which I don't do), except the skirt would need a load of frilly petticoats under it.
 
lkranieri said:
Perhaps OSU would be interested...
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I was thinking of OSU too since they had a Martha Reed exhibit a few years ago. I'd like to try to stick to a Taos museum though. After I asked my question on this forum, I found the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos. The curator would like to consider it for their collection.
 
Karen Sandler said:
I was thinking of OSU too since they had a Martha Reed exhibit a few years ago. I'd like to try to stick to a Taos museum though. After I asked my question on this forum, I found the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos. The curator would like to consider it for their collection.
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The Rogers museum looks like a good fit. I usually look to universities because of the presumed greater likelihood of longevity and long-term funding. Steady and sufficient financing is almost always a huge hurdle for museums. Also, museums need the flexibility to cull their collections in order to upgrade or replace items in the collection. If the possibility of either of these things leads to deaccessioning your donation, you might want to also ask them “What if...?” What would they do with your donation if they decide to deaccession it? It is not appropriate for a donor to put conditions on the donation, such as specifying where you want it to go if they decide to deaccession it, but if it matters to you, you should ask before you donate — wherever you donate.
 
lkranieri said:
The Rogers museum looks like a good fit. ... It is not appropriate for a donor to put conditions on the donation, such as specifying where you want it to go if they decide to deaccession it, but if it matters to you, you should ask before you donate — wherever you donate.
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Thanks, Lynne. I wouldn't have thought to ask that. I know a monetary donation can be directed (I used to do fundraising for a non-profit), but a physical item is a whole other thing.

Karen
 
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