The Australian Dress Register is a collaborative, online project about dress with Australian provenance pre-1975. This includes men's, women's and children's clothing ranging from the special occasion to the everyday. Museums and private collectors are encouraged to research their garments and share the stories and photographs while the information is still available and within living memory. The Register encourages people to consider their collections very broadly and share what they know about members of their community, what they wore and life in the past. It also facilitates better care and management of community and private collections and provides access to a world wide audience while keeping their garments in their relevant location.
Regional and major state and federal collecting organisations partner with the Powerhouse Museum to ensure broad engagement with the project. Organisations or individuals willing to assist with the delivery of the program across the State in particular are invited to register their interest in the project.
Register is an evolving forum for discussion and enhanced documentation. Useful links assist with all aspects of historical collections such as research, documentation, photography, storage, display and critical analysis. The online resources encourage collectors to consider their collections very broadly and preserve and share what they know about people, their dress and life in the past.
This program is an initiative of the Powerhouse Movable Heritage NSW program which is coordinated through its Regional Services program to support research and documentation of cultural heritage collections.
The Powerhouse Museum would like to thank the Collections Australia Network (CAN) for assistance with the development of this initiative.