*Post written by James Wethington, library assistant of the University Archives and Special Collections.
Keep up with fashion is a large commitment for designers, fashion houses, and the consumers. Everyone wants to know what is “in-style” that season of the year and keep up with the trends. There are fashion events throughout the year, predominantly in New York City, London, and Paris. Fashion has come onto the big screen on television like soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful, sitcom Just Shoot Me!, comedy-drama Jane by Design, and so on; however, many movies like The Devil Wears Prada and Zoolander focuses on fashion too. Though Evansville is not one of the fashion capitals of the world, Ruth Kishline had a clothing store in the Tri-State.
Kishline had two locations for her store here in the Tri-State area: Mt. Vernon and McCutchanville, Indiana. Her store was “Ruth Kishline’s Country Shop”. Her stores operated from 1931 to 1993; however, Kishline did not design the sketches for her clothing. Geraldine McFadin was the artist behind the sketches for Kishline. They were introduced and worked together for over thirty-five years. McFadin’s designs were sold to some renowned designers in fashion: Calvin Klein, Armani, and Ralph Lauren. The University Archives and Special Collections at the University of Southern Indiana contains over 700 original sketches.
On top of the Ruth Kishline collection (MSS 038) dealing with fashion, there is two other collections that deal with fashion. The Helen Wallace collection (MSS 056) has advertisements from Chicago Herald from 1920’s and some fashion sketches. Finally, the Beardsley Family collection (MSS 297) contains men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories from 1860 to 1975. All of these collections are available to be viewed to students and public.
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