The Fashion & Design collection of the Kew Historical Society includes examples of women’s, men’s, children’s and infants’ clothing from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Items in the collection were largely produced for, or purchased by women in Melbourne, and includes examples of outerwear, protective wear, nightwear, underwear and costume accessories.The V&A's history of fashion describes 1930s dresses as characterised by '... a slinky femininity... Parisian couturiers introduced the bias-cut into their designs, which caused the fabric to skim over the body's curves. Long, simple and clinging evening gowns, made of satin were popular. Often the dresses had low scooping backs'.Full length floral crepe evening dress with squared neck and short puffed sleeves.australian fashion - 1930s, women's clothing, evening dresses

Vintage Australian book for the homemaker c1958. The book is published prior to the granting of equal pay, affirmation of women's rights, acceptance of working mother and career woman as the norm . The book reinforces the socially accepted concept of the married homemaker and mother as perceived at the time, now the idealised concept is questioned. At the time of publication and reprints this book was envisaged to empower women. Whether' a teenager, career woman, a young married or mother' as a 'guide, philosopher, and friend' The editor Alleyne Jukes was born in Warrnambool to Charles and Mary Jukes of the Floral Farm, Warrnambool. She attended Braemar Grammar School and Warrnambool High School. She lived and worked in Melbourne as a journalist and secretary living in St Kilda and Elsternwick 1949, Bentleigh 1954, Oakleigh 1963. In 1961 she gathered together a number of writers and consultants to produce Woman's World, a book designed as the woman's Bible to enable her to have access to expert advice and information about home and outside work fields. The book was hailed at the time as the only work of its type produced entirely for Australian conditions and was an immediate success appealing to a wide range of readers. A similar subject book of smaller size and format has been sighted 'The People's Home Library', 1910 reprinted in 1923 by RC Barnum published by The Oceanic Publishing Company. A Library of three practical books, Medical 478 pp, Home Recipe 238 pp and Home Stock 315pp.This book is a guide for everything from how to answer a telephone correctly to sorting out marital problems. A reference guide for how to be a complete and successful young woman. Courses on Beauty, Fashion, Poise and Personality, Cooking,Every Wise Woman, Love and Marriage, The Home, The Family and Interests and Hobbies. This book has significance for Warrnambool as Alleyne Jukes was born in Warrnambool and has strong family connections to the district.A hardback reference book 'Woman's World' with a cream vinyl binding of flecked fabric outside cover and spine. Gold gilt lettering for the title and a gold gilt rose motif on the front; gold gilt lettering and publisher's name on the spine; plain back cover. The endpapers are repeated of black and white pen ink drawings showing the roles of women on varying splashes of a vairety of mono-coloured backgrounds. A general index on page 602 plus cooking index page 606 and dressmaking and sewing index page 607. The 607 pages are printed on thick, gloss white paper for 64 pages and coarser, white matt paper for the remainder. The table of contents lists a pictorial Introduction and nine chapters (courses) 'that is a 'bible' to the woman 'cares' and is vital to her as her femininity'. The editor has a heading "WOMAN" The Unacknowledged Specialist" and signed with her printed signature...Alleyne Jukes.' No dedication included although a text from Proverbs 31:10-31 (The Capable Wife)alleyne m jukes, woman, self improvement, 'bible', warrnambool

Sarah Contos is a multidisciplinary artist working across various modes of collage, sculpture and installation. Contos explores identity, eroticism, femininity, materiality, popular culture and history. She describes her life in relation to contradictions, saying: “I make quilts for art but never for warmth. I watch cooking shows but never cook. I want to cover my home in florals, but it ends up in wine stains.” Total Control is a quilted textile work notable for its screen-printed surface of imagery sourced from 1970s editions of the provocative Australasian Post magazine. Contos’ use of dangling fabric tubes, coils and pillows, and fabric patches draw allusions to the body; these elements are both familiar and confronting.

The Fashion & Design collection of the Kew Historical Society includes examples of women’s, men’s, children’s and infants’ clothing from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Items in the collection were largely produced for, or purchased by women in Melbourne, and includes examples of outerwear, protective wear, nightwear, underwear and costume accessories. The V&A's history of fashion describes 1930s dresses as characterised by '... a slinky femininity... Parisian couturiers introduced the bias-cut into their designs, which caused the fabric to skim over the body's curves. Long, simple and clinging evening gowns, made of satin were popular. Often the dresses had low scooping backs'. This dress was made for an aunt of the donor, who was the daughter and sister of well-known male Melbourne architects in the Smart family. Long floral green crepe georgette dress.women's clothing, dresses, australian fashion - 1930s

The Fashion & Design collection of the Kew Historical Society includes examples of women’s, men’s, children’s and infants’ clothing from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Items in the collection were largely produced for, or purchased by women in Melbourne, and includes examples of outerwear, protective wear, nightwear, underwear and costume accessories.The V&A's history of fashion describes 1930s dresses as characterised by '... a slinky femininity... Parisian couturiers introduced the bias-cut into their designs, which caused the fabric to skim over the body's curves. Long, simple and clinging evening gowns, made of satin were popular. Often the dresses had low scooping backs'. This dress was made for an aunt of the donor, who was the daughter and sister of well-known male Melbourne architects in the Smart family.Long cream and orange floral crepe georgette evening dresswomen's clothing, australian fashion - 1930s, fashion and textiles collection, rosemary smart

A person calling herself Jack Jorgenson died at Elmore near Ballarat, Victoria on Tuesday evening, turned out to be a woman and had for years concealed her sex. She was known in the district as "Jack Jorgenson". she went to the district as a farm labourer but did not show any great desire to obtrude on the notice of the residents. Though living a lonely life in a small hut, she did not act as one who had anything to conceal. She wore masculine attire in a natural manner, but thee was a tone of femininity in her voice that she could not conceal. In 1887 she joined the local mounted rifles, and attended almost every drill and every camp until 1891, when she resigned. Her face presented a remarkable appearance, it having been terribly injured by a fragment of shell during the course of the Schlewig-Holstein war between Prussia and Denmark. She stated that in her youth she had been a soldier in the german army, and had seen active service in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Jorgensen was a Dane and so far as is known had no relative here. Her sex was disclosed only after her death, the only person knowing of it being Dr H..se of Elmore, who attended her some time since. The woman is believed to be the sister of a Mrs Newman of South Melbourne. Deceased had been using male attire for 20 years, and did all sorts of heavy manual work, including grubbing trees and harvesting and she once ...Newspaper clippingjack jorgenson, elmore, dane, cross dressing

This finely crafted women’s gold fob watch, made by Robert Stauffer & Fils of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, is an elegant example of mid-19th-century Swiss watchmaking. Its engraved floral motifs, protected beneath glass and repeated on the reverse, reflect the refinement and skill associated with one of Europe’s foremost horological centers. Believed to have belonged to either Elizabeth Ziebell (née Sprenger, 1836–1892) wife of Carl Chrsitian Ziebell or Amelia Alice Ziebell (née Bodycoat 1870-1948) wife of Albert Heinrich Ziebell, the watch provides a personal link to the women of the early Ziebell family and to domestic and social life within Westgarthtown’s German settler community. Women’s watches of this era were both functional and fashionable, commonly worn on a long necklace chain, suspended from a chatelaine at the waist, or attached to a decorative bodice brooch. Such pieces served as markers of refinement, femininity and social standing. The tiny winding key is central to the object’s significance. Before stem-winding mechanisms became standard in the 1870s, watches were wound and set by inserting a small key into an arbor at the back of the case. The survival of both the watch and its original key strengthens their historical integrity and deepens understanding of 19th-century personal technology. Donated to Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum in 2025 by Kristina Colic (née Ziebell) and her father Mervyn Turner Ziebell, the watch holds strong familial and interpretive value, enriching the museum’s representation of women’s heritage, adornment and craftsmanship within the Ziebell family. Robert Stauffer & Fils of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

This swimsuit belonged to Brighton local Joyce Fuller, nee Harries (1920-2018), who wore it at Dendy Beach in the 1950s. Ada of California was a Melbourne swimwear company founded in the early 1950s by Brighton locals Ada and Toni Murkies. Born in Poland in 1922, Ada was 17 when the Second World War reached her doorstep. She and her family were torn from their home by Soviet soldiers and sent to a brutal labour camp in Siberia as part of a series of mass deportations. In order to escape the horrific conditions of the camp, Ada and her sister Barbara joined the Soviet-backed Polish Army. During her time in the military she became close with a handsome young Jewish officer, Lieutenant Antoni Murkies, who later became her husband. After the war Toni was awarded 15 medals including the highest Polish military honour, the Virtuti Militari. Ada was awarded 10 medals, including the Order of the Cross of Grunwald. Emigrating to Australia as postwar refugees in 1948, Ada and Toni arrived in Melbourne with little to their name. Working initially in garment factories and building their connections, by the mid-1950s the couple were able to start a company of their own, with Ada designing the garments and Toni managing the business. Within ten years, Ada of California swimwear was being sold in department stores throughout Australia, and the Murkies family were able to build a permanent home of their own in Brighton. By the early 1980s they had acquired several other major labels, including Watersun. Visiting Brighton Historical Society in 2019, Ada recalled this particular swimsuit style to be a popular one, particularly with older women, as the cinched waist and pleated modesty skirt suited many body types. This was important to her, as she wanted women of all ages and sizes to look and feel good in her swimwear, and she devoted much time and attention to the fit and finish of the garments. When the company began introducing padded bras, such as the one in this swimsuit, Ada insisted on using lacy floral lining and a small ribbon rosette in the centre gore, to give women a sense of quality, femininity and care in construction.Blue one-piece swimsuit with waist tie and short finely pleated overskirt. Sleeveless with thin elasticised straps. Inbuilt padded underwire bra with label and pale pink ribbon rosette on centre gore. Fastens with back zip.Label: "Ada / OF CALIFORNIA / 38"swimwear, brighton, dendy street beach, ada of california, ada murkies, toni murkies, joyce fuller, joyce harries

War has been a key part of the Australian experience and central to many national mythologies. Yet more that most activities, war polarises femininity and masculinity, While there has been no shortage of military history, little has been written about Australia's military involvements from the perspective of gender. This exciting collection of essays explores for the first time the interrelationship of gender and war in Australia.sex role - australia - history - 20th century, women and war - australia - history - 20th century, men - australia - sexual behavior - history - 20th century

Illustrated book. Front cover has a coloured photograph of two women hanging out laundry (nurses Vung Tau, 1968) Title (yellow ink) subtitle (white ink) and author's name (white ink) are printed over this photo. Title and author's name are printed in dark brown on a light brown background on the spine along with the publisher's mark. The back cover has a summary of the book printed on a light brown background, along with three photographs: a nurse on duty (Diane Lawrence) two women in khaki sitting on sandbags, and a woman in uniform holding a young boy (Terrie Roche with 'Rabbit" the young mascot of the Civic Action Team).non-fiction"Tears on my pillow' describes the nursing experiences of nursing in the Vietnam War using the words, voices and photographs of these Australian servicewomen. These veterans tell tales of femininity interspersed with the reality of the military environment through their stories of trauma, distress, tears and grief that went on for many years, and stories of underwear, fun and the basic things in life.royal australian army nursing corps, vietnam war 1961-1975-medical care, military nursing-vietnam, military nursing-australia

Peach coloured spine with olive printed text. Cover shows a photograph of two nurses in Vung Tau in 1968 standing by a clothes line and hanging up washing, one is wearing swimwear and the other is wearing shorts and top. The title is printed across the top in yellow print and the sub title below that in white print.non-fictionDon't forget your cotton underwear, girls! Most books that look at the involvement of Australians in the Vietnam War rarely allude to the role of nurses. But war and nursing are unequivocally linked. A total of 43 Australian Army nursing sisters were sent to Vietnam between April 1967 and November 1971, undertaking tours of up to 12 months. The nurses were assigned to a military hospital in a war zone with little advanced preparation, particularly as clinicians with exposure to trauma, critical care or theatre. The contribution of these women undoubtedly affected many soldiers in profound ways. Tears on My Pillow describes the experiences of nursing in the Vietnam War using the words, voices and photographs of these servicewomen. These veterans tell tales of femininity interspersed with the reality of the military environment through their stories of trauma, distress, tears and grief that went on for many years, and stories of underwear, fun and the basic things in life. [From Trove]vietnam war, royal australian army nursing corps, australian military nurses

Peach coloured spine with olive printed text. Cover shows a photograph of two nurses in Vung Tau in 1968 standing by a clothes line and hanging up washing, one is wearing swimwear and the other is wearing shorts and top. The title is printed across the top in yellow print and the sub title below that in white print.non-fictionDon't forget your cotton underwear, girls! Most books that look at the involvement of Australians in the Vietnam War rarely allude to the role of nurses. But war and nursing are unequivocally linked. A total of 43 Australian Army nursing sisters were sent to Vietnam between April 1967 and November 1971, undertaking tours of up to 12 months. The nurses were assigned to a military hospital in a war zone with little advanced preparation, particularly as clinicians with exposure to trauma, critical care or theatre. The contribution of these women undoubtedly affected many soldiers in profound ways. Tears on My Pillow describes the experiences of nursing in the Vietnam War using the words, voices and photographs of these servicewomen. These veterans tell tales of femininity interspersed with the reality of the military environment through their stories of trauma, distress, tears and grief that went on for many years, and stories of underwear, fun and the basic things in life. [From Trove]vietnam war, royal australian army nursing corps, australian military nurses

Booknon-fictionEssays examining the way images of women advertising, magazines, fine art, fashion and pornography influence attitudes and perceptions about femininity and female sexuality.iconography, mass media, body image, self-portraiture