Join the Illinois State Museum’s Erika Holst to learn about historic clothing through the lens of an 1800s women’s lifespan.  As women passed through various life stages and roles –  infants, children, unmarried women, brides, married women, widows, and elderly women – what types of clothing did custom dictate that they wear at each stage?  What do these types of garments reveal about how society viewed women at different stages of their life?  How did these roles and expectations evolve over the course of her life?  This presentation will be illustrated with examples of historic clothing from the Illinois State Museum’s historic garment collection.