If you read that title and thought, “Hold up, we have a Historic Fashion Collection?” then you might remember it as the “Historic Costume Collection.” This article is here to announce the name change of the “Historic Costume Collection” to the “Historic Fashion Collection (HFC).” For those of you who donʻt recognize either name, thatʻs okay; Iʻll fill you in. The HFC houses historical fashion items spanning back to the early 1800s which belong to the following subcollections: Asia, Global, Hawai’i, and Western. In 2009, the Hawaiʻi State Senate passed a resolution designating the collection as a “world class, hidden treasure” that “is one of the most significant collections in an American university” (S.R. No.57, 2009). The name has been updated to acknowledge the fact that these items are not costumes; they are literally the fabric of our community, historical items imbued with global cultural significance. This is the reason for our current grant-funded efforts to digitize the Historic Fashion Collection and make it accessible to community members and researchers. We hope to foster community engagement, collaboration, and learning as we provide care for this collection.

Our team includes Dr. Andy Reilly, a Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Jodie Mattos, the Hawaiian Collection Librarian and Department Chair, and myself, a PhD student in the History Department and a Museum Studies student in the American Studies Department. Recently Jie-Lin Chia, an MA student in the Anthropology Department and a Museum Studies student in the American Studies Department, joined the team as a volunteer to help us process items and move back into Miller Hall after a partial renovation. Thankfully, construction is finally pau, but returning to the space required some deep cleaning, organization, and accidentally finding a hatbox full of wigs (truly something I didn’t expect to add to my 2025 bingo board). I'm grateful for this wonderful team, and we wish Jie-Lin congratulations for her graduation this semester and wish her success in her summer internship at the Smithsonian.

We're currently processing a donation of Aloha Airlines Uniforms, ranging from the 1950’s-2004, and preparing for a temporary exhibition of alohawear for a conference to be held at UH Hilo in late June. In addition to this article giving more details on the donation and the history of Aloha Airlines, the exhibition hopes to inspire visitors to appreciate the connections between fashion, flight, and the cultural significance of uniforms. The exhibition also invites the community to remember and reflect on their travel experiences with the former airline. 

We encourage everyone to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Substack. We can also be reached at uhmhfc@hawaii.edu. Stay tuned for news about upcoming exhibitions, behind the scenes archival work, and opportunities to learn more about the collection. 

By Terri-Lee Bixby