Moth Panic: Not Just an Awesome Name for a Band

Just as everything was going great and calming down at work, the worst happened. THE WORST. We found a moth in the textile room. After all of our efforts to freeze and clean things and keep that room bug-free AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dramatic re-enactment of the scene that ensued

The moth was found near the hats, so we spent the next two days enlisting every spare pair of hands to hastily wrap up all the hats in plastic. Hopefully that will contain whatever is infested and protect the rest in case something is still crawling around looking for a home. We also put out moth pheromone traps and each day I check them anxiously. I can't decide though-- do I want to find a moth in the trap? If I do, it means the bastard is dead...but there are still loose moths flying around. If the trap is empty maybe the wrapping project successfully sealed up all the others...or maybe we just aren't catching them.

F you and your mind games

But basically now everything seems chaotic again. When I heard about the moth, I dropped what I was doing and didn't return until the hats were all packed up. I had been sewing artifact numbers on the Barclay Girls outfits and had literally left a needle part way through one of the pieces. Losing those days to hat packing set me back on projects I had been nearly caught up on, and now there is this added monster project of dealing with the hats.

Despite going into a moth-induced depression for about four days, I bounced back and tried to revel in all the things that still make my job awesome. On Wednesday I visited the workspace of Prairie Underground, a local clothing company that designs and makes everything in Seattle. I had been communicating with them about possibly donating some items to MOHAI, and so this week I made the trip to tour their space and see what they were willing to offer. I met with one of the founders of the company and was totally blown away by what she showed me. She went through a rack of about 15 things, telling a story about each of them and explaining why that style was important to the evolution of the brand. I had planned to take 1-3 items, so I knew I was in trouble when the first three all sounded like must-haves and there were twelve to go. I ended up narrowing it down to six. For five of them there were very clear reasons for why that piece was essential, but for the sixth I allowed myself to be drawn by aesthetics and what I thought would really be eye-catching on a mannequin. That sixth piece? A beautiful and comfortable bestselling style they call the "Mothette."

What does it mean?? Was I starting to sympathize with my hungry enemies? Or was my subconscious fantasizing about wearing this while slaying my mothy foes? GET OUT OF MY BRAIN YOU FABRIC-EATING MONSTERS!!!

Or maybe it is just a really kickass dress. 

...Undies

It has been a while since I actually did a post about vacuuming. Ready for this?

UNDERWEAR

Ok, so technically it is part of a costume and probably worn over actual underwear. Remember the Can-Can dancing Barclay Girls? I am finally getting around to cleaning and accessioning those costumes. These pink satin things were layered under lacy see-through black underpants. The flesh-tone underneath the black lace gave the illusion that the girls were more bare than they were, while still passing the censors. 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was a thing I vacuumed today.  

And Now...Here Are Some Can-Can Dancers

Woo boy. This week. Right? If you can forgive the liberal use of expletives, doesn't this pretty much sum up what we are all feeling? (Thank you fellow Northwest Girlchoir alum Lindy West)

But work-wise it was a pretty good week for me. I had several appointments with people wanting to donate artifacts and tell me their stories, and every one of them was a delight. Two who came in were there about John Doyle Bishop, so I got to hear tales of him dressing society weddings and sweeping around the Washington Athletic Club in a cape and gloves. But it was hard to top Tuesday, which was when I had two women who had just turned 70 come in and tell me about their careers as "Barclay Girls."

The Barclay Dance Studio had been around in Seattle for a while, but the "Barclay Girls" troupe became famous in the early 1950s when they started putting on shows for troops returning from the Korean War. Every time a ship docked in Seattle, the Barclay Girls were there. Rain or shine, doing a kick-line on the pier in fishnets and heels.

After the conflict ended they were mainly known for their performances at Seafair. Each year had a different theme and they would dazzle the crowd with various musical numbers and quick costume changes. And they weren't just shimmying and lifting their skirts: they were talented, versatile performers trained in multiple styles of dance.

The girls were quite young-- usually in high school or early college. Sometimes they would have to get dressed up and greet a ship early in the morning before school, and the two I met talked about getting a special ok from their teachers to sew sequins on their costumes during class. Wherever they performed they always had a chaperone with them (usually one of the girls' mothers), so while they may have gotten lots of hoots and hollers, watchful eyes kept anything more questionable from happening.

Ok, so there are some icky gender roles going on here with the men fighting a war and the women putting on a saucy show, but I'm going to lay that aside for a moment. Regardless of your gender or theirs, wouldn't you enjoy seeing a bunch of talented people in sparkly costumes put on a dance extravaganza? Isn't a cheerful kick-line just what we need during a week that has been as confusing and upsetting as this one? It doesn't fix anything, but it is a reminder that as dark as this world can be, it can also be full of feathers and ruffles and fun.