There are things we can learn about looking at museum collections. Here are some things to remember as we look at the garments which follow.

Many museums have sketch documentation on their acquisitions. Sometimes the records have been lost, or moved, or the clothing mis-identified. By time a family gets around to donating these important items to a museum, the memories have faded a bit with time. Marriage certificates, birth records and photographs are valuable sources in documenting or providing historical identification.

With clothing, discovering a "designer" label is really exciting. But, alas, you have to be aware you cannot always trust them. As people travel, they may have been ripped out to avoid customs. (This practice is still known to happen today.) It is also possible that labels can be shifted from other garments or taken from purchased clothing and added to "home-made" clothing to give it more value.

It is important to realize that people in this area travelled a great deal. Therefore, clothing can come from many places and can share many influences. There were many and clear travel patterns between California and Nevada that date back to the 1850s. Residents from the Loyalton area took in the activities of Piper's Opera House in Virginia City. Women in Yerrington used the services of dressmakers in Virginia City. There were women from Fallon and Winnemucca who were known to have shopped in San Francisio and Philadephia.

There are always personal variables. Depending upon economic cirumstances, even ordinary, everyday clothing is valuable to its owner. (Pattern companies today keep a pattern in their current catalogues for a minimum of five years -- and we will wear it for that time and beyond.) There were women who lived on the ranches who, because of the value of the clothing used, mended, re-styled and eventually ended up using the what was left for quilts. Some of us still wear clothes until they don't fit and can be handed downto another sibling. Sometimes we just like a certain garment and wear it and save it.

Priorities shift with our individual situations -- a young mother with several children faces different demands than many widows or grandmothers. Society and special occasions often require something out of the ordinary.