1.
George H. Kellner and J. Stanley Lemons, Rhode Island: The Independent State. Woodland Hills (California): 1982, p. 66.

2.
In their interviews, Dr. Louis J. Cella, Jr., and Primrose Tirocchi both mentioned Rose Carraer-Eastman as the early employer of Anna and Laura. Born in Providence in 1872, Rose was the daughter of Irish immigrant parents. Her birth name, Rose Carragher, appears among the practicing Providence dressmakers by 1896. The 1900 City Directory indicates that she had set up shop in downtown Providence and had anglicized her name to Rose Carraer. She often moved her business and eventually settled into Room 901 in the Lapham Building on Westminster Street, home to many other dressmakers and women's tailors. In 1905, she married and added her husband's name to her own. Rose Carraer-Eastman carried on her trade until the early 1940s with many changes along the way. She incorporated in 1924, after she began to sell women's ready-to-wear, and in the late 1920s remarried and changed the name of the business to Zarr, Inc., taking on her new husband's name.

3.
Wendy Gamber, The Female Economy: The Millinery and Dressmaking Trades, 1860-1930. Urbana: 1997, p. 32.

4.
Ornella Morelli, "The International Success and Domestic Debut of Postwar Italian Fashion,"in Gloria Bianchini, et. al., trans. Paul Blanchard, Italian Fashion. New York: 1987, p. 58.

5.
Customer day book, 1916-19, p. 1; Tirocchi Archive.

6.
Gamber, op. cit., p. 100.

7.
Customer day book, 1916-19; Tirocchi Archive.

8.
B. Altman &Co., Advance Styles for Spring and Summer, 1918; Tirocchi Archive.

9.
The New York Times headlined Haas Brothers' spring collections in 1921, 1922, and 1925, describing the fabrics in great detail. See "Some New Silk Weaves; They Are Shown Here in Attractive Imported Model Gowns,"New York Times (March 3, 1921), p. 3; "New Coat Dress Popular in Paris,"New York Times (March 2, 1922), p. 22; "New Dress Trend in French Models,"New York Times (March 4, 1925), p. 19.

10.
"New Paris Styles Cost France Dearly,"New York Times (October 2, 1922), p. 4.

11.
Elizabeth Ann Coleman, The Opulent Era: Fashions of Worth, Doucet, and Pingat. Brooklyn: 1989, p. 11, figs. 1.2, 1.3.

12.
Françoise Tétart-Vittu, Au Paradis des dames: nouveautes, modes et confections, 1810-1870. Paris: 1992, p. 34, n. 10.

13.
Ruth Trowbridge was born on July 7, 1899.

14.
The first garment made for Ruth Trowbridge was a spotted foulard model gown from Sidney J. Stern. Her mother, Alice E. Trowbridge, was billed $40 for the gown in April 1917. See client ledger, Spring 1917; Tirocchi Archive.

15.
Customer ledger, 1919-21, p. 29; Tirocchi Archive.

16.
B. Altman &Company, Book of Styles, Spring and Summer 1923, p. 10; Tirocchi Archive.

17.
Stella Blum, ed., Everyday Fashions of the Twenties. New York: 1981, p. 70.

18.
Customer ledger, 1916-17, p. 57; Tirocchi Archive.

19.
Elizabeth Ewing, History of 20th Century Fashion. London: 1992 (3rd ed.), p. 22. For more information on the development of women's sportswear during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, see Elizabeth Wilson, Adorned in Dreams. Berkeley and Los Angeles: 1985, pp. 160-62.

20.
"Are Dressmakers Becoming Fewer?,"New York Times (June 21, 1923), sect. II, p. 7.

21.
Philip Scranton, "The Transition from Custom to Ready-to-Wear Clothing in Philadelphia, 1890-1930,"Textile History, vol. 25, no. 2 (Autumn 1994), p. 258.

22.
Anna's former employer and main competitor, Rose Carraer-Eastman, also re-established her dressmaking business as a ready-to-wear concern sometime in 1923. In that year's Providence City Directory, she is listed as "Rose Carraer-Eastman, dressmaker."In 1924, she incorporated the business as "Rose Carraer, Inc. Gowns"and was no longer listed under dressmakers in the directory, but could be found among the women's clothing retailers.

23.
Vendor accounts books, 1919-22, 1923-24, and 1924-25; Tirocchi Archive.

24.
Gamber, op. cit., p. 158.

25.
E. Wilson, op. cit., p. 77.

26.
Tétart-Vittu, op. cit., p. 42 (translation by Pamela A. Parmal).

27.
For an interesting look at the Paris fashion industry of 1924 from a male perspective, see Robert Forrest Wilson, Paris on Parade. New York: 1932 (3rd ed.). For a discussion of Jean Patou and Lucien Lelong, see ibid., pp. 71-75.

28.
Caroline Milbank, New York Fashion: The Evolution of American Style. New York: 1996, p. 75.

29.
Merchandise received and returned ledger, Fall 1927, pp. 38-39; Tirocchi Archive.

30.
Maginnis &Thomas, order no. 11, January 11, 1926; Tirocchi Archive.

31.
Customer day book, 1924-25, p. 3; vendor accounts book, 1924-25, p. 34; customer ledger, 1924-25, p. 69; Tirocchi Archive.

32.
Vendor accounts book, 1924-25; Tirocchi Archive.

33.
"Intend to War on Some Trade Evils,"New York Times (March 17, 1924), p. 25.

34.
Letter, New York Times (March 29, 1925), sect. II, p. 15.

36.
According to R. F. Wilson, op. cit., p. 50, public shows of couturiers' lines were held every afternoon in Paris.

37.
This transaction appears in the customer ledger from the 1940s; however, Anna was quite proud of her ability to bring the veil back to life, and in June of 1940 used the story of its cleaning to enter a contest held by the Ivory Soap Flakes Company. Contestants were asked to express in twenty-five words or less why they used Ivory Soap Flakes. Anna sent along an additional letter explaining, at length, the story of the veil (letters of June 3 and 4, 1940). Textile conservators now know that even brief exposure to sunlight is damaging to fiber and discourage such practices as sun-bleaching.