New York City “Behind the Seam” Fashion History Day Tours
December 2nd-4th, 2026
This December, join fashion historian Cassidy Zachary on exclusive day tours of the world fashion capital of New York City! Cassidy will take you “behind the seams” of the city’s most treasured and storied institutions, with each day bringing a different fashion-fueled adventure not available to the general public. We will enjoy private, curator-led exhibition tours and hands-on experiences with rare and precious garments, textiles and fashion plates from the 18th through the 20th centuries. And there will even be a shopping excursion in the city’s legendary Garment District! Join for 1, 2, or all 3 days. Find complete details and sign up links for each day below.
Day 1: Behind the Seams of the Fashion Institute of Technology and M&S Schmalberg
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2026
Time: 9:30am to 4:00pm EST with an hour lunch break
Morning: Today we immerse ourselves in the archives and collections of one of the world's top fashion institutions, the Fashion Institute of Technology. Our time at FIT will include not one, but two private collections tours led by Cassidy, beginning at Special Collections and FIT Archive. There, we will enjoy a hands-on experience learning about–and handling– the groundbreaking, luxury fashion publications produced in the hand-stenciling, pochoir technique. Produced during the “Golden Age of Fashion Illustration" in the 1910s and 20s, we will learn all about the birth of modern fashion illustration while admiring the work of the leading fashion artists of the Art Moderne and Art Deco eras.
From there we will head to the Museum at FIT’s Study Collection, where Cassidy will take you on a journey through one hundred years of fashion history with garments and accessories from the 1850s to the 1960s. From bustles to mini-skirts, we will explore the evolution and revolution of women’s fashions during some of its most iconic eras. We will view--and get to handle!--garments by many of fashion’s most iconic designers including Fortuny, Chanel, and Dior.
Lunch is on your own.
Afternoon: Our time at FIT concludes with a private tour of the groundbreaking exhibition Doll Dressing, led by Dr. Colleen Hill, Senior Curator of Costume at the museum. Dr. Hill will guide us on an hour-long tour of her exhibition that explores the enduring relationship between dolls and fashion. Featuring more than 170 objects from the 20th and 21st centuries, the exhibition “highlights how the influence of dolls extends far beyond childhood play,” permeating our sartorial adult lives in surprising and meaningful ways.
From here, we will walk a short distance and conclude our special day with fourth-generation flower maker Adam Brand at his family’s hand-crafted fabric flower shop M&S Schmalberg. Founded by his family in 1916, the company is not only the last of its kind in NYC’s Garment District, but in America. Adam will give us a brief history of the business before taking us behind the scenes to see the flower-makers at work and purchase our own hand-made floral treasures.
Day 2: Behind the Seams of the New York Historical Society and the Bard Graduate Center
Thursday, December 3rd, 2026
Time: 12:30pm to 7:00pm EST (with two 30 minute breaks)
Afternoon, 12:30 to 4:00 pm: Our afternoon is dedicated to the New York Historical Society where we will enjoy not one but three speciality experiences, beginning with a tour of the fascinating exhibition Marilyn Monroe Centennial: Photographs by Lawrence Schiller, led by curators Keren Ben-Horin and Jeanne Gutierrez. In celebration of the film and fashion icon’s 100th birthday, the exhibition honors Monroe through a revelatory exploration of how the legendary star “sought to control her career and public image as a celebrity.”
Next, we head behind the “seams” of the museum to visit the conservation lab! As museum visitors, we often admire objects on exhibition but rarely are we given the opportunity to learn about the process of getting them there. Conservators Janet Lee and Kenneth Bé will greet us before sharing insights into what goes into the care, preservation, and treatment of museum objects including textiles and dress. This 30 minute visit will be divided into two groups with the alternate group taking a 30 minute break.
Our time at the museum will conclude with a special tour of The Weitzman Shoe Museum, led by curators Isabelle Held and Keren Ben-Horin. The exhibition highlights a stunning collection of over one hundred shoes spanning the late 19th century to the present day, drawn from a larger collection donated by renowned shoe designer Stuart Weitzman and his wife, businesswoman and philanthropist Jane Gershone Weitzman.
Early Evening, 5-7pm: We will take a 30 minute break at the NYHS before taking a short walk to the Bard Graduate Center for our private, after-hours, tour of the exhibition Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film, the first major exhibition to explore fashion in America silent film. Curator Michelle Finamore will guide us through the exhibition which “shows how silent films transformed fashion from personal expression into powerful storytelling, creating the blueprint for modern movie glamour.” At the conclusion of the tour, Bard has invited our group to stay for delightful conversation, while enjoying a glass of white wine or sparkling water. There will also be an opportunity to purchase the exhibition catalog.
Day 3: Behind the Seams of the Long 18th Century with the New York Historical Society and Cora Ginsburg LLC
Friday, December 4th, 2026
Time: 10:30 am to 4:30 pm EST with a one hour lunch break
Morning: Our day begins with a visit to the New York Historical Society’s Patricia D. Klingenstein Library where Dr. Tessa Bangs will take us on an hour long fashion-filled journey back in time to 18th century and early 19th century New York. Using different fashion-related objects in the library’s collection, Dr. Banks will introduce us to women who were powerful economic actors, both as consumers and as merchants, traders, entrepreneurs, and storekeepers. As consumers, women flexed their economic power during the American Revolution through two early forms of protest: boycotting British products, and by creating, purchasing, and wearing homespun American textiles. Into the 19th century, women continued to use sewing, clothing, and fashion to influence society in different ways. In particular, we will look at the archive of Mary Alexander who made a fortune importing dry goods and other materials from London for retail in New York. Surviving fabric samples, invoices, letters, and more attest to her wealth, her business, and her influence—among merchants and in New York society at large.
Lunch is on your own.
Afternoon: The idea of the 18th century has been attracting devotees since the period ended, from salvaging French monuments after the Revolution to celebrating the 20th anniversary of the film Marie Antoinette. But there is arguably no better way to learn about and appreciate this past than from the things that were closest to our ancestors’ bodies: clothing. In this hands-on session, attendees will get up close and personal with garments, accessories, and related objects in the collection of Cora Ginsburg LLC. Led by specialist Martina D’Amato, the afternoon will offer a broad discussion of women’s silhouettes in Europe and North America (including the undergarments that made them possible), European textile production for dress, and the impact of the global textile trade. Finally, we’ll touch on the special place that the 18th century held in the genesis of many museum collections of costume.
The name Cora Ginsburg has been associated with historical fashion and textiles since the 1940s, when Mrs. Ginsburg began collecting and selling historic textiles and fashion. Today in its second generation under owner and director Titi Halle, Cora Ginsburg LLC is considered one of the world’s leading specialists and dealers in the field.
*Please note, this event is being held at the New York Historical Society but does NOT include admission to the museum. Should you choose to continue your stay after we conclude at 4:30 pm, that will have to be purchased separately. The museum is open until 8pm this evening.
Please note
The cost is $400 for each day and includes all fees and admissions. Rooms/accommodations are not included, although assistance in booking our recommended hotels (with special perks!) is available through travel partners at Wander & Pour who can be reached at cheers@wanderandpour.com. Complete terms and conditions can be found here.