- Source: Mary Brooks Picken
Mary Brooks Picken (August 6, 1886, Arcadia, KS – March 8, 1981, Williamsport, PA) was an American author of 96 books on needlework, sewing, and textile arts. Her Fashion Dictionary was published by Funk and Wagnalls in 1957.
Career
She founded the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences in Scranton, Pennsylvania. An expert on fashion, Picken was an authority on dress, fabric, design, and sewing. She taught "Economics of Fashion" at Columbia University and was one of the five founding directors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. She was the first woman to be named a trustee of the State University of New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, by Thomas E. Dewey, the Governor of New York, in 1951.
When vice-president of the G. Lynn Sumner advertising agency she designed the course material for the Richard Hudnut Du Barry Success Course.
She was a member of the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council's Advisory Committee on Women's Clothing, which selected Hattie Carnegie as the designer of the United States Army's women's uniform and provided advice and assistance on all elements of the U.S. Army's women's uniform beginning in 1949. Picken was one of the founders of the Fashion Group, now the Fashion Group International, a nonprofit professional association. She also served as chairman of its board.
Personal life
She was married to G. Lynn Sumner, president of the advertising firm of G. Lynn Sumner Co. of New York. Picken died on March 8, 1981, at a nursing home in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Published works
1915
Corsets And Close-fitting Patterns - No. 4
Drafting and plain dressmaking - 3 A-2
Fancy aprons and sunbonnets
Millinery Stitches, Department of Millinery, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Skeleton Foundations, Parts 1 & 2, No. 102 A & B, Department of Millinery, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Solid Foundations, Parts 1 & 2, No. 103 A & B, Department of Millinery, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Braid Hats, No. 104, Department of Millinery, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Piece-Goods Hats, No. 105, Department of Millinery, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Essential Stitches and Seams, Part 1, No. 1 A-3, Department of Sewing, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Pattern Drafting, No. 2-3, Department of Sewing, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Tight Linings and Boning, No. 5-2
Essential Stitches and Seams, Part 2, No. 1 B
1916
Millinery Facings
A Glossary of Millinery Terms, Department of Millinery
Developing Hats of Braid, Department of Millinery
Fancy and Draped Crowns, Department of Millinery, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Tailored Buttonholes and Buttons, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Woolen Materials and Tailored Plackets No. 12, Department of Sewing (First Ed); Department of Tailoring, (1922 Ed), Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Harmony of Dress, 11-2, Department of Sewing, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Fancy aprons and sunbonnets
Underwear and lingerie 10 B; Department of Sewing, later published as Plain Undergarments, No. 202
Tailored Skirts, Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Embroidery Stitches Parts 1 and 2, No. 7-A & 7-B, Department of Sewing, Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences Inc., Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Remodeling and Renovating, No. 17, Department of Dressmaking, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
1917
Maternity and Infants' Garments - No. 19-2
Miscellaneous garments 22
1918
The Secrets of Distinctive Dress
1919
Millinery Made Easy, 70WI, Department of Millinery, advertising pamphlet for course in millinery, reprinted in 1921, 1922, 1923, & 1924
1920
Drafting And Plain Dressmaking - Part 2 - No. 3 B-2
Patterns For Children And Misses' Garments - No. 18
Pattern Drafting - No. 2-3
Tight Linings And Bonings - No. 5-2
Laces, Silks, And Linen - No. 6
The Dressmaker And Tailor Shop - No. 25-2
1920
Underwear And Lingerie
Harmony of Dress - No. 11-2
Corsets and Close Fitting Patterns
Tailored Skirts - No. 13
Woman's Institute Fashion Service; Instruction Quarterly included "Smart Designs ... With Detailed Instructions for Making"; Woman's Institute Magazine published monthly at least through Spring of 1930
1922
Tailored Pockets, Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences
Tight Linings and Boning, Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences
House Aprons and Caps, No. 405, Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
1923
Woolen Materials and Tailored Plackets, Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Individualizing Tissue-Paper Patterns, No. 403, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Tailored Seams and Plackets, No. 414, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Textiles and Sewing Materials, Women's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences
1925
The Mary Brooks Picken Method Of Modern Dressmaking
Underwear and Lingerie, Part 1, No 407-A, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
Designing and Planning Clothes, No. 415, Instruction Paper with Examination Questions
1927
How to Make Dresses the Modern Singer Way (Singer Sewing Library No. 2) (reissued 1928, 1929, 1930)
1929
How to make draperies, slip covers, cushions and other home furnishings the modern Singer way (Singer Sewing Library)
1930
Sewing Secrets, Modern Methods of Stitching, Decorating and Finishing, The Spool Cotton Company (reissued 1934)
1931
Laundering and Dry Cleaning, Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences
1933
Principles of Tailoring, Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences
1939
The language of fashion: Dictionary and digest of fabric, sewing and dress, Mary Brooks Picken school, Incorporated
1941
Sewing For the Home, New York and London, Harper & Brothers
1943
Mending Made Easy, The ABC and XYZ of Fabric Conservation, Harper & Brothers
1949
Singer Sewing Book, New York, Singer Sewing Machine Co.
1955
Sewing Magic
Needlepoint Made Easy
1956
Dressmakers of France: The who, how, and why of the French couture, Harper, 1956.
1957
The Fashion Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition ISBN 0-308-10052-2, 1999 Dover republication ISBN 0-486-40294-0)
1993
Old-Fashioned Ribbon Trimmings and Flowers. ISBN 978-0486-27521-5
1999
A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern (unabridged Dover Books republication of The Fashion Dictionary, 1957). ISBN 978-0486-40294-9
References
External links
Early Home Courses for Dressmaking and Millinery, Threads Magazine, Summer 2023; includes photographs of Picken's sewing instruction booklets