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      On Sat., Feb. 15, the museum will be closed for a ticketed event from 10 am–1 pm and open for general admission from 1–5 pm. Learn more at pem.org/lny.

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      In-person Event

      Fashion in the Season of Revolution: A Panel Discussion and Reenactor Promenade

      Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 2:30—4:30 pm

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      Fashion in the Season of Revolution: A Panel Discussion and Reenactor Promenade

      Know before you go

      In-person event
      Location: Morse Auditorium

      Included with admission. Reserve same-day tickets at the Information desk.
      Salem residents and workers always get free admission.

      Check out the full list of upcoming Essex County Revolution 250 anniversary events.

      In February 1775, six weeks before the battles of Lexington and Concord, British troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Leslie attempted to cross the North River and seize gunpowder and cannons from the Salem militia. After a tense standoff with a crowd of Salem townspeople at the bridge, Leslie and local authorities negotiated the British troops’ peaceful return to Boston. Today, the incident is known locally as “Leslie’s Retreat.” To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the retreat and the start of the American Revolution, Essex National Heritage Area is hosting a year of events and educational programs.

      As a part of these Essex County Rev250 and Leslie’s Retreat 250 celebrations, PEM invites you to step back in time with “Fashion in the Season of Revolution,” a dynamic exploration of the intersection of style, society and conflict in the late 1700s. This engaging program, presented in cooperation with Leslie’s Retreat 250, offers a blend of scholarship, storytelling and immersive experience, combining a thought-provoking panel discussion with a vibrant Revolutionary reenactor promenade.

      Program Schedule

      2:30–3 pm:

      • Welcome from Petra Slinkard, Director of Curatorial Affairs and the Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles
      • PEM Collection in Focus: Abigail Adams’ Petticoat with Paula Bradstreet Richter, Curator-at-Large


      3–3:20 pm      :

      • Purchasing Patriotism: New England Shoe Stories During the Revolutionary Era with Kimberly Alexander, Ph.D., University of New Hampshire


      3:20-3:55 pm      :

      • “I Dress as Genteel As Possible”: Research and Context in Living History Interpretation with Emily A. Murphy, Ph.D., Curator, National Park Service
      • Inspiration Up Close: A Personal Story of Reenactment Dress with Henry Rutkowski and Petra Slinkard


      3:55-4:10 pm      : Onstage Reenactor Promenade
      Audience members are invited to view clothing up close and ask questions.

      About the collaborators

      Petra Slinkard
      Petra Slinkard

      Petra Slinkard, Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles, Peabody Essex Museum. Serving as the Director of Curatorial Affairs and the Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, Slinkard leads an award-winning exhibition program, oversees a robust global fashion and textiles collection and curates experiences on dress history and identity. Previously, she stewarded collections at the Chicago History Museum and at Newfields, in Indianapolis.

      Paula Richter
      Paula Richter

      Since 2009, Paula Richter has been responsible for curatorial research and support of the museum's changing exhibition program, related publications and core activities within the curatorial department. She has participated on exhibition teams for more than a dozen recent and upcoming exhibitions and numerous gallery installations and rotations, including The Salem Witch Trials 1692. She previously worked for the Cape Ann Historical Association, the Sargent House Museum and Landmark College. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Richter writes and lectures on American textiles and fashion and New England art and decorative arts.

      Kimberly Alexander, Ph.D.
      Kimberly Alexander, Ph.D.

      Kimberly Alexander, Ph.D., is on the faculty of the History Department at the University of New Hampshire, where she is Director of Museum Studies and Senior Lecturer. Alexander is currently a James Hayes Research Fellow for 2023-2024, a position awarded by the UNH Center for the Humanities. She has held curatorial positions at several New England Museums, including the MIT Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum and Strawberry Banke. Her most recent books are Treasures Afoot: Shoe Stories from the Georgian Era, which won an Honor Award from Historic New England in 2019, and Fashioning the New England Family.

      Emily A. Murphy, Ph.D.
      Emily A. Murphy, Ph.D.

      Emily A. Murphy, Ph.D., is the curator for Salem Maritime National Historic Site and Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. In her career in public history, Murphy has worked in government archives, libraries, historic houses and museums before coming to the National Park Service. Her publications include A Complete and Generous Education: 300 Years of Liberal Arts at St. John’s College, the walking tour guide Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Salem, Merchants, Clerks, Citizens, and Soldiers: A History of the Second Corps of Cadets, both written for the National Park Service, and most recently the chapter “’The Family of Derby Has a Taste in This Way’; The homes of Elias Hasket and Elizabeth Derby” in the book A Material World: Culture, Society and the Life of Things in Early Anglo-America. She has curated numerous exhibits for the National Park Service, including the current exhibits in the Salem Custom House and the Leslie’s Retreat Exhibit at the Salem Armory Visitor Center. She has been doing various forms of needlework all her life, and for the last thirty years has focused on researching and recreating 18th century clothing and accessories for use in living history programming.

      Henry Rutkowski
      Henry Rutkowski

      Henry Rutkowski is a Licensed Massachusetts Master Electrician and museum professional specializing in electronic security, fire detection, access control, CCTV systems and special events lighting. With over 50 years of experience as a Revolutionary War reenactor, Rutkowski portrays Captain Levi Preston of the Danvers Alarm List Company. He is a member of the Brigade of the American Revolution, the Northern Department of the Continental Line, and serves on the board of directors for the Danvers Alarm List Company Inc., a nonprofit organization that owns and operates the historic Rebecca Nurse Homestead. Additionally, Rutkowski is the facilities director at the Nurse Homestead, where he oversees the site’s operations and preservation efforts.

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