Instructor Profile:

Penny Ladnier

I am the owner of The Costume Gallery and the Costume Classroom. Since I am the owner, and I am asked frequently, "How did I get into blazing trails in the costume industry?" You are going to get the "whole nine yards."

Growing up in a small town in southern Mississippi, I dreamed of seeing the wonders of the world and visiting fine museums. I read encyclopedias for cover-to-cover hoping one day to visit these areas.

I learned to sew at four from my mother, a talented seamstress, and took six years of Home Economics. I started college locally first majoring in drafting, then art, and finally graduated with an associate's degree in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing in 1978. I worked in retail men's wears and did some local modeling jobs while putting my husband through his last years of college. My husband was a film major. Over the years we have watched films repeatedly for the various aspects of the making.

After my husband graduated, I made another attempt at college at the University of New Mexico as a Home Economics Education major… until child #3 came along.

In 1995, after our sixth child was old enough to go to school, I went back to college to finish my degree in Fashion Merchandising. While at school, I took courses in everything that interested me. A professor insisted that all his students learned to research retailers' profiles on the Internet (a new concept then). It was also required to take three computer classes. Well I feel in love with computers and took nine classes. I also had a passion for the costume design classes in the theatre department, so I took as many of those classes as I could. A large part of my required courses were in the school of business. I can tell you that those marketing majors found out those fashion majors were smart and didn't just "play with clothes."

While I was a student, I created a website called Historic Costume Research. It was a place students could go to find reliable costume information. The site grew and grew.

In 1996, I did my summer internship with the Valentine Museum in the Costume and Textile Collection. I really consider this my first big break in the industry. The curator was the President of the Costume Society of America. I learned so much from the curator and she introduced me to so many people.

Education:

Also at this time, I joined an email list called h-costume. There I meet people from all over the world, in all types of professions in costume. It was like asking the encyclopedia questions and it would answer me back.

YEA!!! Finally in 1997, (after three decades) I received my B.A. in Fashion from Virginia Commonwealth University.

After graduating, I opened my website professionally as The Costume Gallery in Nov. 1997. I am so proud to say that over six million visitors have been to The Gallery in three years. My main goal is STILL to educate people about costumes through my library and now through the Costume Classroom.

In 1999, I worked at a ball as a dresser for David Emanuel's, fashion designer, models. The same year, I also consulted with the BBC television network on a television show about the fashions of the 1970s. Sept. 2001, I bid on an auction for a wealthy client at an auction of President Kennedy's personal belongings. The prize was the highest bid of the auction for a candy dish from the Presidents desk. Another prize won was one of Jackie's pill box hats... total of the purchases over $15,000. 2002 (history of 1940s fashions) & 2003 (history of pants and swimsuits) brought many surprises, quoted in two articles by the Associated Press. In June 2002, I was awarded the Costume Society of America's Region VI Professional Development Grant to expand our 1920s Year in Fashion section of our Library. In August 2003, I will do a presentation of on how the grant was used at the regional symposium.

I have had the most wonderful pleasure to work with so many knowledgeable people in the industry. And finally YES, I have visited many of those places I dreamed of in those old Compton Encyclopedias.