• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.51-74
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• 2015

The purpose of this exploratory research is to study Cashin's fashion philosophy and to draw her design characteristics through analysis of her work. As a result of this research, 76 garment pieces were selected from the 180 Bonnie Cashin collections at the University of Cincinnati to document and evaluate. The final selection includes: sixteen jackets, fifteen skirts, five pants, five tops, seven dresses, twenty five coats, and three capes. Bonnie Cashin specialized in practical and functional; yet innovative designs such as leather trimmed tweed Jackets/coats, canvas raincoats, suede leather coats, and ponchos. Her trademark elements include toggle closures, oversized pockets, her Noh coats, tweed suits, canvas raincoats, fringed suede dresses, funnel neck pullovers, jersey dresses, and ponchos. She emphasized function and comfort and she believed that a good design must also be practical. The examination of these 76 pieces from the University of Cincinnati's private Bonnie Cashin Collection brings to light Bonnie Cashin's creative design and what she represented in the development of American fashion design in the $20^{th}$ century.