Fashion exhibitions tend to focus on the vision of a single designer, or the trends of a decade, or a theme like sustainable dressing or Hollywood glam. We rarely get a glimpse into the practical garments of past generations. This fall, however, the New York Historical unveils an exhibition of women’s quotidian clothing from the past 200 years. Exploring an archival collection of outfits on loan from Smith College, the show offers a narrative on the evolution of women’s labor, economics, and social roles. Divided into sections such as “Home: All Work, No Pay,” “Service: Capable and Accomplished,” and “Rites of Passage: What She Wore,” the material history of women’s rights is on full display. Highlights include a 1917 Abercrombie & Fitch suit refashioned into a W.W. I Relief uniform; a classic American pink waitress uniform circa 1950s; and the Girl Scout uniform, complete with 20 proficiency badges earned in 1945–46, that belonged to the American poet Sylvia Plath. —Lucy Horowitz