Helen LARSON was a collector based in Whittier, California. She owned a successful film costume rental business and amassed a world-renowned private collection of historic fashion. She was a brilliant connoisseur and historian. The collection is made up of 1,400 pieces of European dress wear for men, women and children. Some pieces date back to as early as the 1600's, but the bulk of the collection focuses on 18th and 19th century garments from Europe, all of which are in exquisite condition. The collection includes objects worn by women and men dating from the eighteenth century to the 1930s, and contains a significant group of British royal dress (Princess Charlotte, Queen Victoria, Princess Alexandra of Wales (later Queen Alexandra), nineteenth-and twentieth century haute couture (Paquin, Beer, Chanel, Félix), and rare accessories (millinery, mantles, bags, shoes). Helen LARSON came from a middle-class background, born and raised in Southern California. She amassed her collection over five decades, primarily during the ‘50s and ‘60s, traveling through Europe and meticulously hunting. During LARSON’s lifetime, museums were not extensively collecting garments or textiles, so it was up to independent, private collectors to find and conserve these pieces. Larson was peculiar in comparison to the other collectors of her era, who were either delicate, young heiresses or wives of the hyper-wealthy. She financed her collection independently, creating a business from renting out her lesser-finds to the film and theater world. LARSON’s idea was truly innovative, letting her pursue collecting consistently for decades. The collection consumed her world. Larson kept her entire collection in her home, filling her children’s closets, obscuring the fireplace with the rolling racks and overwhelming the house with fabric and history. In addition to her sublime collection of garments LARSON was an autodidactic archivist. She collected primary source periodicals and fashion plates in order to put her collection in context. LARSON had an eye for the finest materials and impeccable workmanship. From a peek at the collection, you can get a glimpse of LARSON’s taste. LARSON’s collection contains some of the only authentic European regalia kept and collected in the United States. The collection includes clothes from all matters of European royalty: dresses from three empresses, six queens and ten princesses.