Fashion, Taste, and Status in the Charles Ridgely Household

Early Baltimore County Elites: Fashion, Taste, and Status in the Household of Captain Charles Ridgely New Date: December 3 In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Professor Susan Picinich, Department of Theatre Arts is preparing a talk about the Ridgelys of Hampton Mansion in Towson. Drawing on portraiture, family records, and surviving garments, this study will examine how fashion and material taste within the household of Captain Charles Ridgely and Rebecca Dorsey Ridgely articulated elite status and social authority in late eighteenth‑century Baltimore County.