COMMERCIAL ARTICLE 17
SENIOR CORDS —
A DIRTY, COLORFUL HISTORY

Written by Kelly Gallett Richardson and Mary Figueroa

For more than a century, Hoosier students have taken part in the wildly expressive school tradition of senior cords — adorning one’s golden corduroy pants and skirts with classmate’s names, drawings, school mascots and whatever else they feel like expressing. As a rite of passage for college and high school students, senior cords are a time-honored tradition unique to Indiana. They are the perfect example of the regional design that Commercial Article strives to document.

Although their popularity may have peaked in the 1960s, senior cords continue to appear on Indiana students. But they have also been discovered by fashion houses like Bode, and by celebrities like Harry Styles, Kendall Jenner, and Jeff Goldblum.

In this edition, Kelly Gallett Richardson, Director and Curator of The Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection at Indiana University, and Mary Figueroa, Curator of History at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites offer their insights as collectors and historians focussed on preserving senior cords and helping to tell the stories they chronicle.

At 164 pages, this is issue features dozens of senior cord garments as well as the history and culture behind the tradition. Commercial Article 17 is designed and printed in Indiana.