Musée de la Chemiserie et de l'Élégance masculine
Argenton was once France's shirt-making capital
Housed in the original 1860 garment factory. A Musée de France. Three thousand women workers were employed here during the Belle Époque.
You don't expect it, and that's what makes it good. Argenton-sur-Creuse was France's leading shirt-making centre, employing up to around three thousand workers, to the point where it was known as the town of shirts.
The museum began in 1982 as an association founded by a retired industrialist, his wife and former employees. Opened to the public in 1989, recognised by the Direction des musées de France in 1990, run since 1997 by the local authority grouping.
The building is a former U-shaped factory. The north wing is Charles Brillaud's original 1860 workshop. The production line has been reconstructed there: patternmaking, cutting, assembly, folding. Alongside it, the history of menswear, from the medieval shirt to today.
A textile garden has been planted in the courtyard, with fibre and dye plants.
Eight euros, ticket valid for twelve months, and combinable with Argentomagus. Closed Mondays, and from late December to mid-February.