The National Museum of Costume opened to the public in 1977 in Quinta do Monteiro-Mor; it was the result of a project dating from 1969, presented in 1973 and consolidated with the exhibition Civilian Costume in Portugal in 1974. Its first director, Natália Correia Guedes, was responsible for bringing the whole process to a successful conclusion.

Consisting mainly of private donations, the collection also incorporated costumes and accessory items that came from other national museums. In the years that followed until the present day, private donations have been the key contributions, thus enriching the museum’s collection.