1836 Wedding Dress
Off-white silk wedding dress; pattern motif - floral sprigs in damask style; bodice- high waist, wide neckline reinforced width with forlded drape from shoulder/sleeve to center front; 3 rows of satin cords emphasises the painted waist; lace trim; back of bodice has corded detail- as illusion of a seam; full leg-o-mutton sleeves, pleated at the shoulder, pleats caught in honeycomb stitches, forms decorative detail 2 below the seam line; lower edge of the sleeve is knife pleated with folded corded ribbon folded over spaced 2 apart; full pleated skirt with cartridge pleats in center back; bodice lined with linen, small fall at hem.
HCT.1989.318.46
1836
1908 Wedding Dress
Ivory silk satin and net wedding dress. Monobosom bodice with panel of net having applied satin piping and trim. Battenburg lace stand-up collar and yoke, set in long net sleeves with tucks and satin applique trim. Slightly raised satin waistline with attached satin sash, gathered and stitched, looped through two satin buckles and hanging full length (ends have fringe).
HCT.1987.259.1a
1908
1903/1937 Wedding Dress
Off-white wedding gown of satin, lace and organza or chiffon having a large lace bertha collar over short puff chiffon sleeves trimmed with a pleated ruffle, and a satin bodice and cummerbund with floral embroidery. It closes in back with hooks/eyes. The mostly satin skirt has a front panel of two layers of chiffon ending in a deep ruffle with horizontal tucks and pleated chiffon bands that extend around the skirt hem into the train. Two lace side panels, which match the collar, top the skirt. Wide falling collar made of lace, pieced to create symmetry. Cummerbund is loosely pleated and is embroidered in a floral motif with a satin stitch at the center front and center back with matching cording in floral patterns. There is also embroidery on the center front of the bodice just above the cummerbund as well as along the back closure and back neckline. The dress is closed at the center back with covered buttons and fabric loops on the satin, and with hooks and eyes along the collar and the skirt opening.
The bodice has a sheer organza yoke under the collar from the neckline to the top of the bust where the satin bodice begins. There is a small waistband in the back of the dress of satin, into which the skirt is pleated two inches either side of center back. The back of the skirt lengthens into a train that extends twenty-eight inches. The bottom thirteen inches of the skirt is decorated with the organza that is alternately pleated ruffles and pairs of horizontal tucks; stitching is done in a darker gold colored thread. The front satin skirt wraps around to the front and is sewn to a center panel of the satin organza. The thirteen inches of decorative ruffles and tucks is continued across the front and the tucks are extended up about seven inches into the center panel. In the center front of the satin organza panel is another embroidery motif. Over and on either side of the front panel are side panels of the handmade lace.
HCT.2006.32.1a-h
1903 & 1937
And the Bride Wore
And The Bride Wore…
…is a phrase that often appeared in newspaper accounts of weddings throughout the twentieth century, describing the dress chosen by the bride for one of the most sartorially significant moments of her life. We chose it as the title of this exhibition about wedding dresses, because we wanted the focus to be on the dress itself, the bride and the material culture background story about both.
As with all exhibitions, making the choices about which artifacts to display is often difficult because of the breadth of worthy items from which to choose. We solved this dilemma in two ways. The first was to create two installations so we could show as many wedding gowns in the collection as possible. The second was to organize the dresses into categories for interesting groupings. For this exhibition, the groupings are: Something Old—a dress of a certain age, Something New—a dress relatively recent, Something Borrowed—a dress borrowed from a former bride, Something Blue—in this case, a non-white dress, Local Stories—a dress with an interesting story relevant to a local Columbus or Ohio store, War Brides—dresses with stories related to times of war, and Generation Gap—dresses from multiple generations in one family.
Again, with exhibitions, they do not happen without considerable help and I would like to acknowledge that help here. Assistant curator, Marlise Schoeny, did thorough “background checks” on the brides to uncover information to include in the informational labels, and also created the photo gallery of brides for whom we have portraits but are not in the exhibition—a method of including those for which we don’t have the space to physically display. Friend of the Collection, Jennifer Brown of Romance Studio created several headpieces to accompany our gowns; those pieces are noted in the labels. Volunteers Julie Burnsides dressed several of our mannequins in their varied period attire, and Jackie Farbeann employed her needle to stabilize those artifacts that needed tender loving care. In addition, volunteers Kathy Copeland, Connie Cummings, and Joyce Smith helped with many tasks, large and small, to make this exhibition as well as the daily operations of the Historic Costume & Textiles Collection a success.
1881 Silk Beaded Wedding Dress
Elaborate ivory satin gown with bustle and train having a metallic brocade ‘vest’ and front skirt panel; embellishments of lace and bows complement glass bead and pearl trim on silk net around the neckline and wrists. Double pleated ruffles top the sleeves and are repeated under the scalloped hem of the front skirt panel. A softly pleated satin band edges the train which has a dust ruffle underneath of pleated organza and lace. A pair of matching shoes and bonnet completed the ensemble. 1881
1881
1957 White Silk Wedding Gown
Full-skirted transparent white dupioni gown over two layers of net and taffeta. Re-embroidered Alencon lace dotted with iridescent sequins and pearls decorates the wide neckline of the elongated bodice and bottom of the skirt yoke. Short gathered sleeves are complemented with dupioni gauntlets. 1957
HCT.2003.5.1
1957
1945 Rayon Bridesmaid Dress
Sheer gray/blue (moonstone) acetate bridesmaid dress with yellow taffeta slip; ruffles at wrist and yoke. Dress has faded from blue to its current shade.
HCT.2002.30.3ab
1945
1945 Rayon Wedding Dress
Sheer white rayon gazar gown over taffeta with sweetheart neckline, long sleeves, a dropped waist and train. The neckline and sleeves are finished with lace and a lace-edged ruffle. Similar layered ruffles accent the dress’s long train. The bride was accompanied by a rainbow of bridesmaids. 1945
1945
1893 Tan Silk Wedding Dress
Tan silk gown having a double-breasted bodice trimmed with black and tan stripe wide lapels, lower part of leg-of-mutton sleeves and bottom of bodice. Wide tan satin ribbons and large paisley buttons also embellish bodice. The five-gore A-line skirt is cartridge pleated center back and trimmed with a gathered self-fabric band at hem which sweeps asymmetrically up to another satin bow on left front of skirt. 1893
HCT.1996.16.1a-c
1893
1880s Wool and Silk Wedding Dress
An off-white silk satin and novelty weave wool wedding dress with hand painted panels: Bodice: short length; fitted; front - 2 sets of waist darts, back - princess seams; satin band collar hidden by lace collar; center front closure : 23 small round fabric covered shank buttons/buttonholes; wrist length, 2-piece set-in sleeves, satin applique at cuff area and lace ruffle; lower back: modified inverted pleat with reverse sides in satin; lined in brown glazed cotton fabric Skirt: full length; slight bell silhouette with fullness in back; center front panel: tiers of lace over novelty weave wool; front side panels: hand painted flowers (pink) with leaves and stems on silk satin; center back panel: gathered at waistband ( 1.5 brown cotton fabric) novelty weave wool fabric; hem trimmed with a narrow pleated dust ruffle; lined in brown finished cotton fabric Bustle: novelty weave wool fabric; full length of back skirt; gathered with strings on the inside (brown cotton fabric) to give a bouffant effect; there is a waistband that comes around the front Front bodice panel: silk satin; long - wide to narrow panel; top part - gathered for fullness mid section - shirred lower section - ends in a bow
HCT.1999.19.1a-d
1888