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Wedding Dresses Make History

on May 14, 2010 – 2:01 am
Charleston Museum Exhibition: Cream satin dress, 1891. The bodice is trimmed with beads and pearls, the skirt has a gathered ribbon with satin bows. Miss Lily Cheney wore this lovely dress when she married William Wallace Moore on December 20, 1891. [Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC.]

The Charleston Museum presents Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion, an original exhibition on display through June 30, 2010. While focusing on the bride and her dress, the exhibition will also include accessories, men’s garments, trousseau treasures, and photographs. Aisle Style will explore wedding traditions, from orange blossoms and blue garters to the magnificent white gown. The Charleston Museum will offer a wide variety of workshops and programs in conjunction with the exhibit.

The garments in this exhibition date from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century. Many are the traditional white, but others show a variety of styles and colors selected for that special day. Most were worn here in the South Carolina Lowcountry and all reflect the changing fashions of the different decades. The earliest wedding dress, a delicately embroidered muslin Empire-style gown, was worn by Sarah Elizabeth Ellison when she married James Adger in Winnsboro, SC in 1806. The full hoop skirt, a signature of mid-19th century women’s fashion, is evident in the the ruffled organdy dress worn by Maryanna Heyward when she married Benjamin Taylor in 1865.

Charleston Museum
Corded silk taffeta two-piece dress, 1859. The broad, scooped neckline along with a low, pointed waist over a very full skirt emphasize the tiny waist so fashionable at the time.  It was worn by Louisa Jane Dearing who married Henry Edmondston (1834-1896), December 1859. [Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC.]

The deep rich colors of some of the late 19th century dresses reflect the popularity of the aniline dyes that were so new and exciting at the time. The plum silk taffeta two-piece dress worn by Mrs. James F. Condon for her marriage on April 27, 1883 even featured a second bodice, with plaid velvet lapels and cuffs, an element that would extend the usefulness of this dress. The white satin dress worn by Sen. Fritz Hollings’ mother, Wilhelmine Dorothea Meyer Hollings, for her marriage in 1914 is accompanied by her shoes, stockings, gloves and wax orange blossoms. Delightful dresses from the 1920s show that even brides followed the swinging styles of that era. And Jean Welsh, who married Lt. Eugene Eason of Charleston just as America was entering World War II, wore a fashionable, yet sensible brown wool crepe suit with matching shoes for her important occasion. The exhibit concludes with the quintessential mark of the mid-20th century, a polyester tent-style wedding gown from 1968. “These wedding fashions adorned the aisle with changing styles as the centuries progressed,” notes Jan Hiester, Curator of Textiles at the Charleston Museum. “They provide a glimpse into the past through the clothing that was chosen for a very special day, and then saved, carefully and deliberately, for us to share.”

Visit Aisle Style online to see over 30 beautiful images of the collection dating from 1806 to 1968. Click here.

About The Charleston Museum and the Textile Collection:
The Charleston Museum’s large and diverse textile collection includes men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories, uniforms, flags, household items, samplers, quilts and decorative pieces. Dating from the 1740s through the 20th century, these pieces represent people from the South Carolina Lowcountry at all socio-economic levels, from well-known Charlestonians to unnamed enslaved African Americans. In the Fall of 2010, the Charleston Museum will open a pemanent textile gallery featuring rotating exhibitions.

Charleston Museum   Charleston Museum
Silk brocade dress, 1842. The skirt is set onto the bodice in flat pleats, with the skirt slightly fuller in the back. Elizabeth Mary Lesesne Blamyer wore this dress at her wedding to Henry Wigfall (1821-1858) on February 24, 1842 at Saint Paul’s Church. [Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC.]   Silk and damask dress, c. 1884. The luxurious morning glory damask silk is draped and gathered into a bow on one side, typical of late Victorian styling. The donor’s mother wore this Paris-made dress for her wedding. She may have been Charlotte Simons who married Henry R. Laurens on October 22, 1884. [Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC.]

 

Charleston Museum
Dark green silk taffeta dress, 1884.  Trimmed with brown velvet and chenille tassels, this two-piece dress has a separate matching bustle drape. It was worn by Effie McDougal at her marriage to William Walker Evans on December 25, 1884 in Marion, SC. Effie attended the Charlotte Female Academy and Queens College, becoming a teacher in Marion County. [Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC.]

The Charleston Museum, founded in 1773, is America’s first museum. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located along Charleston’s Museum Mile. Holding the most extensive collection of South Carolina cultural and scientific collections in the nation, it also owns two National Historic Landmark houses, the Heyward-Washington House (1772) and the Joseph Manigault House (1803), as well as the Dill Sanctuary, a 580-acre wildlife preserve. Museum hours are Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Museum admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children.

360 Meeting Street
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 722-2996
info@charlestonmuseum.org
www.charlestonmuseum.org

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