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WEDDING FASHIONS OF THE ROARING TWENTIES
OPEN THROUGH DECEMBER 30, 2003
Due to the resurgence of interest in the Roaring Twenties generated by the smash Academy-Award-winning motion picture CHICAGO, the Historical Society has assembled in its Costume Gallery a collection of wedding apparel from this period. Drawn from the Society’s permanent collection, the exhibit contains eight costumes, as well as accessories and undergarments, all worn by Fall River ladies during the Jazz Era.
Among the gowns on display is a stunning 1922 creation by Mme. Helen Thuot in mother-of-pearl silk charmeuse, with a scoop neckline trimmed in Irish point lace and a drop waist ornamented with a girdle of pearl-centered rosettes and loops of roping in pearl and clear crystal beads. A court train of the same silk charmeuse, finished with a picot edging, completes the ensemble. Worn by Florence Cook when she married Richard Curtis Brigham, the gown is displayed along with a number of accessories.
A magnificent asymmetrically cut silk satin gown, trimmed with an encrusted border of pearl and clear crystal beads draped over a bodice composed of swags of pearl roping, is finished with a fifteen-foot court train also ornamented with pearl and clear crystal beading. It was worn by Bernice Foster Myer upon her marriage to Flint Brayton in 1923.
A flower girl’s dress worn by Miss Margaret Abbe Gray at the wedding of her Aunt Alice to Harold Crocker Smith circa 1925, is a charming addition to the collection. Fashioned from cream silk with a band of smocking at the waist and a scalloped hemline, it is ornamented with silk crepe flowers and silk ribbon streamers.
A lovely mother-of-the-groom dress was worn by Mary Queen (Newcomb) Fuller to the wedding of her son in 1923. Created from brown lace, re-embroidered and encrusted with glass beads and faceted studs, over sand-colored silk chiffon, this garment is ornamented with a girdle of beaded swags and faceted stud medallions.
A focal point of the exhibit is a selection from the 1925 wedding ensemble of Mrs. Malcolm Pratt Aldrich, née Ella Fisher Buffington. Her cream silk satin wedding dress is simply ornamented with rolled piping in a zig-zag pattern at the waist, features a court train and was worn with a long cotton net veil with guipure of Carrickmacrosse lace. A set of wedding lingerie, comprised of drawers, slip and nightgown, is made of silk crepe with inset panels of handmade lace and decorated with floral embroidery.
These are but a few of the garments currently on display in the Historical Society’s WEDDING FASHIONS OF THE ROARING TWENTIES. The exhibit is certainly a must-see for anyone interested in the history of fashion and costume. |
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Wedding gown worn by Bernice Foster Myer upon her marriage to Flint Brayton in 1923. |
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Detail of the bodice of the Myer/Brayton wedding gown. |
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Wedding gown of Florence Cook, worn when she married Richard Curtis Brigham in 1922. |
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