January 10 – April 11, 1998

• The Traditional White Wedding Dress
• Early Victorian 1837-1867
• Late Victorian 1868-1901
• Early 20th Century 1901-1935
• Mid 20th Century, 1936-1965
• Late 20th Century, 1966-1998
• Cultural Wedding Traditions

All around the world, we can find people celebrating the passages from one stage of life to the next with some type of formal ceremony. These ceremonies, such as births, weddings, and funerals, usually incorporate special foods, rituals, and clothing specific to the occasion celebrated.

“Wedding Traditions” is an exhibition that explores the specific types of garments worn in marriage ceremonies, including an historical examination of the traditional white wedding dress worn in American and European weddings, as well as an overview of the garments and surrounding traditions of several cultures represented in the Historic Costume & Textiles Collection.

[Read more…]

October 30, 1996 – April 11, 1997

View the exhibition catalog (pdf).

As we sit on the threshold of a new millennium, it seems only natural to reflect on the past and contemplate the future. Contemplation of the future of any endeavor requires that we put it in proper historical perspective. We can use history to gain an understanding of our present situation and to guide us in deciding our future direction. This exhibition shows how historicism in fashionable dress reveals ways in which we create our future, not simply by incorporating new ideas and technologies, but by building on our past.

[Read more…]