First Ladies Dresses
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and its newly reopened National Museum of American History. While there, I had the opportunity to see several exhibits, which I’ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks. First up – the exhibition of first ladies dresses.
This exhibit not only showed and discussed the first ladies dresses in the museums collection, but also went into the history of the collection and of the exhibit itself. It has been a part of the Smithsonian’s exhibition program for decades, and is one of the most popular. The collection itself actually has over 1000 objects related to the first ladies and their activities during their years in the white house. I highly recommend a visit to the exhibit on your next trip to D.C. Here are a few of the highlights from when I was there (they frequently rotate gowns out of this exhibition, so you might see something different when you go):
Helen Taft’s 1909 inauguration gown (my personal favorite):
An evening gown from Mamie Eisenhower:
Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1945 Inauguration reception gown:
Martha Washington’s silk gown dating to the 1780s (with reproduction collar and cuffs):
Mary Lincoln’s silk dress from 1861:
Sarah Polk’s silk dress from 1840 (remade into an evening gown in the 1880s):
Florence Harding’s dress by Harry Collins:
For a behind the scenes video of the exhibition with curator , click here. Next week, another exhibit from D.C.!
Worn Through » National Museum of American History/Abe Lincoln said,
March 25th, 2009 at 5:02 am
[...] trip to D.C. earlier this not only allowed me a lovely visit with the First Ladies Dressses exhibition at the National Museum of American History, but also provided me with a unique [...]
Judith Meeks said,
August 5th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Thank you for the fine photos of Helen Taft’s dress. I went to the website for The National Museum of American History and was unable to find photos of any First Ladies’ dresses.
Heather Vaughan said,
August 5th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Glad you enjoyed it Judith – the first ladies dresses can be found on the Smithsonian website at the website referenced above (http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1239)
Heather
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