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Four Generations, Five Dresses

The spring 2013 historic clothing exhibition at Vassar College was entitled &quot;For Better and For Worse: Sixteen Decades of Wedding Wear at Vassar,&quot; and was curated by Arden Kirkland (VC Class of 1993) and Faculty Emeritus Holly K. Hummel, <br /><br /> <br /><br /> In 2007, Vassar received a donation of four wedding dresses from the same Vassar family—three generations of dresses. The exhibition included these four dresses, plus a fifth dress on loan to represent the fourth generation, as well as other wedding wear and photographs collected over the years. The exhibition explored changing views of marriage over the last 160 years, including timely views on marriage equality.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The exhibition took place in the Palmer Gallery in the College Center, Main Building, at Vassar, from May 23 - June 9, 2013.
The spring 2013 historic clothing exhibition at Vassar College was entitled &quot;For Better and For Worse: Sixteen Decades of Wedding Wear at Vassar,&quot; and was curated by Arden Kirkland (VC Class of 1993) and Faculty Emeritus Holly K. Hummel, <br /><br /> <br /><br /> In 2007, Vassar received a donation of four wedding dresses from the same Vassar family—three generations of dresses. The exhibition included these four dresses, plus a fifth dress on loan to represent the fourth generation, as well as other wedding wear and photographs collected over the years. The exhibition explored changing views of marriage over the last 160 years, including timely views on marriage equality.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The exhibition took place in the Palmer Gallery in the College Center, Main Building, at Vassar, from May 23 - June 9, 2013.

In 2007, our collection received a donation of four wedding dresses from the same family, representing three generations of Vassar alumnae, and for this exhibition we’ve also been loaned a dress from the fourth generation. They form the centerpiece of this exhibition, as this grouping inspired our interest in the subject of wedding wear. Why did these brides, all from the same family, choose such different styles? We found that the mix represents both the changes in fashion over time, and their personal choices.

 

“...that family history that was with me on my wedding day” - Anna Kichorowsky Langdell (Vassar class of 2006)

 

- by Arden Kirkland (Vassar class of 1993) and Emily Alice Goddard (Vassar class of 2015)

 
Four Generations