I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot
Bessie Green-Field Warshawsky Gallery and Mazza Foundation Gallery
I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot
Open through January 3, 2011
Before the grand white wedding, there was the simple ceremony in one's home with family and few friends.There were brown dresses, green, blue, even black, since one's wedding dress served double duty as a special-occasion gown and one's 'Sunday best.' Brides wore so many different colors, a rhyme popped up with a fate for each color. Not until the late nineteenth century did the trend for ivory wedding gowns become popular, often credited to Queen Victoria's startling choice to wear ivory when she wed in 1840.
For centuries, wedding fashion followed everyday fashion. Only recently have brides chosen to eschew contemporary formal wear for styles that directly reference the past. Today, hoop skirts, corsets, sinewy fishtails, long trains, and leg-o-mutton sleeves can all be seen on the aisle, but each style echoes decades past. The Museum's vast costume collection includes a stunning array of wedding attire—for brides, grooms, bridesmaids, and more—that reveals 150 years of fashion favored by Chicago couples. I Do presents forty-five dresses, plus accessories, corsets, men’s attire, and—after June 24—the winning dress of the FashioNext competition.
FashioNext
In conjunction with I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot, three established Chicago designers will each create a wedding gown inspired by selected pieces from the exhibition made with fabric provided by Brentano, a Chicago-based interior design textile company. The winning garment will become part of the Museum’s permanent collection and will be on display in I Do! for the remainder of the exhibition.
> View the finalists' design sketches and all the I Do! inspiration pieces on Flickr
Multimedia
Events
> FashioNext Finale: Thursday, June 24
> Film: The Wedding Singer, June 22
Shop I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot
> Purchase a copy of the exhibition catalogue
I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot is generously supported by the Costume Council of the Chicago History Museum. Palmer House Hilton is the official hotel partner for this exhibition.