Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Sunday April 27, 2008

Mrs. K . and I went to hear a masters candidate thesis presentation at Ursuline College on April 22. Ursuline fashion professor, Susan Powers discussed The Changing Silhouette of the American Wedding Gown. She highlighted how American wedding gowns can be learning tools when studied as historical artifacts of material culture. An exhibit of wedding gowns was included in her presentation.

The main reason why I was there was that my sister and her husband had donated a wedding gown worn by my brother-in-law's grandmother in 1914. It was quite interesting to see how the wedding dress had evolved over the last 100 years. Then again there hadn't been any real drastic change at all. The dress still represented the vestages of a young woman's crowning moment—the day of her wedding. It represented a young couple's hope and asperations, the future they were to share from that moment on. The bouque of flowers were long gone, in some instances even the bride, groom and wedding guests. Only the gown itself remained—a testiment to its loving care and sentiment.

The candidate, Mrs. Powers. worn a gown of her own creation as she presented her paper; her husband dressed in a groom's tuxedo—wedding cake and coffee were served after the presentation. I was quite impressed in Mrs. Powers' paper, the self-designed gown she wore and her husband's participation and support in her disertation. Mr. and Professor Powers can be very proud of each other.

K.

No comments: