Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 11, 1993 TAG: 9303110399
SECTION: AMERICAN WONMEN'S SHOW PAGE: AW-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By ANNE PIEDMONT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HERE COMES THE BRIDE; HERE COMES THE AUDIENCE
The Bridal Show is one of the biggest and most popular attractions of the American Women's Show, and this year's entry should be no exception. In fact, Brenda Liles, coordinator, says those planning to attend the 2 p.m. Sunday event should arrive at noon.The show promises to be well worth the wait. The highlight of the afternoon will be the fashion show featuring something old and something new. The "something new" is Lady L bridal fashions, provided by Lazarus, which sells the line locally. Mixed in with the new is the old: replicas of three White House wedding gowns on loan from the Roanoke Valley History Museum.
The museum's collection includes six of these gowns, donated by Elizabeth Arden, said Dr. Nancy Connelly, executive director. Three of the gowns will be modeled in the Bridal Show: the gown worn by Mary Catherine Hellen at her 1828 marriage to John Quincy Adams II; the gown worn by President Grover Cleveland's bride Frances Folsom, and the gown worn by Alice Lee Roosevelt, who married Rep. Nicholas Longworth in 1906.
Each gown is representative of the fashion history of its time, and each has a tale to tell, said Connelly.
The Hellen-Adams nuptials were said to be quite a "joyous occasion," at which even President Adams danced the Virginia Reel. The wedding took place in the Oval Drawing Room. The dress is of white satin with a molded bodice, full skirt and a wide bertha collar, over-embroidered with pearls.
Frances Folsom Cleveland's dress is "a show-stopper," according to Connelly, and the circumstances of her marriage somewhat interesting. The 22-year-old married Cleveland June 2, 1886 in a simple ceremony in the Blue Room. She had been Cleveland's legal ward since her father's death when she was 11 years old. The wedding was followed by an informal reception and supper.
The dress is made of classic corded ivory satin, with "much yardage of silk India muslin." The skirt is Grecian inspired, draped in the front toward the left, where it is caught at the waist with a nosegay of orange blossoms. Orange blossoms and green leaves edge the V-neckline and extend down the left edge of the skirt.
The "most brilliant wedding of all" was that of the "popular and vivacious" Alice Lee Roosevelt (daughter of Teddy) to Nicholas Longworth, an Ohio congressman. The Feb. 17, 1906 wedding was the largest ever held at the White House and was reportedly "a triumph of splendor, diplomacy and sentiment."
There were no bridesmaids, so Alice took center stage as she and her 18-foot silver brocade train swept past the 680 guests.
The cream satin, princess-style dress featured lace from her mother's wedding dress on the yoke and elbow-length sleeves. The heavy silver brocade train, with a Chinese tiger lily design, was fastened at the shoulders. Clusters of orange blossom are nestled in the lace at the shoulders.
The History Museum's collection also includes replicas of the wedding gowns worn by Maria Monroe, daughter of James Monroe, Nellie Grant, daughter of Ulysses S. Grant, and Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of Lyndon Johnson.
The fashion show will be preceded by prelude music, provided by local artists, and followed by a reception, with music by the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.