Bessie Green-Field Warshawsky Gallery and Mazza Foundation Gallery

I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot

Opens to the public at 12:00 noon, Saturday, May 22

Featuring more than fifty garments and other cherished heirlooms that make the Big Day so memorable, this exhibition is the first in-depth look at the Museum’s vast collection of wedding costume. Arranged chronologically starting with the frontier bride and early items of courtship, the exhibition illustrates not only the change in fashion but also how wedding traditions have changed over the past one and fifty hundred years, noticeably marked by industrialization and the rise of the middle class.

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, designs from the newly established houses of haute couture began to influence middle-class fashion and became an affordable option to many Americans. The department store rode this wave of economic growth, and the city’s iconic Marshall Field and Company single-handedly ushered in the era of the retail bride with the introduction of the first bridal registry in 1924. Between the Great Depression and the Second World War, bridal trends saw their greatest changes. Today, wedding gowns reference the past—seen in hoop skirts and corseted bodices—but with an unparalleled sense of individuality and extravagance.

Each garment on view in the exhibition is from a Chicago wedding and shows a cross-section of the city’s diverse people, from a shop girl’s handmade cotton-and-silk dress to a Jewish socialite’s Givenchy gown. Remarkable examples of complete wedding ensembles include gowns, veils, shoes, "setting-out" outfits, and lingerie, plus bridesmaid and mother-of-the-bride dresses.

Win the Ultimate Wedding

The Museum is giving one lucky couple a historic wedding they will never forget. Newly engaged Chicago couples are encouraged to share their proposal story to win the Ultimate Wedding.

Couples can submit their story online through Sunday, March 14, 2010.

> Learn more about the Ultimate Wedding contest

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

> Learn more about FashioNext

Events

> Members’ Preview of I Do!: Saturday, May 22, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon

> FashioNext Finale: Thursday, June 24

I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot would not have been possible without the generous support of the Costume Council of the Chicago History Museum. The Costume Council supports the Museum’s costume collection and exhibitions related to dress. The Museum would also like to acknowledge the Crown Family for their continued support.