Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article

May 9, 1999
By Alice Zimmerman Johnson
Vigo County Historical Society

Dress full of memories

Little girls used to play dress up and I remember the excitement I felt when I slipped into a beautiful silk or satin dress. I always felt a thrill when allowed to enter this intriguing world of adults.

Silk dresses, feathered hats and boas--these are the things that set my childish heart racing. I remember looking down at my little pink coat with its beautiful buttons and screaming, “Oh no, I’ve lost one of my diamonds!”

I regained some of those lost feelings when I was taken to the wardrobe room of the Historical Museum . In that room are dresses from the turn of the century. Shelves are lined with hat boxes. What fun it would be to be left along for just one hour to play dress up at the museum.

I selected a dress and hat I would like to have worn to a lawn party. The dress is beautiful. It is made of ecru organdy. Flowers and leaves are embroidered over a good portion of the dress. The jacket is attached. It has long sleeves that end in net.

The hat is a Panama, with a silk drape and flowers that resemble lilacs.

I can imagine an elegant lady sipping minted tea. Probably the lady who wore this dress, at one time, enjoyed playing dress up just as I.

Look at this dress and then get a fashion magazine for the spring and summer of 1993 and you will see that once again organdy and big hats are “in.”

The dress is displayed on a mannequin in the parlor at the museum. Come visit and lose yourself in dreams for an afternoon.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

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