Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
June 12, 1988
by Helen Fagg Mitchell
Vigo County Historical Society
Here comes the bride--in a breathtaking gown
“And the bride was radiant in a gown of . . .”
No matter the style or the material, the bride’s wedding gown seems to be the most important thing at the wedding ceremony. As long as weddings are a tradition, young women will continue to take great pride in the choice of an appropriate gown for their special day. Whereas the word “dress” is used to denote street wear, wedding attire is always referred to as a gown.
The camera cannot show the intricate beauty of this two-piece wedding gown of the early 20th century. It consists of bodice or blouse, and a floor-length gathered skirt.
The material is white organdy which has lost part of its original crispness and whiteness but none of its simple basic beauty. The bodice has a round neck with a small fold-back collar of lace and a V-shaped yoke of lace net embroidery. The lower part of the bodice is softly gathered to the yoke and is trimmed with large lace medallions. The medallions have been cut out and then sewed to the organdy bodice.
The sleeves come just below the elbow and are of organdy with the same lace net trim set in a V-design with the material gathered in to fit a band at the lower edge. The bodice buttons down the back with 12 small buttons which are missing. This is not unusual, because beautiful buttons were used over and over after being removed from garments not being worn.
The skirt is attached to the waistband with 46 small tucks. Three bands of lace--one wide band and two narrow ones--form tiers in the skirt. One can imagine how the skirt would have looked with an underskirt to hold it out showing off the lace inserts.
The gown was worn by Myrtle McCauley Rine at her wedding in 1907. Myrtle lived on a farm near Vicksburg, and the wedding took place in that area. The gown was carefully packed away on a closet shelf until 1984 when it was presented to the museum by Mrs. Rine’s daughter Betty.
The young woman for whom the gown was made was born in 1879 and lived until 1967. The gown must have been very precious to her because she so lovingly cherished it all of those years.
June--the month of weddings--will feature many beautiful gowns, and they, in time, will take their place along side the ones of earlier years. The styles may vary and the materials may change, but their purpose remains the same--to present a young woman in the most beautiful manner possible to her future husband and to the world.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.