On June 11, 1938, Lydia Ferris married Granville Lester at the Second Congregational Church on East Putnam Avenue. Her gown and veil are now on the second floor of the Greenwich Historical Society's main building at 47 Strickland Road in Cos Cob. Hugh and Claire Vanderbilt bought the dress from her estate. Claire Vanderbilt led and supported the Society for more than 50 years.
The gown is part of Fashioning America: 250 Years of Greenwich Style, which runs through January 10, 2027. The holiday tours of Bush-Holley House end on Sunday, January 10, too. Upstairs is the town's clothing. Downstairs, the Bush family's rooms are set for an 18th-century winter. The campus's holiday calendar is also the last stretch of the 250th celebration, and the two exhibits close on the same day.
A collection out of storage for the first time in 30 years
The Society describes Fashioning America as the third and final exhibition in its America's 250th series. It uses clothing to show how American society and culture changed. Most of the pieces come from the Society's own collection, and some are on public view for the first time. Local museums lent others, and local women lent clothes they wore for important events in their lives.
When the exhibition opened in April, Executive Director and CEO Carol Cadou told the Greenwich Sentinel how long the clothes had been out of view:
"We are absolutely delighted to share our extensive costume collection with the public for the first time in 30 years. This exhibition affirms our longstanding commitment to preserving the most fragile reminders of Greenwich history and provides a telling window into our town's cultural and social transformation over the last 250 years."
Silk, lace and beadwork are fragile, so they don't stay on display for long. That's why the closing date matters.
The second floor, room by room
Kathleen Craughwell-Varda, the Society's Senior Curator, organized the exhibition into seven installations in the second-floor gallery of the main building. She told the Sentinel that the team "intentionally created backdrops that place the clothing in the eras when they were worn." Here is the order you see them in, based on the paper's walkthrough:
- The entry. A large print shows George Washington on his way from Mount Vernon to his first inauguration in New York. At Trenton, the women of the town meet him with baskets of flowers.
- The 18th and early 19th centuries. Two men's frock coats hang side by side. One is imported English silk with silk embroidery. The other is American linen, a sign of patriotism through locally made cloth. Next to them are empire-style dresses inspired by Josephine de Beauharnais. One is a brown silk dress with a linen drawstring, given to the Society by Oleva Mead, in the plainer style New England women preferred.
- "The First Fast Fashion 1825-1850." Colorful dresses with collars and aprons from the decades when industry and the economy grew quickly after the Revolution.
- "Bridal Customs 1860-1940." Lydia Ferris's 1938 gown and veil are here.
- "Conspicuous Consumption 1860-1900." Two day dresses, a tea dress and a dinner dress in silk, velvet and lace, worked with glass beads and metallic thread. They date from the years when the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Havemeyers and Carnegies had homes in Greenwich.
- "Fashion Forward 1960-2026." Eight dresses and pantsuits by Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent and Adele Simpson, who lived in Greenwich for many years. Several were bought at Razook's, the designer shop that used to be on East Putnam Avenue.
The last room has mirrors behind the clothes. "The mirrors are here to reflect our visitors and include them and their personal styles in the exhibition," Craughwell-Varda told the Sentinel. The exhibition starts with Washington riding toward his first inauguration and ends with your own reflection in a winter coat.
Many of the names on the labels are local, from Second Congregational to Razook's, both on East Putnam Avenue. Craughwell-Varda explained the connection to the Sentinel: "Greenwich's proximity to New York City always made the best goods and fashions available to its residents."
Downstairs, Bush-Holley House is set for the 1780s
The same history continues downstairs and across the lawn. The Society's regular tours of Bush-Holley House focus on David Bush and his family during the Revolution, from 1777 to 1783. For the holiday tours, which begin Tuesday, November 17, the first floor shows three occasions the Dutch-English Bush household celebrated:
- A New England Thanksgiving, with family and friends at the table
- The arrival of St. Nicholas, the forerunner of Santa Claus, with gifts and treats for the children
- Twelfth Night, the feast that ended the Christmas season
Tours run Tuesday through Sunday at 11:00 a.m., 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., and the Society asks visitors to reserve ahead. Upstairs, Washington rides toward the presidency in 1789. Downstairs is the Bush household of the war years just before it, laid out for the holidays.
In the evenings, the Society offers candlelight tours. Guests carry lanterns to the house, where the rooms are lit by candles and the hearths. Afterward, refreshments for adults and families are served in the Barn, which is decorated with lights and greens. These tours run Thursday through Sunday evenings through Sunday, December 13. They leave at 4:00, 4:45, 5:30 and 6:15 p.m. Space is limited, and you have to register ahead on the Society's holiday page.
The calendar between now and January 10
Most of the season's events happen in the same building as the gowns, in its lobby or in the Barn next door.
Thursday, November 12. Dr. Stacey Close speaks on "The Roots and Legacy of the Bill of Rights" from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. Light bites and drinks are served in the Museum Lobby beforehand, from 5:30.
Tuesday, November 17. Holiday tours of Bush-Holley House begin.
November 19 through 22. The eighth annual Festival of Tabletop Trees is in the museum lobby. Local retailers, organizations and designers decorate small trees, and visitors can bid on them in an on-site silent auction or buy them outright. Last year's seventh edition was held in early December, as the Greenwich Free Press reported. This year it comes before Thanksgiving.
Saturday, November 21. Kathy Craughwell-Varda leads a curator tour of Fashioning America from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m.
Thanksgiving weekend. The town's holiday lights are expected to be lit along Greenwich Avenue and through downtown Cos Cob, including most side streets. They stay up until after the New Year.
Thursday, December 3. Floral designer Colin Stark leads a wreath workshop from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. using fresh greens and holiday trimmings, with all materials provided. The same evening, the Holiday Market opens in the Museum Lobby from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. with a selection of foods and gifts. Last year the Society's holiday shopping event was a boutique at Greenwich Country Club, according to the Greenwich Free Press. This year it takes place on the Strickland Road campus.
Friday, December 4. The market runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. From 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Holiday Tea with the Holleys is held in the Barn, with food, tea and live harp music. Afterward, guests can take a candlelight tour of the house or see Fashioning America upstairs.
Saturday, December 5. The second curator tour is from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, December 10. A Washington's Farewell Lecture runs from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m. The exhibition opens with Washington on his way to take office, and this lecture is about his leaving it.
Sunday, December 13. Last evening for candlelight tours.
Sunday, January 10. Last day for the holiday house tours and for Fashioning America.
Admission, and the free Wednesdays
General admission is $15 for adults and $10 for seniors, students and young people ages 6 to 18. Members and children under five get in free, and admission is free for everyone on the first Wednesday of each month. Before the exhibition closes, the first Wednesdays are December 2 and January 6.
The Society's Time Travelers Family Sundays continue through the season. These programs present 250 years of Greenwich history for younger visitors. The curator tours on November 21 and December 5 last half an hour. Craughwell-Varda leads them herself, and she can explain who wore the dresses and where they came from.
Upstairs on Strickland Road, a linen coat worn out of patriotism and a 1938 wedding veil each come with a known history. Provenance and careful restoration guide our work at The Field Point, on the Homestead Inn's historic grounds on Field Point Road. If you'd like to talk about any of it, New England Land would be glad to arrange a private consultation and share residence details.
