LANSING, Ill. (June 28, 2024) – The brides are back. Each June, the Lansing Historical Museum is turned into a fashion warehouse of wedding wear during the annual “Brides Through the Decades” exhibit. This year over 70 vintage garments are on display, the majority of which are bridal gowns.
“The purpose of the display is to look at history — both Lansing history and the greater U.S. — through the lens of fashion trends,” said Museum Curator Barb Dust.
Visitors will also find some bridesmaid dresses and other wedding attire. “Beyond the gowns, we have a display of bridal accessories used over the years, including shoes and tiny purses, vintage cake toppers, and vintage wedding cards,” said Dust. “One year we asked people to tell us the music that was played at their wedding. We have compiled a CD with some of the selections mentioned. The CD is played as background music.”
“The exhibit started with Betty Humphrey, who was assistant curator along with Julia Gault,” said Dust. “The June Brides exhibit started in the late 1980s. The earliest I could find documentation on it was 1987. Betty was schooled at the Art Institute of Chicago in fashion design.”
Colors and cultures
While most of the dresses on display are a traditional white color, a few stray from the norm. A brown 1880s dress is one of the oldest in the collection. A delicate 1950s gown is a baby blue hue with layers of tulle.
“Some of the most unusual gowns on display are the gown and sari provided by Lansing resident Kalpana Sharma, who is from India,” said Dust. “She wore the sari for part of the ceremony and the western style gown at the church. She has added many pictures and text about the custom of the bride’s decorative henna patterns traced on her hands and feet before the ceremony.”
The exhibit celebrates other wedding customs from different cultures. “We have one of our newer gowns that came with the apron for the Polish custom of ‘oczepiny’ or unveiling,” said Dust. “The bride’s mother takes off the bride’s veil and ties around her waist an apron to signify the transition from a maiden to a homemaker and later, a mother. The apron has toy babies attached to express the hope for the blessing of children. During the ‘apron dance’, guests give money to the bride’s father to secure a chance to dance with the bride. The money is used for a honeymoon or for a future child.”
Two new dresses
The exhibit stays fresh from year to year by introducing updates and changes. The layout is altered, and new pieces are introduced. New this year are two dresses that belonged to a mother and daughter who were part of Lansing’s earliest families. Beth Krumm, of Schererville, with the blessing of her brother and cousins, donated her grandmother’s 1921 wedding gown. Her grandmother was Elizabeth Erfert, who married William H. Winterhoff. Winterhoff was the owner of a Ford Dealership on Ridge Road and was Lansing’s first fire chief. Krumm also donated the dress her mother, Lila Mae Winterhoff, wore for her 1947 wedding. Both her mother and grandmother were married at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lansing.
Krumm has fond memories of growing up in Lansing. She was glad the dresses were passed down and that the museum had a place for them. “When you save them, you kind of don’t know what to do with them,” she said. “You don’t want to throw them out, and I don’t know that anyone wants a used one. Since our families were so involved in Lansing, it seemed like the appropriate thing to do in donating them to the museum.”
Krumm has not yet seen the exhibit. Her two cousins plan to come to town from California this summer, and she is hoping they can pay a visit the museum together to see the dresses.
In the future, the exhibit may include a dress from a third generation of the family. Krumm still has her own wedding gown from her 1979 wedding to Art Krumm that she said she would consider donating.
Then and Now
Dust said that a popular feature of the exhibit is the “Then and Now” photo collection. “We encourage current Lansing residents to allow us to copy their wedding photos and display them at the exhibit,” she said. “The collection is growing every year. It signifies the community’s good will for the young couple just starting out in life.”
When to see the Brides
“Brides Through the Decades” is open to the public Mondays 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. through August 17. Visits can be arranged at alternate times by calling 312-969-0385.
The museum is located in the lower level of the Lansing Public Library at 2750 Indiana Avenue.
