Fashion and Longing: Gilded Age Dress in New England

October 10 – November 24, 2024

Opening Reception:  Thursday, October 10, 2024, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm

The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery and Salve Regina University’s Department of Art and Art History are pleased to announce the opening of Fashion and Longing:  Gilded Age Dress in New England, an exhibition that explores a transformative period in Newport’s social and cultural history through a critical analysis of dress and adornment.

Fashion and Longing:  Gilded Age Dress in New England transports viewers to a time of booming industrialism and transatlantic exchange — a period of affluence and aspiration in cities like New York and Newport.  This exhibition presents fashions from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries on loan from the University of Rhode Island’s Historic Textile and Costume Collection.  Highlights include a range of different garments including afternoon and evening wear, a wedding and mourning dress, a bathing costume and a wool coat.  From sportswear to formal wear, from hand-stitched items to hats and fans, this one-of-a-kind exhibition features articles of clothing for different occasions and times of the year, offering insight into the lives of Gilded Age New Englanders.

This exhibition was made possible through a partnership with Rebecca Kelly, a textile conservator and dress historian from the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design.  Ms. Kelly curated the selection of historic garments in collaboration with the show’s co-curators, Professors Ernest Jolicoeur and Anthony F. Mangieri of Salve Regina University’s Department of Art and Art History.  Students in Jolicoeur and Mangieri’s advanced Art History class served as assistant curators on this exhibition and are currently working on a digital humanities project to advance our understanding of these garments.

Fashion and Longing:  Gilded Age Dress in New England runs from October 10 through November 24, 2024.  On Thursday, October 10 the university community and the general public are invited to attend an opening reception.  This reception will run from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery.

The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery is located in the Antone Academic Center on the campus of Salve Regina University.  It is handicap accessible with parking along Lawrence and Leroy Avenues.  Its exhibits are open Tuesdays through Thursdays 11:00 to 6:00 pm, Wednesdays and Fridays 11:00 to 5:00 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays noon to 4:00 pm.  The gallery is closed on Mondays.  We invite you to visit us.