Evening Gowns of the 20th Century” opens at the Schenck House on Sunday, April 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. The exhibit in the double parlor includes both full length and short dresses representing a decade in the 20th century. Donations are welcome.##M:[more]##
“We have collected more than a dozen evening gowns on loan by members of the historical society and friends,” says Joan Parry of West Windsor, who assembled the exhibit with Mary Schenck. “They range from Bud Riggs’ mother’s 1914 gown to Kiki Parry’s 1988 prom dress (pictured at right) — and everything in between. Each dress has a unique story.”
A gold satin 1950s ball gown featuring two layers of tulle with an underliner and hoop with matching long gold gloves is on loan from Alice Martch of West Windsor. “The dress takes up almost all of the width of the double parlor,” says Parry. The exhibit also features evening bags, and shoes, powder compacts, opera glasses, long gloves, and even a tiara.
Another special exhibit, “Antique Dolls and Dollhouse Rooms,” which opened in February, continues through June 8. Antique dolls from 1700 through the mid-1900s are on display upstairs, along with dollhouse rooms showing a 1940s parlor, 1920s kitchen, and dollhouse versions of the colonial kitchen and Victorian double parlor in the Schenck House.
The tour is self-guided so you can spend as little or as much time as you wish in each room. A comprehensive exhibit of West Windsor history has been recently been updated with track lighting. There are several buildings and pieces of farm machinery on view on the grounds.
Open House, Historical Society of West Windsor, Schenck House, 50 Southfield Road, West Windsor, 609-799-1278. Self-guided tour of 1790-1830 kitchen and Victorian double parlor. Exhibit of West Windsor history in museum rooms. English-Dutch barn, outhouse, corn crib, and other farm buildings on view. Donations welcome. “Antique Dolls and Dollhouse Rooms” and “War of the Worlds” on view. “Evening Gowns of the 20th Century” opens. Sunday, April 6, 1 to 4 p.m.
