New Rosecliff exhibition displays Gilded Age fashion, satire

NEWPORT – “Fashion and Satire: The Drawings of Orson Byron Lowell and Charles Dana Gibson,” a new on-loan exhibit at Rosecliff, was opened to the public in late January by the Preservation Society of Newport County and will be accessible until May 7.

The exhibit pairs 50 satirical illustrations by Lowell and Gibson, well-known early 20th century illustrators who linked fashion and witty social commentary, with period costumes and accessories, displayed on mannequins or in cases and set up in vignettes next to the illustrations.

Costume pieces featured in the exhibition range from a beaded silk chiffon flapper and silk satin wedding dresses to both men’s and women’s wool one-piece bathing suits. Accessories such as a hand-painted silk and wood fan, a fancy velvet and ostrich feather picture hat and a number of decorative walking sticks also help bring the illustrations to life.

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