A third-generation dressmaker, designer Ann Cole Lowe’s one-of-a-kind fashions were favored by high-society matrons and famous female figures from the 1920s all the way through the 1960s. But though she was worn by many prominent women, and even designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress, Lowe never became the household name she deserved to be. Unlike her famous contemporaries, Lowe was African American, which in the Jim Crowe-era world in which she worked made her fashion’s best kept secret. But now, happily, the spotlight has finally found her with an exhibit at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. It seems like a truly fitting tribute to the unknown designer, and an auspicious start for the fledgling museum.
“I love my clothes and I’m particular about who wears them. I am not interested in sewing for café society or social climbers. I do not cater to Mary and Sue. I sew for families of the Social Register.” Ebony Magazine interview with Ann Lowe
After working for a few wealthy private clients, Lowe enrolled at the S.T. Taylor School of Design in New York City. But because the white students didn’t want to share a classroom with a black women, she was made to study alone in a separate classroom. Once she had established herself, she made cotillion gowns for all of New York’s most prominent families, including the du Ponts, Roosevelts, Rockefellers, Whitneys, Posts, Bouviers and Auchinclosses. I hope you enjoy these fine examples of Lowe’s glorious gowns.
You can learn more about Ann Cole Lowe on the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s website.
May 15, 2018 at 7:27 am
Now this is real fashion. Nothing outlandish just pure beauty.
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May 15, 2018 at 8:07 am
They really are lovely!
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May 15, 2018 at 8:07 am
Wow! Those are some amazing gowns.
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May 15, 2018 at 8:08 am
I do wish I could wear them!
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May 15, 2018 at 9:17 am
Beautiful gowns with a beautiful story. Thanks for highlighting Ann Lowe!!
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May 15, 2018 at 2:22 pm
She must have been a real character!
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May 15, 2018 at 10:13 am
The wedding dresses are fabulous! Beautiful.
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May 15, 2018 at 2:22 pm
She was a real talent!
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May 15, 2018 at 4:23 pm
She was clearly exceptionally talented as those designs are beautiful. I must admit I had never heard of her so I am glad to learn about her from you.
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May 15, 2018 at 6:44 pm
Isn’t it sad she had to Design in the shadows? She should have been mega-famous!
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May 15, 2018 at 7:18 pm
Yes. It really is. We need to make real efforts now to rewrite people back into our cultural history who were overlooked before, whether deliberately because of prejudice or because we failed to comprehend their significance at the time. It seems clear she would have been deserving of fame in her own lifetime had she not been doubly disadvantaged being a woman and a person of color. We (ought to) know better now so we should do better now.
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May 15, 2018 at 7:51 pm
Amen, sister!
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May 19, 2018 at 9:38 pm
Wow!! Just read this now, belatedly. What lovely creations! Very timely post, Donna, just in advance of Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry. New vistas opening for young black girls & women…
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May 19, 2018 at 10:12 pm
Long, long overdue vistas…
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