Dorothy Horvorka wore this dress for her final solo piano performance with the Cleveland Summer Orchestra in 1959. One might imagine that a classical musician should wear more serious clothing, but Dorothy dressed with color and flair onstage. This dress is made of layers of dusty purple net, but a bright pink lining peeks through, and glows in certain light. She found success as a pianist for decades before devoting herself to musical philanthropy, as a trustee of the Cleveland Orchestra and President of its Women’s Committee, and as President of the Cleveland Music School Settlement., Made of synthetic net. Worn in Cleveland, Ohio by Dorothy Humel Hovorka (1921-2017). Gift of Dorothy Humel Hovorka 81.51.2. Featured in the "Wow Factor: 150 Years of Bold Clothes" Exhibit.
In the 1870s, Paris was reborn following the Franco-Prussian War. As Napoleon III waged territorial battles with the Germans, the conflict affected spirits, trade, finance, and travel. As Parisian life returned to normal, Cleveland tourists braved the trans-Atlantic voyage. By 1895, Harper’s Magazine even criticized those who seemed to come only for fashion: “...American girls never see anything of Paris during their four weeks’ stay there each summer, because so much of their time is taken up at the dress-makers’.”
In 1880, after a decade of European travels and a proposal from a Parisian Count, Helen Cowles married the Secretary of the US Legion, George Pomeroy, in Paris. This dress by Madame Dumonteil may have been part of her trousseau. Clevelanders recommended couturiers to friends, and in 1886 Helen’s neighbor Emma Sterling wrote about two-hour fittings for her Dumonteil gowns, which cost up to $90, roughly $2200 today., Gift of Julia Pomeroy. Featured in "Si Jolie!" Exhibit.