I’ll take a peek into anything…pastures…gardens…house tours…even a Founding Father’s notes on devising the Constitution!
I got to do all this last Saturday at Montpelier as a guest of James and Dolley Madison!
DOLLEY MADISON’S WARDROBE RECREATED BY PBS
But my favorite peeks were into Dolley Madison’s wardrobe, an exhibit of the gowns that were created for the Dolley Madison PBS documentary, Dolley Madison: America’s First Lady.
After much research, the costumes were designed by Candice Donelly.
We were only allowed photos of the costumes that were on display in the house for personal use, not for posting on-line.
One of my many favorites that was not restricted from photography was on display in the Montpelier Visitor Center.
Inside the house, a visual tour of Dolley’s life unfolded while looking at her recreated clothing.
One of my favorites was a golden yellow and green silk striped gown from 1798.
Several variations of white muslin gowns were on display, from the first decade of the 19th century, my favorite of which was paired with a royal blue velvet spencer.
My daughter emphatically told me that she loved Dolley Madison’s Regency turbans with ostrich plume feathers sticking out of the top, and of the gowns she liked the inaugural gown, made of white velvet, the best.
So, I’ve scoured for other sources to see the beautiful costumes.
Here are videos from PBS about the costume designer for the costumes:
Behind the Scenes with the Costume Designer
Behind the Scenes with the Turban Maker
HISTORICALLY ACCURATE CLOTHING ON THE STATUE
After examining all those gowns, I took closer notice of the statue of James and Dolley Madison, created by Ivan Schwarz, which remarkably details her gown in a historically accurate way.
PEAKING ABOUT THE PASTURES AND GARDENS
LAFAYETTE TREE…HEARTBREAKINGLY GONE
Sadly, I walked to the remains of one of the three Cedar of Lebanons that had to be chopped down.
The Marquis de Lafayette gifted this one and two others on the other side of the mansion to the Madisons.
Archaeological digs have been ongoing under the tree, disturbing the sensitive roots.
When we were here in 2009, the tree was already dying from the invasion of the archaeologists.
They work quite hard to protect things, but the Cedar of Lebanon is a sensitive tree.
MEETING DOLLEY MADISON
That afternoon we relaxed in the salon while we visited with a Dolley Madison historical interpreter!
When Dolley Madison entered the room, she greeted us one by one, shaking our hands.
Then she told us about her husband’s work on the Constitution.
My son asked her how she came to know so much about the government, since he heard that ladies in that time frame didn’t usually involve themselves in politics.
She explained she had been helping Mr. Madison, like a secretary, compiling his notes from the Constitutional Convention to put into book form.
As a result, she has become quite familiar with his work.
We did talk about lots of other things including her oyster ice cream!
