NEW Digital Exhibit: Historic White House Wedding Fashion and Design

NYU Student Presents Stories Behind First Daughters’ Weddings

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The White House Historical Association debuts a new digital exhibit today in partnership with New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Something Old, Something New: Eight First Daughters’ Fashionable White House Weddings, examines the wedding fashion and décor choices of eight first daughters.

The exhibit is the result of a semester long internship offered by the Association to support the work of a NYU Costume Studies student. The 2023 internship recipient, Jill Staricka, worked closely with the Association’s David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History and its Digital Library team.

Staricka created the exhibit using a mix of archival photography, illustrations, press clippings, and written first accounts, covering more than a hundred years in fashion history, from Maria Monroe to Tricia Nixon.

“Throughout the research process for this exhibit, I learned so much about how these women were involved in the process of designing and producing their wedding ensembles,” said Staricka.

The digital exhibit features high resolution images with a zoom function, allowing visitors to engage closely with the wedding gowns, accessories, bouquets, and decor in the images.

“Jillian’s incredible work sheds a new and artistic light on White House history and provides us with another tool to teach and tell the rich history of the Executive Mansion through the lens of weddings,” said Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association.

Jillian Staricka is a first-year Costume Studies MA student at New York University in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

About The White House Historical Association
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a restored White House that conveyed a sense of history through its decorative and fine arts. In 1961, the White House Historical Association was established to support her vision to preserve and share the Executive Mansion’s legacy for generations to come. Supported entirely by private resources, the Association’s mission is to assist in the preservation of the state and public rooms, fund acquisitions for the White House permanent collection, and educate the public on the history of the White House. Since its founding, the White House Historical Association has contributed more than $100 million in fulfillment of its mission. To learn more about the White House Historical Association, please visit www.whitehousehistory.org.

SOURCE White House Historical Association