The following description comes from the event organizer.

The White River Valley Museum takes on cocktail culture, fashion, and social norms with a dash of depression and a pinch of social injustice in its new exhibit Cocktail Party: Dressing the Midcentury Hostess.

What do you think of when you imagine the 1950s - early 60's in the U.S.? This period evokes a nostalgia for a simpler time, a perceived Zeitgeist of Americana. Cocktail parties were popularized during this era as a way to show off new, perfect suburban lives. But, just like every decade, the history is more complex than our nostalgia. As some Americans strove for this perfection, others like Black and Indigenous communities rarely had a chance. For those white, newly middle-class Americans who could cut-it in the burbs, there were sometimes unintended consequences like depression and substance abuse.

The exhibit features 18 cocktail dresses from the 1950s through the 1960s. The selection of dresses highlight fashion trends of the time -- the "new look", shift dresses, hourglass, floral, and more, while the story of the midcentury cocktail party is illuminated through advice from period etiquette books and magazines as well as historical data. Every dress on display is from the Museum's own collection. Museum admission is always FREE!

The White River Valley Museum takes on cocktail culture, fashion, and social norms with a dash of depression and a pinch of social injustice in its new exhibit Cocktail Party: Dressing the Midcentury Hostess.

What do you think of when you imagine the 1950s - early 60's in the U.S.? This period evokes a nostalgia for a simpler time, a perceived Zeitgeist of Americana. Cocktail parties were popularized during this era as a way to show off new, perfect suburban lives. But, just like every decade, the history is more complex than our nostalgia. As some Americans strove for this perfection, others like Black and Indigenous communities rarely had a chance. For those white, newly middle-class Americans who could cut-it in the burbs, there were sometimes unintended consequences like depression and substance abuse.

The exhibit features 18 cocktail dresses from the 1950s through the 1960s. The selection of dresses highlight fashion trends of the time -- the "new look", shift dresses, hourglass, floral, and more, while the story of the midcentury cocktail party is illuminated through advice from period etiquette books and magazines as well as historical data. Every dress on display is from the Museum's own collection. Museum admission is always FREE!