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Keyword

Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870–1927

Start Date
14 November 2024
End Date
17 August 2025
Venue
McCord Stewart Museum
Location
Montreal, Canada
Curator
Cynthia Cooper
(Left) A male mannequin in a red military jacket with gold details stands beside elaborately dressed female mannequins in embroidered silk gowns. (Centre) A prominent male mannequin wears a red and white uniform-style coat with gold epaulettes, surrounded by gowns in pale pink, gold, and blue tones. (Right) Additional mannequins feature both male and female costumes, including richly decorated bodices, lace-trimmed skirts, and brocade jackets.
(Left) A yellow dress with silver embellishments and ruffled sleeves. (Centre Left) White with pink floral pattern, and ruffled half sleeves. (Centre Right) Light powder blue dress with embellishments and ruffles throughout. (Right) Pink gown with with white quarter sleeves.
(Left) A peach-pink dress adorned with peacock feathers, positioned beneath a feathered headpiece and beside a fan and vintage photograph. (Right) A bright yellow gown decorated with painted scenes and paired with a matching handbag; nearby, a painting and black-and-white portrait show the garment in use.
A child’s cream suit with gold a sash and a blue and white child’s dress with puffed sleeves.
Costumes are displayed on the table, in hues of brown, blue and red.

Costume Balls Dressing Up History, 1870-1927

A century and a half ago, extravagant costume balls and skating carnivals were the pinnacle of society entertainments, bringing forth a kaleidoscopic array of fanciful costumed characters. But, beneath all the anachronistic exuberance, these balls reinforced core myths of colonial destiny and imperial futures.This exhibition captures the splendour of entertainments where, for just one evening, guests transformed themselves into characters inspired by history or fantasy. The invitation to reimagine oneself as an alter ego was no less than an opportunity of a lifetime, occasioning study, expense, and a trip to the photographer’s studio. Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 tells an extraordinary story, showcasing some of the most extraordinary objects in the Museum’s collections.Rarely do visitors get a chance to see so many garments from the nineteenth century —that have survived in spite of being created to last a single evening— in an exhibition space. And rarely do we see captured in photography such a lighthearted side of life from a time where public presentation of the self was a most serious matter. The exhibition fully explores the tremendous scale of the efforts to commemorate these balls, which in itself will surprise visitors, making clever use of digital technology all while taking a critical look at the way these grand events helped reinforce imperialist myths.Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927, will open on November 14, 2024, 100 years to the day of a large costume ball held on November 14, 1924, at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal. Presented by La Presse and in collaboration with College LaSalle Montréal, a member of LCI Education, the exhibition is running until August 17, 2025.

Extraordinary objects from the Museum’s collectionsOver 40 dazzling outfits worn will be on display as well as photographs of guests in costume, souvenir publications and more —that capture the spirit and prestige of these grand events. This exhibition and the accompanying publication represent the culmination of a research effort which draws on the quintessential strengths of the McCord Stewart Museum’s rich collections. Many remarkable discoveries, unveiled to the public for the first time.

Press Release

Images Courtesy of © Laura Dumitriu – Musée McCord Stewart.