Peggy Alexander’s Wedding Gown
This gown was created for the Charlotte Museum of History and it was displayed as part of the Costume Exhibit at their 2025 Queen Charlotte’s Ball and Banquet event.
Gown Designed and Constructed by Christina Beam using a pattern from Janet Arnold.
Artist Statement:
“I was inspired when I learned that the Charlotte Museum of History has Peggy Alexander's wedding shoes on display, and I wanted to design and construct an imagined version of the gown she might have worn with them. I began my work by researching women's gowns of the 1780s, keeping in mind the socioeconomic status and geographic location of the Alexander family. I was particularly interested in the zone-front robes à l'anglaise and robes à la Turque that came into popularity in the late 1700s. By 1789 "round gowns" with softer silhouettes were beginning to replace these styles, but wedding attire tended to be more conservative so it felt appropriate to choose a slightly older style. The silhouette is heavily inspired by a gown on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art c. 1785-1789 that may have been worn by Mary Helen Hering for her wedding to Henry Middleton. Keeping in mind modern sensibilities, I chose to use fabrics in cream and ivory tones even though the tradition of wearing white for weddings did not come into fashion until the following century. As a Costume Designer for theatre I always design with my audience in mind because so much thought goes into how to communicate the story of a character and you want to make sure you're using a language the audience will understand--color is a powerful way to speak the same language.”