University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 6, No. 1/1996 All the brides wore grandmother's gown "The Bride Wore Her Grandmother's Gown," an exhibition this fall in the University's Department of Textiles, Design and Consumer Economics, featured a gown worn over a 100-year period by several members of the same family on their wedding days. The gown was donated to the department by one of its wearers, Charlotte Halloran, Delaware '43. In addition to the original bride, six of her granddaughters and one cousin have worn the dress. Wedding photos of all the brides were on display, along with the gown, in Alison Hall, and a reception to honor the brides was held in September. The dress was constructed originally by Elva Markley Shaw, to be worn when she was a bridesmaid for a close friend in 1892. She added a second sleeve puff and restyled the skirt back to include a train for her own wedding in 1893. The gown is constructed of two coordinating silk fabrics, probably pure white when new, now mellowed to a creamy ivory. These brides of yesterday carried on a family tradition when they all wore the same 1892 family heirloom wedding gown on their respective wedding days. Honored at a September reception were (front) Barbara Sunday, Delaware '45; (second row, from left) Charlotte Halloran, Delaware '43, and Elizabeth Roderick; (third row, from left) Gloria Saberin, Carol Chambers and Susan Shaw.