Ann Lowe – Black Fashion Designer – Jackie Kennedy Wedding Dress
By
John C Abercrombie
As we look at amazingblackhistory.com we are often left wondering how it is possible to have people of great achievement fail to make the pages of history. The case of Ann Lowe is just one study, and we will look at how she fell between the cracks for so long. She is not alone in failing to attain the level of success that others would have found heaped on them.
She was born in rural Clayton, Alabama in 1898. She was the granddaughter of enslaved woman and an Alabama plantation owner. It is important to remember that the status of a child followed that of the mother, not the father. Her parents were Jane and Jack Lowe. The sanctity of marriage was not followed by these White plantation owners, leaving many Blacks the encumbrances of the slave system. Represented by limited educational and employment choices.
Ann attended school in Alabama until she dropped out at the age of 14. Dropping out of school was a frequent occurrence since parents and grandparents were not given employment and not paid based on their ability rather than their status.
Lowe’s interest in fashion, sewing and designing came from her mother Janey and grandmother Georgia, they were extremely fortunate to have this opportunity. Both of whom were seamstresses. They ran a dressmaking business that was often frequented by the first families (White) of Montgomery and other members of high society. Lowe’s mother died when Lowe was 16 years old. At this time, Lowe took over the family business.
Although Lowe was fully committed to her craft, she was married twice and had two children. First married to Lee Cohen in 1912. This union produced one son, Arthur Lee. He worked as her business partner until his death in an automobile accident in 1958. She and her first husband divorced because he opposed her having a career. During this time period, it was not customary for women to pursue a career.
She married for a second time, to Caleb West, but that marriage also ended. Lowe later said, “My second husband left me. He said he wanted a real wife, not one who was forever jumping out of bed to sketch dresses.” Lowe later adopted a daughter, Ruth Alexander.
In the 1930s, Lowe lived in an apartment on Manhattan Avenue in Harlem. Her older sister Sallie later lived with her. Both were members of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church.
In 1917, Lowe and her son moved to New York City, where she enrolled at S. T. Taylor Design School. As the school was segregated, Lowe was required to attend classes in a room alone. Here we see one of the disadvantages of segregation as even if the exact same information is delivered both bodies of students fail to obtain the advantage of the interaction of others. This often results in separate bodies of opportunity for advancement and employment.
However, segregation did not stop her, and she still managed to rise above her peers in school. Her work was often shown to her White peers in recognition of her outstanding artistry, and she was eligible for graduation after attending school for only half a year. After graduating in 1919, Lowe and her son moved to Tampa, Florida.
The following year, she opened her first dress salon. The salon catered to members of high society and quickly became a success. Having saved $20,000 from her earnings, Lowe returned to New York City in 1928. During the 1950s and 1960s, she worked on commission for stores such as Henri Bendel, Montaldo’s, I. Magnin, Chez Sonia, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 1946, she designed the dress that Olivia de Havilland wore to accept the Academy Award for Best Actress for “To Each His Own”, although the name on the dress was Sonia Rosenberg.
As she was not getting credit for her work, Lowe and her son opened a second salon, Ann Lowe’s Gowns, in New York City on Lexington Avenue in 1950. Her one-of-a-kind designs made from the finest fabrics were an immediate success and attracted many wealthy, high-society clients. Design elements for which she was known include fine handwork, signature flowers, and trapunto technique. Her signature designs are what helped her eventually become recognized for her work. In 1964, the Saturday Evening Post later called Lowe “society’s best kept secret” and in 1966, Ebony magazine referred to her as “The Dean of American Designers. Throughout her career, Lowe was known for being highly selective in choosing her clientele. She later described herself as “an awful snob”, adding: “I love my clothes and I’m particular about who wears them. I am not interested in sewing for cafe society or social climbers. I do not cater to Mary and Sue. I sew for the families of the Social Register.” Over the course of her career, Lowe created designs for several generations of the Auchincloss, Rockefeller, Roosevelt, Lodge, Du Pont, Post, Bouvier, Whitney, and Biddle families. Lowe created dresses for many notable Black clients as well, including Elizabeth Mance who was a well-known pianist at the time, and Idella Kohke, a member of the Negro Actors Guild.
In 1947, Janet Lee Auchincloss commissioned Lowe to create debutante gowns for her daughters Jaqueline and Caroline Lee Bouvier. In 1953 she returned and hired Lowe to design a wedding dress for her daughter, the future First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier, and the dresses for her bridal attendants for her September wedding to then-Senator John F. Kennedy. Auchincloss also chose Lowe to design her own wedding dress for her marriage to Hugh D. Auchincloss in 1942. Lowe’s dress for Bouvier consisted of fifty yards of “ivory silk taffeta with interwoven bands of tucking forming the bodice and similar tucking in large circular designs swept around the full skirt.” During the creation of this infamous dress, Lowe’s studio flooded just 10 days before the wedding. She and her team worked tirelessly to recreate the dress. Lowe never mentioned this incident to the family, and she had to pay for any additional costs. The dress, which cost $500 (approximately $5,000 today), was described in detail in The New York Times’s coverage of the wedding. While the Bouvier-Kennedy wedding was a highly publicized event, Lowe did not receive public credit for her work until after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Throughout her career, Lowe continued to work for wealthy clientele who often talked her out of charging hundreds of dollars for her designs. After paying her staff, she often failed to make a profit on her designs. This shows the value of her business partner and the value to people entering the business world. It is often of value to partner with valued entities.
Lowe later admitted that at the height of her career, she was virtually broke. In 1961, she received the Couturier of the Year award but in 1962, she lost her salon in New York City after failing to pay taxes. That same year, her right eye was removed due to glaucoma. While she was recuperating, an anonymous friend paid Lowe’s debts that enabled her to work again. In 1963, she declared bankruptcy. Soon after, she developed a cataract in her left eye; surgery saved her eye. In 1968, she opened a new store, Ann Lowe Originals, on Madison Avenue. She retired in 1972.
Throughout her career, Lowe continued to work for wealthy clientele who often talked her out of charging hundreds of dollars for her designs. After paying her staff, she often failed to make a profit on her designs. Lowe later admitted that at the height of her career, she was virtually broke. In 1961, she received the Couturier of the Year award but in 1962, she lost her salon in New York City after failing to pay taxes. That same year, her right eye was removed due to glaucoma. While she was recuperating, an anonymous friend paid Lowe’s debts that enabled her to work again. In 1963, she declared bankruptcy. Soon after, she developed a cataract in her left eye; surgery saved her eye. In 1968, she opened a new store, Ann Lowe Originals, on Madison Avenue. She retired in 1972.
As we look at the body of work produced by Ann Lowe, we see a person well known by high society but not the general public. We see the value of writers to pass on accurate renditions of historical facts with the unfortunate result that many make a decision that others are not interested in hearing about Black Americans. Even today there are many who have access to these foundational materials that are doing a better job of revealing American History and gaining recognition for their work.
The failure to include Black Americans in American History gives a large number of Americans both Black and White with a completely skewed picture that should be woven into our educational system. The results we see today continue to perpetrate the discrimination of Black Americans. Let’s put a stop to this barbaric practice, encourage all of our members of society and prosper as we should.
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Anne Lowe – Fashion Designer p2
New exhibit showcases the creations of forgotten fashion designer Anne Lowe 1
Ann Lowe designed Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding dress, but her name was never mentioned in the society pages that gushed over the event. Lowe also designed dresses for major stars and helped shape American couture. Now, a new exhibit is working to make sure her impact is properly remembered. Michelle Miller reports.
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Black Designers in American Fashion
From Elizabeth Keckly’s designs as a freewoman for Abraham Lincoln’s wife to flamboyant clothing showcased by Patrick Kelly in Paris, Black designers have made major contributions to American fashion. However, many of their achievements have gone unrecognized. This book, inspired by the award-winning exhibition at the Museum at FIT, uncovers hidden histories of Black designers at a time when conversations about representation and racialized experiences in the fashion industry have reached all-time highs.
In chapters from leading and up-and-coming authors and curators, Black Designers in American Fashion uses previously unexplored sources to show how Black designers helped build America’s global fashion reputation. From enslaved 18th-century dressmakers to 20th-century “star” designers, via independent modistes and Seventh Avenue workers, the book traces the changing experiences of Black designers under conditions such as slavery, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement. Black Designers in American Fashion shows that within these contexts Black designers maintained multifaceted practices which continue to influence American and global style today.
Interweaving fashion design and American cultural history, this book fills critical gaps in the history of fashion and offers insights and context to students of fashion, design, and American and African American history and culture.
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Ann Lowe, Black Designer Of Jackie Kennedy’s Wedding Dress, Finally Getting Long Overdue 2
J
acqueline Bouvier Kennedy’s famous wedding dress was created for her by Ann Lowe, a Black designer who never got the credit she deserved. WBZ-TV’s Paula Ebben reports.
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Book
Ann Lowe: American Couturier
The definitive illustrated volume on the work and life of Ann Lowe, a consummate couturier who designed lavish evening and bridal gowns for members of America’s social registry, a Black woman working hard behind the scenes whose important legacy has remained underappreciated—until now.
At the height of her fashion career, Ann Lowe’s luxurious and opulent evening gowns and bridal wear were sold in upscale department stores across the country. At various times Lowe owned salons on Madison Avenue. She made Jackie Kennedy’s wedding and bridesmaids’ dresses, but, upon arrival at the Auchincloss estate on the big day, the butler directed Lowe to enter via the service entrance (she refused). Throughout her lifetime (c. 1898–1981), her major contributions to American style were unrecognized.
Vivid new photography of Lowe’s couture gowns—including lush details of her exquisite handwork and signature floral embellishments—accompany essays that explore the trials and achievements of Lowe’s life, contextualize her work within fashion history, profile Black designers whose work reflects her influence, and offer a behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary efforts to preserve Lowe’s gowns.
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Celebrating Ann Lowe – Honoring the legacy of Black fashion designers 3
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Book
The Life Story of Fashion Designer Ann Lowe: The Story of the First Black Woman Fashion Designer
Uncover the fascinating accomplishments of an extraordinary black woman who helped shape American history with her iconic fashion designs. The Life Story of Ann Lowe: America’s First Black Woman Haute Couture Designer and Fashion’s Best Kept Secret gives a comprehensive overview of the life and achievements of a woman who endured racism, betrayal, financial hardship, and personal tragedy, all to become the first black woman to own a shop on the prestigious Madison Ave in New York.
This book offers a broad and chronological overview of Ms. Lowe’s life achievements.
• How she became the go-to designer for America’s socially prominent and wealthy families, including the du Ponts, the Roosevelts, the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, and the Kennedys. Yet her name is virtually unknown.
• How she came to know herself by discovering and pursuing her talents.
• How not receiving recognition for designing Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress sent her into depression.
• How the legacy of Ann Lowe has emerged from the shadows of the past to finally be recognized and take its rightful place in American history.
Be inspired by the remarkable life story of Ann Lowe, a woman who dared to dream for a better life for herself and for generations to come.
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The Story Behind Jackie Kennedy’s Iconic Wedding Dress 4
Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress holds a special place in history – and not just for its immaculate beauty.
When the stunning Jackie Bouvier married future president, John F. Kennedy, everyone wondered who would be the lucky designer to create and craft her wedding gown. The First Lady of the United States to be donned a dress made by someone that elite society was quite surprised by.
Designer and couturier Ann Lowe was a black designer whose work on the future first lady’s gown should have allowed her to rise to fame – working with celebs and stars around the world. So, why didn’t it?
Jackie Kennedy’s style became one of the biggest influences for American women during her time in office. The first lady’s sense of fashion and interior design was a symbol of femininity and wifeliness that many strived to achieve.
Jackie Keneddy’s wedding dress, and the work of designer Ann Lowe, go down in fashion history thanks to the beautiful design and Jackie’s ability to influence the world through style.
Would you wear Jackie’s dress? Let us know what you think in the comments and Subscribe to The Talko for more videos about great moments in fashion history.
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Book
By Her Own Design: A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer
The incredible untold story of how Ann Lowe, a Black woman and granddaughter of slaves, rose above personal struggles and racial prejudice to design and create one of America’s most famous wedding dresses of all time for Jackie Kennedy.
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Legacy Lecture: The Life and Times of Fashion Designer Ann Lowe 5
Ann Lowe’s dream was to dress high-society women exclusively in her clothing, and that is exactly what she did. Lowe’s most famous gown was made in 1953 for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, which is often referred to as the “most photographed wedding dress in history.” Her fate followed in the ancestry of the countless African American seamstresses before her, even though today her gowns are considered significant and elegant contributions to the history of mid-century American high fashion. Join us for an overview of the first nationally recognized African American fashion designer who carved out a space for herself through talent alone in the Jim Crow-era United States.
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With this post on Ann Lowe, we explore the ease with which Black citizens are omitted from history, showing that just because it was not taught in mainstream history that it is still possible. It is time to realize the unfairness of this system and change it. Otherwise, we will just move this problem to our children and grandchildren. It is time to STOP it in its tracks. It is time to study true American History, Black History included.