Remember the song “I Feel Pretty” from the movie “West Side Story”, with Natalie Wood singing and dancing with the pretty dresses and things in the dress shop she worked in? That’s how I feel when I dress up and put on a beautiful evening gown. As a little girl I would watch all the awards show festivities, and dream of wearing a beautiful, custom-made gown. I loved weddings solely for the princess-y gowns the brides and bridesmaids would wear. And although I was only in one pageant (I’ll save that story for another post), I lived for the gorgeous gowns the contestants would wear in the evening gown segments of pageants. And to this day, I relish any and every opportunity, to get really dressed up, with hair and make-up and a gown.
Who doesn’t love dressing up? Well I’m sure there are many who don’t, but if you did enjoy a good gown back in the day, Miss Ann Lowe certainly would’ve been one to know. Each year during Black History month I am completely surprised when I learn of yet another significant achievement and contribution to American history and culture that a person of African-American descent has made. It turns out that Ann Lowe was a big deal. She was a very prominent New York dress designer, known for the fine fabrics she used and her one-of-a-kind designs. Her designs garnered the attention of the very wealthy in high society and she became known for being highly selective with her customers, calling herself an “awful snob”. She was quoted as saying: “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.”
But prior to that… She opened her first dress salon in Tampa, Florida in 1920 called, “Annie Cohen,” and became a huge success rather quickly. By 1928 she had saved $20,000, enough to move to New York City and start her career there. She worked on commission for well-known luxury stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Henri Bendel. In 1946, Miss Lowe designed the dress that Olivia de Havilland wore to accept the Academy Award for Best Actress forTo Each His Own.Unfortunately Ann didn’t receive proper credit for it, and the name on the dress label was Sonia Rosenberg. Who is Sonia Rosenberg? (Sigh) Moving on…
By the 1950’s Ann Lowe was very well known, having created designs for generations of the Auchinclosses, the Rockefellers, the Lodges, the Du Ponts, the Posts and the Biddles. And in 1953, Lowe was commissioned to design what would become one of the most iconic wedding dresses in American history, for one of the most iconic figures of classic style in American history. The wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier, for her wedding to then Senator John F. Kennedy. Janet Auchincloss, Jaqueline’s mother, hired Lowe to design not only the bride’s dress, but the dresses of her bridal party. And while the dress and the wedding was widely covered and publicized, Miss Lowe was not. Her work was never credited publicly.
After this, she continued to design for the wealthy and the elite who unfortunately, took advantage of her by talking her out of hundreds of dollars for her designs. Unable to make a profit, and barely able to pay her staff, over time she went broke, and had to close her salon due to unpaid taxes. Years later she reopened yet another salon where she created designs until she retired in 1972.
There are some dresses that go down in history. From Jackie O’s wedding dress to Princess Di’s wedding dress to J’Lo’s stunner of a dress at the 2000 Grammy Awards, lol!!! And there are some dress designers whose names are written in history as well. Ann Lowe will be one of those you will not be able to erase from the fashion history pages!
