Sponsor Spotlight

March 22, 2024

We wish to extend our sincere thanks to Jackpot Time Gaming Entertainment for affording us the funds to purchase four new mannequins for our featured exhibit, The Roaring Twenties: Flappers, Fashion, and Freedom! This exhibit, available at 14 East St. until November, explores how the social changes of the 1920s were reflected in women’s clothing and fashion. We’re very lucky to have some wonderful examples of 1920s dresses in our collection, and we’re very excited to be able to display them with Jackpot Time’s help!

Photograph of four mannequins on a stage, wearing dresses from the 1920s. The central mannequin wears a turqoise-coloured, short-sleeved, ankle-length dress decorated with glass beads.

The dress in the centre of the image above was a belonging of the McLay family of Aylmer. It likely belonged to Kathleen (Lashbrook) McLay (October 24, 1894-December 8, 1982), a registered nurse and wife to Dr. Homer Garfield McLay. This handmade georgette dress with built-in slip, short, openwork sleeves, and a drop waist, was painstakingly hand-decorated with transparent glass seed beads.

Illustration of a woman wearing an "Egyptian Revival" dress, orange in colour, with a sash around her waist.

Above: Illustration from a McCall’s brand sewing pattern published in 1923.


The dress may have been made with the “Egyptian Revival” of the 1920s in mind. Archaeologist Howard Carter opened King Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on February 16, 1923. The grave goods and scenes painted along the walls of the burial chamber captured the world’s imagination, giving rise to an artistic style called the “Egyptian Revival”. This art movement mimicked the motifs of Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern art and architecture. The skirt of this dress is reminiscent of the combination of sheath, sheer tunic, and sash that women would wear during the Egyptian New Kingdom. 

 

Please consider joining us to learn more! Additional thanks to Jackpot Time for their assistance in displaying these beautiful dresses.

 

A special thank you to our supporter Jackpot Time Gaming Entertainment. Throughout the year, we are very grateful to receive funds from our participation in bingos at Jackpot Time in St. Thomas. Through this program, the museum receives funds monthly that we can use towards the preservation and maintenance of our collection. We are also able to fund a portion of staff salary to work on the collection. We are very grateful to be one of the charities that receive funds through the charitable gaming program, and very thankful for the volunteers that assist us with bingos each month.