Exhibit Explores One of Chicago’s Most Luxurious Fashion Importers

Loyola University Chicago’s Cuneo Mansion and Gardens presents an exhibition of period clothing, The Ladies of Cuneo: The Martha Weathered Fashion Collection, from May 12 through September 8. The exhibition explores the life and career of Martha Weathered, one of Chicago’s most luxurious fashion importers, whose shop opened on Michigan Avenue in 1922 and operated until its closure in 1971.

The costumes collection of the Cuneo Mansion contains examples of evening gowns, daytime ensembles, and sportswear that both Julia Shepherd Cuneo (John Cuneo’s wife) and her sister, Josephine Shepherd, wore. The enchanting clothes, often made up in rich brocades and elaborate trim, will be displayed throughout the mansion, along with accoutrements, footwear, and ephemera from the Martha Weathered shop. Visitors to the self-guided exhibition will also be able to see Julia Shepherd Cuneo’s gilded dress and shoe closets.

“Every elegant lady was a client of Martha’s. These were the days pre-Neimans, pre-Saks, pre-Bloomindales, so if you wanted couture, you knew that Martha would have the newest things,” said Mary Katherine Hartigan, a great niece by marriage of Martha Weathered and sponsor of The Ladies of Cuneo exhibition.

The exhibition will depict the fluidity and stability of fashion in the 1950s and 1960s through an analysis of the “Recurring Silhouettes” theory and an overview of fashion history during the period in which the Cuneo family was in residence.

Curated by Emilie Stallman, a Loyola University Chicago history major, this is the first exhibition that serves as a hands-on learning experience for art history and public history students working with the Cuneo Collections to further the understanding of the period of 1917 to 1970.

The exhibition is open to the public and free with admission to the mansion. The exhibition will premiere on Mother's Day and is complimentary with the purchase of a brunch ticket. Stallman will host a curator walk-through in June. Loyola University Chicago’s Cuneo Mansion and Gardens is located at 1350 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Vernon Hills, Illinois.