Fashion Plate Hillwood Exhibit Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Postís Debut by Gary Tischler After all is said and done and visitors have seen everything there is to see at the Hillwood Museum and Gardens, something very personal lingers around the museum, like a whiff of perfume with staying power. Youíve gone up the staircase and seen the dining room table and alcove where breakfast was served, experienced the lavish gardens, and marveled at the extensive collection of Russian art. All of itóthe grounds, the mansion, the light through the windowsóhave an elegance and grace thatís rarely found in Washington today. But thereís something else to this intriguing museumóa personality that maintains a lingering presence throughout the rooms. Itís not exactly a ghost but rather the willed presence of the woman who once lived here, who helped create this place, and who still makes it important. The Hillwood Museum and Gardens are a constant reminder of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the forceful woman who lived in this former home and who was a unique member of American upper-crust society. She was an heiress, American-style, and a legend in her own time. Post was the epitome of style and grace, a woman of wealth who married often, whose parties and movements were duly charted and reported by the press, whose fashion set trends, and who presided over countless foundations, institutions and charities. The spirit of Post, who died in 1973 in her 80s, is indeed imbedded in every inch of the museum she founded. Visitors can now get an idea of what it was like to at least dress like Post by checking out the current exhibition at the Hillwood Museum called ìComing of Age: Marjorie Merriweather Post and Fashion at the Turn of the 20th Century,î which celebrates the 100th anniversary of Postís debut into society. Also on display until Sept. 27 is a segment called ìEuropean Travels,î which offers a look at the kinds of clothes Post wore all over the world, beginning with her first extensive trips with her father to Europe in the early 1900s. Post was something of a cutting-edge woman when it came to fashion, developing a taste for not only expensive clothes but also the latest in trends and styles. And she was certainly not shy about accumulating expensive garments. Her father, in advance of a 1904 trip to Europe, wrote that Post had ìmore than double the clothes, shoes and stuff than any girl no matter how rich should have at seventeen.î Among the items on display are a model of the dress from Bergdorf & Goodman in New York that Post wore at her graduation from Mount Vernon Seminary in Washington, D.C. The exhibition also has a peach day dress that Post bought in France from Au Bon MarchÈ, then a department store catering to wealthy young women. This was a daytime dress for strolling, leisurely walks and promenading in the parks. Evenings would find the ladies changing into spectacular dresses from various haute couture shops, such as Callot Soeurs. Also on display is a traveling trunk fitted with foundation garments. For the exhibition, the dining room in the mansion will be set with Royal Doultonís ìGibson Girlî plates, the table setting drawn from Charles Dana Gibsonís hugely popular early 20th-century illustrations of American women as stylish, energetic, beautiful and sophisticated figures. In addition to her fashion sense, Post was always decked out in exquisite and expensive jewelry. Be sure to examine Postís Cartier emerald brooch in an Art Deco design, as well as a necklace and matching earrings made of Burmese pearls and diamonds. Post clearly led a very spectacular, very public life that included four husbands, among them E.F. Hutton and Joseph Davies, the U.S. ambassador to Stalinís Soviet Union during the turbulent 1930s. In addition, she had the taste and good fortune to collect various artwork and artifacts, so much so that the Hillwoodís collection of Russian art is the largest such collection outside of Russia. Catherine the Great is prominently featured in some of these works, and she shared some affinities with Post, such as a healthy passion for intellectual stimulation and the products of Western Europe. In addition to Russian art, Post collected French decorative art from the same period. As to taste, class and grace, Post may not have been an actual empress, but she had all of those qualities as a point of birthright. She was American aristocracy in a nation that supposedly disdained such distinctions, and she lived, ate, traveled and dressed the part. The country naturally followed her comings and goings with delicious interest, and that interest clearly remains intact today. ìComing of Age: Marjorie Merriweather Post and Fashion at the Turn of the 20th Centuryî runs through Sept. 29 at the Hillwood Museum and Gardens, 4155 Linnean Ave., NW. Reservations are required. Other displays will be planned throughout the year. For more information, please call (202) 686-5807 or visit www.hillwoodmuseum.org. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.