Something Old, Something New: Elizabeth Tyler

Something Old, Something New: Eight First Daughters’ Fashionable White House Weddings highlights the glamorous weddings of eight women who took their vows at the White House over two centuries and how their bridal fashion reflects both the taste of each era and their own personal styles. This exhibit was curated by Jillian Staricka, the 2023 Digital Exhibits Intern and MA student in Costume Studies at New York University.

Elizabeth Tyler

Married to William Waller on January 31, 1842

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Tyler married William Waller, a lawyer from her home state of Virginia, on January 31, 1842. Lizzie’s sister-in-law and surrogate White House hostess, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, planned the small affair with friends and family being the only guests. Although, like Maria Monroe, no images of Elizabeth in her wedding ensemble remain, newspapers note that the bride “looked surpassingly lovely in her wedding-dress and long blond-lace veil.” The internationally famous wedding of the United Kingdom’s Queen Victoria to Prince Albert had also occurred only two years prior, and her English-made white silk satin gown quickly spread as inspiration for brides across the Atlantic. Though Victoria was not the originator of the white wedding dress, the publicity surrounding her 1840 wedding “made it the standard to which all other brides aspired.” It is possible that the trends sparked by Victoria’s gown served as inspiration for Elizabeth’s own gown.

Gallery

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The President’s House

Date: 1848

Creator: Augustus Kollner

Medium: Lithograph

This Polk administration-era lithograph shows how the north façade of the White House would have looked during the Tyler presidency. An airy, open street with people promenading in Lafayette Square represents an era with less security measures and a more rural setting.

White House Collection/White House Historical Association

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Priscilla Cooper Tyler

Medium: Drawing

Priscilla Cooper Tyler, pictured here, was Elizabeth’s older sister-in-law and played the role of White House hostess as First Lady Letitia Tyler was partially paralyzed by a stroke and unable to perform the required social duties. The 26-year-old former actress regularly put on impressive and successful social events at the White House, including a party with a reported three thousand guests in March of 1842. It is notable that Elizabeth and William’s nuptials were private–much less like the large social events of the typical “Virginia-style” wedding. Priscilla opted to keep the guest list for the wedding of her sister intimate; the private family affair hinted at the quiet future of Elizabeth and William in Virginia.

Library of Congress

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Flounce with Flowers, Scrolling Leaves, and Scalloped Border

Date: 19th century

Medium: Spanish blonde silk bobbin lace

This flounce is an example of Spanish blonde silk Bobbin lace made in the nineteenth century. Elizabeth’s wedding veil was said to be of blonde lace, a type of silk Bobbin lace originally made in France and worn by wealthy women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is made of raw, undyed silk threads, which is where the term “blonde lace” comes from–though in later years, blonde lace dyed black also became a popular trimming for expensive gowns.

Courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

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Silk Wedding Ensemble

Date: 1844

This European silk wedding ensemble from 1844 is an example of a silk bridal costume in the 1840s style. Though no exact details of Elizabeth’s wedding gown remain, it is known that her blonde lace veil was made of silk, making it reasonable that her gown had similar silk fabrics or trimmings. American silk production had increased by the 1840s and one estimate of American silk production in 1843 valued it at $1.4 million. In December 1839, a national silk convention was held in Baltimore. The rising agricultural and political importance of American-made silk may have led to its incorporation in Elizabeth’s wedding gown.

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Miss Irma Schueler, 1953

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Queen Victoria’s Wedding Dress

Date: 1840

Creator: Mary Bettans

Medium: Cream silk satin with Honiton lace

Contrary to popular belief, Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding gown was not the sole origin of the white wedding dress, but her white silk satin gown with an eighteen-foot-long court train pictured here did help popularize the bridal “look” that persists today. Elizabeth Tyler, like many women across the British Empire and beyond, would likely have seen and perhaps been inspired by Victoria’s English-made wedding ensemble.

Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

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Silk Taffeta and Silk Blonde Lace Wedding Ensemble

Date: Circa 1841-1843

This American wedding dress circa 1841-1843, made from silk taffeta and blonde lace, depicts the style of the decade in a simple way: sloping shoulders, an elongated, small waist, a very full skirt, and an exposed neckline. The blonde lace, silk, and restrained style is reminiscent of the few words illustrating the bride on the day of her nuptials.

Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Dorothy M. Dixon

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