Diamond and conch pearl brooch from Marjorie Merriweather Post's jewellery collection

Hillwood Estate, Museum & GardensForest Hills, Northwest Washington

The Connoisseur's Closet: The Fashion and Jewelry of Marjorie Merriweather Post

Upcoming5 June 2027 – 9 January 2028$20

Hillwood revisits Post's wardrobe for the first time in a decade, drawing on nearly 300 garments and 600 jewels from a childhood christening gown to Belle Epoque couture and later daytime suits.

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On now Opening in June 2027

Preview: written before the show opened

For her sixteenth birthday, Marjorie Merriweather Post had an Edwardian two-piece evening dress made by the Baker sisters, who ran a small dress shop in Northwest Washington while she was at finishing school there. That "Sweet Sixteen Dress" is one of the pieces Hillwood names for its first look at Post's wardrobe in a decade.

The show runs mostly in date order. You start with Post's mother, Ella, and her aunt Mary, who shaped how she cared for her clothes, then move through Belle Epoque design seen on family trips abroad and the 1920s and 1930s, when she shopped at the House of Thurn and Bergdorf Goodman and appeared in Vogue. It ends with Eleanora Garnett and Oldric Royce, the designers who let her "forget about it and have fun".

Hillwood holds nearly 300 of her garments and almost 600 jewels and accessories, and promises loans of famous pieces it hasn't named yet. Entry is the suggested donation ($20 adults, $5 ages 6 to 18).

Look for

The Sweet Sixteen Dress
Look for the Edwardian two-piece evening dress the Baker sisters made in their small Washington shop for Post's sixteenth birthday.
Post's wardrobe storage
Look for the custom fabric-covered storage boxes and bespoke rack and garment covers Post used to keep her clothes in condition.