Fun
Ann Lowe
Dear Kay,
My friend Landy pointed me to a podcast that really got to me: “The House of Lowe,” from The Memory Palace podcast, hosted by Nate DiMeo.
Ann Lowe was a fashion designer, born in Alabama, who had a long career as a couturier to high society. Among the thousands of gowns and dresses she made was Jacqueline Bouvier’s wedding dress in 1953.
It’s such a bitter/sweet story.
Read more about the wedding dress here.
You can see some of Ann Lowe’s work here. And here—such dazzling creations.
Nate DiMeo recommends Something to Prove: A Biography of Ann Lowe, America’s Forgotten Designer by Julia Faye Dockery Smith.
Love,
Ann
PS There are dozens of other great stories on Nate DiMeo’s long-running podcast, The Memory Palace, a trove of memorable storytelling. He’s just so good.
DiMeo writes: “In a perfect world, you go into each episode of The Memory Palace knowing nothing about what’s coming. It’s pretentious, sure, but that’s the intention. So, if you don’t want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.”
These days, we are told so much about TV shows and music and books that by the time we get to them, we already know too much. This podcast is worth listening to, I promise.
This story is fascinating! It broke my heart that Jackie Kennedy couldn’t even say her name! It is sad that she never got the credit or riches for her extraordinary talent that she so deserved.
I agree with your comments about The Memory Palace. It is a real treasure. Pure enjoyment.
I love the Memory Palace! My favorite is Snakes Alive (I think that’s the title anyway).
I couldn’t get the link to come up, what is the episode number/name?
Here’s the link: https://thememorypalace.us/the-house-of-lowe/
I can’t get the episode to play, sadly. Will try later from the iPad.
Nor can I. Trying a different device is a good idea. Will do that.
I’m not going to listen now because NPR is on but from what I have read she didn’t like the dress or the wedding planned by the Kennedy family. Thank you for opening up my world with these podcasts
Another wonderful podcast which addresses all kinds of social, cultural, political themes via fashion history is Dressed, https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-dressed-the-history-of-fas-29000690/ It’s where I first heard about Ann Lowe.
I’ll write your name now. The least I can do. Ann Lowe of The House of Lowe.
Such a great podcast. We live in such Scary/Interesting times and there is so much to address and take in. I also love You Must Remember This about film and Backlisted about books.
Thank you, Ann for sharing. Ann Lowe of the House of Lowe thank you for adding beauty to the world.
Sadly, I couldn’t get it to play either. Maybe we crashed it. I will try tomorrow. I did read the articles. A shame.
Loved the story and thanks for the lead on the Memory Palace. My hubby enjoyed a few too. All I needed was another podcast
That link didn’t work for me, but I did find it here as well for anyone else who can’t use the original link. https://www.wbez.org/stories/episode-157-the-house-of-lowe/0fad987d-29b6-4603-be5e-2c04fac733c1
I couldn’t get House of Lowe to play. Do you have to subscribe?
So sorry, Donna! It’s definitely a free podcast. Here’s the link I used to listen: https://thememorypalace.us/the-house-of-lowe/