Ann Lowe

Ann Lowe (1898-1981) was an African American fashion designer who designed the wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy.

She was born in Clayton, Alabama [ [http://www.alabamaheritage.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=DSC&Product_Code=BI53 Ann Lowe: Couturier to the Rich and Famous By Ann S. Smith - Alabama Heritage - Summer 1999] ] the great granddaughter of a slave and plantation owner [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300093314&id=0nxzw0wdIREC&pg=RA4-PA128&lpg=RA4-PA128&ots=uzTEFgRoNA&dq=Ann+Lowe&sig=aXLj2XnfxfPF-CtgIGfIaf_MCVI Women Designers in the USA 1900 to 2000] by Pat Kirkham - 2002 - p. 128 ISBN 0300093314]

She married in 1912 at age 14 and enrolled in a fashion school in New York City in 1917. After graduation she opened a salon in Tampa, Florida before returning to New York in 1928 where she worked on commission for stores such as Chez Sonia. In 1946 she designed the dress that Olivia de Havilland wore for accepted her Academy Award for Best Actress for To Each His Own (film) -- although the name on the dress was Sonia Rosenberg. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300093314&id=0nxzw0wdIREC&pg=RA4-PA128&lpg=RA4-PA128&ots=uzTEFgRoNA&dq=Ann+Lowe&sig=aXLj2XnfxfPF-CtgIGfIaf_MCVI Women Designers in the USA 1900 to 2000] by Pat Kirkham - 2002 - p. 128 ISBN 0300093314]

She designed for various upper crust New Yorkers including the ivory-silk-taffeta dress for Jackie in 1953.

She worked her later years at Saks Fifth Avenue where she was featured in a 1960 advertisement. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300093314&id=0nxzw0wdIREC&pg=RA4-PA128&lpg=RA4-PA128&ots=uzTEFgRoNA&dq=Ann+Lowe&sig=aXLj2XnfxfPF-CtgIGfIaf_MCVI Women Designers in the USA 1900 to 2000] by Pat Kirkham - 2002 - p. 128 ISBN 0300093314]

Felled by glaucoma she lost an eye but continued to design through the 1960 for Madeline Couture and briefly operated Ann Lowe Originals on Madison Avenue in New York.

References

In her book, THE THREADS OF TIME, THE FABRIC OF HISTORY, 2007, T & S Press, ISBN #0-970-9713-0-3,Rosemary E. Reed Miller writes that Ann's mother designed clothes for the wife of the Governor of Alabama. Later, Ann was used to designing for the 'top' ladies in Montgomery, Tampa, and finally New York City.

Reed Miller continues..."Ann's most famous wedding party commission was from the mother of Jackie Bouvier in September 12, 1953. Joe Kennedy made sure the wedding got maximum exposure for his senator son. However, Jackie didn't promote Ann's name, and only Nina Hyde, who was the social, fashion editor of the Washington Post wrote that the dress was designed by a Negro, Ann Lowe."