Dressing her way into history

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
An avid Wyoming historian, Lucille Dumbrill will become a part of the Wyoming State Museum after a dress she wore 30 years ago was accepted into the permanent collection of the museum.
As the president of the Wyoming State Historical Society, Dumbrill and her husband, Richard Spencer Dumbrill, were invited to the 1990 Wyoming State Celebration of the State’s Centennial. Gov. Mike Sullivan, along with his wife Jane, planned a ball to commemorate the historic occasion. 
“This was an important event for us, and I decided I needed an appropriate dress,” Dumbrill said. “I scanned documents from the 1890 and found a picture of a dress I like a lot.”
Armed with the photo of the dress from 1890 that she wanted replicated, Dumbrill engaged her friend Midori Schnose to create the royal blue dress she wore, as well as the cummerbund and bow tie sported by her husband. According to Dumbrill, Schnose was a seamstress in Japan before she married Gene Schnose and moved to Newcastle in 1954.
“When I asked her to make a dress for me for the centennial ball in Cheyenne during the state centennial, she responded enthusiastically yes,” Dumbrill said. “It was a big project, and she was able to solve all of the problems with knowledge and skill. 
Schnose’s first step in re-creating the 1890-style garment was to make a pattern based off the photo selected by Dumbrill. 
“Next, I selected a satin fabric in a bright blue color. The dress in the picture was partially covered by beautiful lace,” Dumbrill said. 
Gathering some of the materials for the dress became difficult, she said, and purchasing the lace to create the dress proved to be expensive. 
“I looked and looked for lace and found what we needed to be very expensive,” Dumbrill said. “So we came up with another idea.” 
That idea was a lace tablecloth, which saved the day. Schnose was able to cut out the needed lace for the dress and applique it on. 
“The result was a work of art,” Dumbrill said. 
She ran her fingers over the lace and satin dress as she described its creation. Dumbrill admired the heart and the quality of the work her friend put into the dress. 
“Midori’s husband told me recently that she was proud of the dress and spoke of it often,” Dumbrill said. “My friend Midori has already passed away.” 
According to Mandy Langfald, Curator of Collections at the Wyoming State Museum, Dumbrill’s dress is a great addition to the museum because the state’s centennial was such an important event for the entire state. 
“To have someone that was part of that and took is seriously enough to have a dress made is amazing,” Langfald said. “To save that as part of our history is a wonderful thing.” 
Langfald noted that the dress not only tells the story of the state’s centennial but also the story of Schnose, a war bride and seamstress living in a new country.