Dresses hang on the walls and adorn mannequins in an Oldham County chapel.
One is white with gold detailing around the bodice and a princess skirt built from layers of sheer fabric. A matching crown sits on a nearby table. One is purple with a pink lace flower overlay that spans a poofy skirt and up the sides to make small sleeves. And another, while not as large, stands out with its vibrant multi-colored flowers against black fabric.
All of them are dresses on display at Oldham County History Center for its Celebration of Age: The Quinceañera Exhibit, which is open through May 24.
Quinceañeras are a Hispanic coming-of-age celebration for girls turning 15, quince in Spanish.
“I have a long history in fashion, but I have never, until just recently, in being involved with this, had an opportunity to see such elaborate and incredibly decorated dresses,” Jo Ross, a fashion consultant who worked on the exhibit, said.
Dresses for quinceañeras haven’t always been the huge, ball gown-esque styles they are today.
“In my era, they were white, yes, maybe the bouquet, or something, very [little] color to it,” exhibit organizer Erika Guardado said. “Guess somewhere along the lines, they started looking like brides versus, you know, a 15-year-old. And they wanted to make sure that that line was very fine.”
And thus, the dresses in vibrant colors with matching bouquets and tiaras became the norm.
Even as dresses have become more standardized, some girls with Mexican heritage pay homage to their specific culture through their garments.
“Sometimes they use one of these [ball gown-style dresses] and they do a special dance with one of their community’s dresses,” one of the exhibition organizers, Gabby Sanchez, said.
Sanchez can often tell which Mexican state or community a girl's family comes from based on those dresses.
Quinceañeras are a huge undertaking.
“It’s years of preparation,” Sanchez said. “Family [will] come and say, ‘I will help with this. I will pay for this. I will pay for that, even the community will come and say, I want to help.’”
That care comes through in several aspects of a quinceañera, including the dress.
“It's art, and it's an expression of the person who has it on. So all these wonderful dresses demonstrate the joy and excitement that the family and the whole community has for this young woman,” Ross said.
The celebration is imbued with symbolism that parents are accepting their daughters' transition into adulthood.
“There's a doll that is given, the dad takes off the flat shoes and puts on heels,” Guardado said. “They know this is their little girl, and all of a sudden, now they reach 15, and they kind of grow together into this womanhood and accepting that this is the rite of passage.”
Executive director Nancy Theiss said exhibits about Oldham County should include all those who have contributed to it, including those who have been historically excluded.
“We have a major Hispanic presence here in Oldham County that we really haven't appreciated,” Theiss said.
Theiss hopes the exhibition will showcase that despite differences, cultures have throughlines that connect them, like celebrating milestone birthdays.
“We go so fast in today's society, to step out and embrace the cultures of the places where we live makes us so important to the places that are around us,” Theiss said. “We can connect to other people, we can have fun. We can celebrate their food and their culture, and all learn from each other.”
In addition to several Quinceañera dresses, the exhibition includes information about bat and bar mitzvahs and proms.
A jingle dress, which can be found across Native American culture, will also be on display. Jingle dresses, in some cultures, are given to girls after their first menstrual cycle. And, like the other items on display, it represents a cultural transition into adulthood.
Theiss hopes that by proudly displaying and educating on various cultures, people can put aside their differences to embrace their similarities.
“[Americans] have a long-term tradition in history across the world of being accepting of all cultures,” Theiss said. “I'm sorry that people don't feel like inclusion isn't a necessary part of who we are because that is who we are.”
