After 80 years, the beautiful red velvet dress worn by Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis has finally been reunited with the coat she donned over it. These two iconic pieces of Hollywood heritage were officially showcased at the Missouri History Museum yesterday, as part of its 1904 World’s Fair exhibit, which will be available for viewing throughout the holidays.
The exhibit launched in April and has already attracted over 120,000 attendees. According to public historian Adam Kloppe, the museum had initially planned for the costumes to arrive late and depart early due to the delicacy of nearly century-old fabric. “The longer they are out and exposed to light, the more deterioration could occur,” he explains. “We thought, This is a holiday movie; why not present this during the holidays to give visitors a chance to see these artifacts?”
The striking red velvet dress, on loan from local philanthropist Mary Strauss, has previously been displayed at the museum. Garland wears it during the Christmas Eve ball scene in the film and continues to wear it during one of its most memorable moments: her emotional rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Between these two scenes, she sports the white coat now borrowed from Get Happy! The Judy Garland Exhibit, which features an extensive array of costumes once worn by Garland, ultimately leading to a proposal from the boy next door. (You can view these items together, along with the performance, here.)
Kloppe shares that the museum initially sought the coat as a secondary option, in case the dress was unavailable—only to realize that showcasing them together would provide a more unique exhibit. “Why not display these iconic film artifacts side by side for, as far as we know, the first time since the movie’s release?” he questions.
Released in 1944, Meet Me in St. Louis was a massive success both in St. Louis and beyond, garnering four Academy Award nominations. Nonetheless, a largely positive review from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted a shortcoming: a lack of representation of the World’s Fair. “Critiquing this film feels akin to critiquing a cultural landmark, but one recurring critique has been the limited depiction of The Fair,” stated Clarissa Start. “However, to satisfy purists, the film concludes as the book did, with the Smiths’ initial view of the wonderfully enchanting Skinker Swamp, marveling at how this wonder could be ‘right here in St. Louis.’”
You can watch that sequence here. Kloppe cautions against expecting complete historical accuracy. “If you look at the painted backdrop behind them, it doesn’t accurately represent a view you would encounter at the World’s Fair,” he mentions.
Nevertheless, the scene holds significance for history enthusiasts, illustrating how the fair was recalled four decades later. Vincente Minnelli’s film evokes nostalgia not just from the modern perspective of today’s viewers 80 years later; its essence is steeped in nostalgia itself. As Kloppe points out, it was filmed during World War II, “a tumultuous time in both American and world history, where people were yearning for a simpler, more nostalgic, and safe vision of the past they could retreat into.”
Paradoxically, the Victorians of the World’s Fair era were closer in time to Judy Garland and the vibrant Technicolor of the 1940s than we are to the 1980s today. “For many, this was well within living memory,” Kloppe observes, likening the film’s nostalgia to shows like Stranger Things in our current culture.
Of course, Stranger Things features a wardrobe that’s far less stylish. It’s hard to envision future generations admiring T-shirts and hoodies from that series in a museum. However, history is unpredictable. For now, we have Meet Me in St. Louis—dress and coat.
Kloppe concludes, “These are significant and iconic artifacts linked to an emotionally impactful moment in a film that resonates with many people. I believe it will be incredibly special for audiences to see these two pieces together.”
