Vanderbilt Gilded Age House Party at the Biltmore: Partying like it's (around) 1899!!

A Vanderbilt House Party, a new Gilded Aged-themed exhibit at the Biltmore estate in Asheville continues until May

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina is currently having a Gilded Age Vanderbilt House Party and I made sure I was in attendance before this exhibit concludes in May.  Last week, we crashed the party (and by "crash", I mean bought tickets a month in advance) and immersed ourselves in the lifestyle of the 19th century rich and famous.

Crashing the party with tickets bought well in advance

A self-directed, audio tour escorts one through the many rooms of the house that George Vanderbilt built in 1895, providing inside details of what it was like to host, prepare and attend a gala evening at the height the opulent and excessive Gilded Age.

While the narration is a little light, the highlight of the tour is most certainly the exquisite costumes displayed in many of the rooms - recreations of the actual gowns, suits and uniforms of the Vanderbilt family, staff and guests under the guidance of John Bright, award winning designer, and creator of many of the Downton Abbey fashions. 

A highlight of the tour, a recreation of  House of Worth gown by Downton Abbey costume designer

One of the most spectacular recreations on exhibit is a dress originally worn by George Vanderbilt's sister which came from the Gilded Age fashion designer, Charles Worth. A delicate gown decorated with mesh butterflies and extensive beading, it is a masterpiece of silk and lace. 

Edith and George Venderbilt welcome a daughter, Cornelia, in 1900

Many of the dresses would be "petite" sizes today, part of the rather uncomfortable legacy of the Victorian ideal figure, featuring an 18 inch waist. One curator on the tour told us they recently uncovered some of Mrs. Vanderbilt's dresses with a waist measuring 20 inches. (I'm still in pain!)

The Winter Garden (room 1)

Family & guest photos displayed in many rooms

The tour starts at Room 1, the Winter Garden, an impressive atrium entryway and guides one through almost 40 rooms, up three floors and down to the basement, the latter is where the staff lived and worked. Each room  on the tour is numbered and black and white photos of the occupants in their dress of the day is on hand to show the roots of the recreated costumes on display.

The library, featuring Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt and Edith Wharton

A favorite room of mine was the library, where George and his wife, Edith, entertained many well-known authors of the day, including Edith Wharton.

The tour takes you up three floors as well as down to the basement.

Knocking on Edith Wharton's door

The house party also  takes one to the guest rooms of some who visited the Biltmore. We knocked on the door of the Madonna Room, where Wharton slumbered and also walked through the Louis XV bedroom, where opera singer, Elizabeth Dodge, stayed.

Louis XV guest room where opera singer, Elizabeth Dodge, stayed during her visit to Biltmore

Two items of note on the Louis XV accommodations:  the china serving pieces on display and the adjoining bathroom.  We'll  get back to first item later, but regarding the second, it is one of forty-three bathrooms from the original construction. Indoor plumbing was a Gilded Age luxury quickly adopted by wealthy Americans, not gaining favor by English aristocrats for years, to the great disappointments of some of their "imported" brides.

One of 43 Biltmore bathrooms

Beautiful Vanderbilt Sevres china tea set. 

In all this extravagance, it's also noteworthy to remember the downstairs family that made such an operation possible. On the lower level, tour guests can view the bedrooms of the staff - austere and drab in contrast to their upstairs counterparts - and the kitchen, laundry room, and other work areas where cooks, maids and housekeepers made the "magic" happen.

Staff "on call"

Downstairs bedrooms, austere and drab compared to those upstairs

We concluded the tour near the Banquet Hall, where beautifully dressed mannequins are waiting for an elegant dinner to be served. I was inspired by the Gilded Age tablescape - a collection of silver, crystal, candles and an explosion of red, yellow and white flowers - and hope to recreate something, albeit much humbler, for my holiday table this year.

Our Biltmore visit didn't stop at the mansion, however. We had afternoon tea at The Inn, the high end hotel on the estate (future blog story!) and walked through  Antler Village, which is home to the Biltmore winery, more gift shops and more eateries.

Afternoon tea at the Inn on the Biltmore estate ( new blog story!)

Is the party over? Not by a long shot! I've purchased my own Vanderbilt reproduction china tea set from the Biltmore estate (just like the china in Elizabeth Dodge's guest room), so I can keep the Gilded Age tea party going in the year 2-0-1-9!. 

Two gilded thumb's up to the Biltmore's Gilded Age House Party!

 This year's holiday table at the Gulleys.