If you grew up in St. Louis, there’s a good chance a Cherry Dress still hangs in your family’s closet, tucked away with other childhood keepsakes. But just as memorable as those stitched cherries are the flavors that have defined generations inside the Woman’s Exchange of St. Louis. For more than 140 years, the Exchange has created heirlooms of every kind, from smocked dresses and secret-recipe dishes to traditions that weave themselves into both closets and kitchens. More than a boutique or tearoom, it’s a living thread in the city’s cultural fabric, where stitches meet sauces, gooey butter brownies meet baby showers, and every bite tells a story of connection and care.
The dress’s cultural legacy runs deep. Famously worn by Jackie Kennedy’s children on a magazine cover, it holds a place of honor in the Missouri History Museum’s Collected exhibit, showcased among more than 2,000 historic children’s garments.
"The Cherry Dress is a classic staple piece. You can wear it year-round," Glendale resident Carley Koke said. "I was so excited because I've known about the Cherry Dress for so many years. One of the first things I thought when I found out my third child was a girl was, “I’m going to have a girl and I can put her in a Cherry Dress.”
For over 30 years, Elanora "Ellie" Dressel stitched Cherry Dresses by hand, her craftsmanship becoming part of countless St. Louis childhoods. Today, that same care lives on in every hand-smocked dress created by the Exchange's network of more than 100 artisans—many of whom remain anonymous, continuing the organization's founding mission as a haven for women to earn an income. “All the dresses you see are hand-smocked,” Donor Relations and Communications Coordinator Mollie Amburgey said. “The cherries on every Cherry Dress are stitched by hand by our artisans.”
From royal occasions to modern gender reveals, the Cherry Dress has found its place in family rituals. “We had three little girls wear our dresses during a presentation for Queen Elizabeth,” Mollie recalled. “And once, the Cherry Dress was the big reveal at a gender reveal party.”
See the Cherry Dress in Collected at the Missouri History Museum; “The Life of Kids’ Clothes” gallery through January 4, 2026.
Share your photos in the Cherry Dress by tagging Kirkwood City Lifestyle on Facebook and Instagram @KirkwoodCityLifestyle.
"The Cherry Dress is a classic staple piece. You can wear it year-round," Glendale resident Carley Koke said.