“Sparkle: The Style and Jewelry of Aileen Mehle” opens Friday at the Kent State University Museum.

In honor of the museum’s 40th anniversary, this exhibition pays tribute to Mehle, a friend of the museum’s founders and widely syndicated society columnist.

It features evening dresses and jewelry from Mehle that will be displayed in the Higbee Gallery.

According to curator Sara Hume, “Her career as a journalist attests to her brilliant wit and driving work ethic, yet she took extraordinary care in presenting herself appropriately for the variety of social occasions she reported on. She is an underappreciated style icon who is finally getting her due.”

Mehle (1918-2016) wrote under the pseudonym Suzy Knickerbocker and enjoyed a career spanning five decades, from the 1950s until her final column in 2005, which she wrote at the age of 87.

She dressed in Pauline Trigère, Oscar de la Renta, Geoffrey Beene, Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy while wearing jewelry by David Webb, Cartier and Tiffany & Co. as well as bags by Judith Leiber and Bulgari.

The exhibition will feature nearly two dozen vintage David Webb pieces.

“Aileen Mehle was the consummate David Webb collector: a self-assured woman of style who purchased countless treasures for herself and gave bejeweled gifts to her friends,” according to Levi Higgs, David Webb’s head of archives and brand heritage. “Her records tell the story of a gregarious woman-about-town with impeccable taste and who embodied a bold and courageous sense of self-expression.”

Among the dresses from the 1960s through the 1990s mounted in the exhibition is the beaded dress by Nilo de Paul that she wore to Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball in 1966 alongside a selection of her jewelry that ranges from vintage earrings from the 1930s to statement necklaces and bracelets from the 1980s.

“Sparkle” runs through Aug. 23, 2026, at the museum, 515 Hilltop Drive, Kent. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and $5 for children ages 5 to 18 and free on Sundays. For more information, go to www.kent.edu/museum or call 330-672-3450.