DPS fashion show
'What Should I Wear to the Opera?'
By Jennifer Archibald Staff writer

'Gone with the Wind' revisited Chanler Norman, foreground, and Jean Cole, background, are modeling 1860s fashions in a style show at the Carroll County Courthouse. The dresses came from Cole Clothing Museum, 900 E. Broadway, Logansport. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald

Fashions of yesteryear were modeled in the Carroll County Courthouse last Friday evening.

The aisles in the third floor Circuit Courtroom became runways as models Debbie Low, Chanler Norman, Jordyn Bieghler, and Brianna Walters strutted the latest apparel from the 1860s to the early 1900s.

The program was sponsored by the Delphi Preservation Society, and the clothing came from Cole Clothing Museum in Logansport.

Staged during the Old Settlers event, the fashion show was designed to cover the opera house period in Delphi.

Jean Cole, founder of the museum, narrated the show, dividing the fashions into time periods and setting the scene for each decade.

She went backward in time, starting with the era of silent movies, women's suffrage, and Prohibition. One of the models representing this period was dressed all in black, with a black hat, black boa, and a white sign that read "Right to vote."

Care for a swim? Debbie Lowe modeled some elegant vintage dresses in a style show Friday night, but it was this swimming attire from the 1890s that turned people's heads. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald

Cole had costume changes herself, and one was from 1912, the year of the sinking of the Titanic. The dress had a low neckline and sheer sleeves. She wore white gloves and a hat with a feather.

Going back to the "Gay Nineties," and the turn of the century, Cole pointed out the emergence of trolley cars and the horseless carriage. She mentioned the "Gibson girl" style of this era, with a high collar, puffed sleeves, and a tight waistline.

Most of the fashions modeled in the show were fulllength, dress-up styles, accessorized with hats and occasional parasols. One fashion from the 1890s departed from that scenario. The model appeared in swimming attire, complete with ruffled hat and striped socks. As a contrast, she walked out with another model, wrapped in a beach towel. A quick and momentary unwrap of the towel revealed a modern bikini. Cole described the contrasting fashions as "You've come a long way, baby."

The last, and earliest period of the show was the Civil War and Reconstruction Era, and the coming of the railroad.

Hoop skirts and hourglass figures were the trends of the time. Cole and another model appeared in dresses reminiscent of "Gone with the Wind."

Joe Kitchel helped set the scene for this period.

He told about a reception held in the Assion-Ruffing hall in Delphi in 1865, welcoming home the local Civil War regiments. It was in this building that the Lathrope & Ruffing Opera House opened in 1882 and closed in 1914. A century later, fashions from that era were being modeled across the street in the courthouse.

In the course of the show, Cole talked about corsets and petticoats, bustles and brassieres, necklines and waistlines, and fitted and flowing styles.

She noted that although today's women have come a long way in "women's rights," they also wear larger size clothing, larger shoes, and have more age spots.