UNION SPRINGS - The Parade of Historical Fashion took vintage to a whole new level Sunday afternoon during a fashion show at the Frontenac Museum.

Models wore dresses more than 130 years old, which gave viewers a chance to see what life was like for women from the 1870s up to the 1940s.

Dorothy VanNostrand, who helped create the show 25 years ago, said the event brought the history and fashion to life instead of being viewed in a lifeless museum exhibit or stored in someone's basement or attic.

“I have never seen another show like this,” VanNostrand said. “It's unique because people can see the dresses on women instead of mannequins. It gives people a chance to see the change in fashion and in society.”

Elaborate hoop skirts, tight corsets and large bustles that accentuated a woman's back side were often used in the 1800s, while knee-high dresses, short hair and exposed arms portrayed the fast and exciting 1920s.

But good fashion often come at a price. “Large hoop skirts could catch on fire if someone walked to close to an open fire and women would often pass out if their corset was too tight,” VanNostrand said. “It wasn't uncommon for women to carry around little containers of smelling salts in case someone fainted.”

Elizabeth Shockey, of Union Springs, said the show gave her a new perspective on what fashion and life was like for women before her.

“When you see those hoops and bustles, they were something that's really foreign to you,” Shockey said. “Clothing today is far more comfortable and women are able to do so much more today than they were able to do back then.”

The lack of strenuous activity 100 years ago also meant dresses were not made with durability in mind.

While museums focused on preserving the condition of the dresses, VanNostrand said her primary focus is to show people what the dresses look like on real people, which often exposes the antique clothing to more stress than it may be able to endure.

One wedding dress with a long train showed its age as several small pieces of thread were left behind when a model walked across the runway.

“The age of the dress really effects its condition,” VanNostrand said. “Some of the older dresses are made of really fine silky material that disintegrates if you touch it too much. And sometimes the younger models forget how old the stuff is and they can easily rip something if they take their clothes off too fast while changing.”

Pat Kimber, who helped organize the show at the museum, said they often used children or younger volunteers to model some of the dresses.

“We have to use younger girls who are smaller because women in general back then were smaller than women today,” Kimber said. “It also shows how much women did to stay small back then to put themselves into these dresses.”

Getting into an 1880s era dress was no small feat since changing clothes often involved a whole team of women to layer on the fabric, tighten a corset or to pick up dropped items because a woman's range of movement would often be limited after she was fully dressed.

But fashion during the 1920s and women's suffrage movement portrayed their new sense of freedom as women started showing more of their legs, arms and necklines while picking up habits that were often reserved for men such as smoking.

Some hats and other headwear also changed to allow women to drive around in cars without losing their hat and messing up their hair.

“People are interested in these types of fashion changes,” VanNostrand said. “We might wear out some of these outfits, but it gives people a chance to see and kind of relive the history.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net