History on display at vintage fashion show

May 06, 2008 08:25 pm

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Grand Traverse Heritage Center staged the 13th Annual Vintage Fashion Show and Chocolate Decadence Buffet on Sunday, May 4 at the City Opera House in Traverse City.

The nearly 300 fashion show attendees watched models take the stage wearing several pieces of the never before seen Norma Wilhelm Carroll Collection of classic 19th century apparel. In addition, there was a tribute to Kay Jerome and her 25th year as a downtown women's retail clothier.

The Norma Wilhelm Carroll Collection was donated to the Heritage Center by Tim Carroll and his sisters. Carroll, the son of Norma Wilhelm Carroll, is a retired diplomat who has traveled the world and returned in 2002 to his family homestead on the Old Mission Peninsula.

Carroll and his sisters' roots extend into the earliest days of European settlement in the Grand Traverse region. All eight of his great grandparents lived in Traverse City during the 1850s: the Johnsons, the Carrolls, the Wilhelms and the Smolars.

Carroll joined Nancy Bordine, a Traverse City vintage fashion specialist, who is coordinator of the fashion show. Together they presented an overview of Traverse City history through the clothes from the Norma Wilhelm Carroll Collection and historical photos projected onto the City Opera House stage.

The exquisite Norma Wilhelm Carroll Collection dates back to the mid 1800s and features a man's wedding suit, women's hats, dresses, a fur coat, women's undergarments and a Christening dress. Also among the outfits worn by vintage fashion show models were a mourning dress, wedding dress and traveling dress.

The Vintage Fashion Show and Chocolate Decadence Buffet was a collaboration with the City Opera House as the Wilhelm family was instrumental in the construction of the building in downtown Traverse City.

An added attraction to this year's Vintage Fashion Show was a Chocolate Decadence Buffet featuring chocolate pastries and candies donated by several area businesses, along with NMC Culinary Academy and TBA Career Tech Center Culinary Department.

Grand Traverse Heritage Center, located at 322 Sixth St., is home to the Museum of History, Traverse Area Historical Society, Women's History Project of Northwest Michigan, Maritime Heritage Alliance, Grand Traverse Rock & Mineral Club, and Railroad Historical Society of Northwest Michigan. For more information on the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, visit the Web site www.gtheritagecenter.com.

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