There is no question women today have it pretty easy in the fashion department – except for the pantyhose, Spanx and high heels, of course – after seeing what our Victorian foremothers had to deal with when it came to getting dressed in the morning.

That was demonstrated in spades at the Fashion Show and Tea at the Durango Heritage Celebration on Oct. 11. Wow, the layers, the detail, the accessories, the ... don’t get me started. Or actually, I’m just getting started.

For its fifth year, organizers did something a little different, asking people who were planning to attend to come onstage at the Henry Strater Theatre to model their fripperies and furbelows in “Guests on Parade.” Boy, did both the locals and the folks who traveled to be here for the celebration open up their closets for this one.

Suzanne Parker, who served as mistress of ceremonies for the show, wore an 1860s Civil War-era silk hoop gown that she created for the national Daughters of the American Revolution 2012 Costume Contest. She won for the state of Colorado, but was quick to point out she was the only entry.

Parker’s better half – no wait, she’s his better half – well, you get the picture, is Tom Doak, and he wore his own 1864 Costume Contest outfit, a Confederate Medical Corps uniform in honor of his great-grandfather Abner Vernon Doak, who was a surgeon and colonel in the medical corps.

Guests modeled outfits from the 1860s all the way through the Titanic era of 1912. They came from around the state, across the country and as far away as New Brunswick, Canada.

Three women, members of the Ladies of Locust Grove from Fort Collins, wore original outfits from the early 1900s up to 1912. Lonna Miller modeled a vintage dove gray silk wedding gown circa 1903 to 1905, along with authentic lace-up kid boots. Rebecca Barbaria, a pilot for Mesa Airlines, wore a black silk ensemble with jet beading, complete with a small pocket for a lady’s timepiece. And Rita Smith’s 1912 dark blue satin evening gown with gold metallic trim and hand-beaded bodice, was accessorized with a matching hat with an exaggerated crown. Smith, a professional milliner, made the hat using an authentic millinery wing from the turn of the (last) century and added copper-beaded shoes from 1900.

A number of Durangoans took to the stage, including Susie Kuhnert in an 1880s polonaise outfit made with a printed cotton that would have been practical in our rough-and-tumble town lacking many of the modern conveniences of the time. (Durango may have been an isolated frontier town, but our founding mothers would have kept up with the latest fashions via fabric available at local mercantiles, fashion books and magazines, and patterns brought by train from the East.)

Meri Oyler modeled an 1890s violent-velvet walking suit, while Carol Lewin also sported a look from the 1890s, a brown corduroy riding habit. Transplanted Georgia peach Lynn Maddox displayed the more streamlined look of the early 1900s in a princess dress with lace yolk and collar.

The folks at the Strater Hotel got the tea just right. Guests enjoyed miniature sandwiches with cucumber and cream cheese, chicken salad on rye and baby shrimp salad; cranberry scones; blueberry muffins; fruit salad; a vegetable tray; and assorted cookies and dessert bars.

On the evening of Oct. 11, guests gathered in the Pullman Room downstairs at the Strater – also known as “Celebration Central” – for the “Queen Victoria meets Buffalo Bill” banquet. Based on history – Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show performed in England for the queen’s golden jubilee in 1887, and her royal highness actually went to see it twice – the dinner inspired folks to dress either in Victorian garb or Western attire. Durango City Councilor Sweetie Marbury had great fun portraying the headliner of the evening.

“Americans are quite tall,” she told me, “and very amusing.”

She was piped into the room by Jeannine Dobbins and Laurie Robison, before everyone sat down to a repast using foodstuffs that were available in London during the 1880s. (Have you noticed how old-fashioned my vocabulary becomes when I’m writing about something historical?)

The menu included mixed greens with tomato wedges, cucumber slices, artichoke hearts dressed with a classic herbed vinaigrette; prime rib au jus served with chateau potatoes and asparagus with hollandaise sauce; and a layered trifle with pound cake, Grand Marnier custard and raspberries with whipped cream.

For entertainment, Carleen Utterback played the best shot in the West, Annie Oakley, complete with a “shooting” demonstration. She later broke into song with “Buttons and Bows,” which may have been written 60 years later, but fit the theme of the evening perfectly.

The Durango Heritage Celebration features events over most of that weekend and clearly brought in folks, and dollars, for local businesses, from outside the area. As anecdotal proof, at the banquet I sat with visitors from Colorado Springs and Boise, Idaho, and I had people from the Front Range, Florida and Chicago on my trolley tour on the afternoon of Oct. 12.

After serving at the helm for five years, Parker is stepping down from the Heritage Celebration’s Steering Committee, as are her colleagues Utterback and Bonnie Brennan. Rani Holt is picking up the reins, and it will be interesting to see where the celebration goes from here.

Thanks for another memorable weekend.

HHH

There are lots of birthdays to celebrate between the ones I missed last week and the ones coming up this week, so greetings go out to Travis Dalenberg, Shannon Kunkel, Emily Rohren, George Rose, Benji Mickel, Marna Burnett, Evan Gonzalez, Betty Calkins, Brandon Cross, Larry Brown, Kevin Heckman, Austin Volz (who’s off being a visiting scholar in China), Debbie Williams, Ray McLaughlin, Linda Geer, Ann Huttner, Sheri Rochford Figgs, Maggie Sauer, Sue Benton, Barbara Fletcher, Cheryl Bryant, Carol Hanes, Sue Liefeld, Molly Matney, Sylvia Frazier, Carson Marquez, Dash Eggleston, Gracy Lyda, Chris Raulston, D.J. Harris, Mikayla Jeffryes, Debbie Kjonaas, A.J. Folk, Ron Atkinson, Louise Bell, Wayne Bernard, Marilyn Holland, Carolyn Hunter, Eli Rambo, Bella Lopez, Hunter Houle, Maxwell Morris, Carly Pierson, Kurt Raymond, Scott Sallee, Michael Marquez, Nancy Felix, Pat Garofalo, Andrew Ferguson, Mary Thompson, Steve Hudson, Polly Morgenstern, Joan Rhoades, Floyd Jaramillo, Brad Fassett, Leah Deane, Diego Max Bonilla, Scott Holland, Trish Sohle, Tom Murray, Mark Prouty and his twin brother, Marty Prouty. Yikes!

HHH

Saturday marks the ninth annual opportunity to enjoy the Durango Lions Club’s delicious chili while getting a jump on your holiday shopping with the accompanying Craft Fair.

I don’t write about this group often enough. The money raised at this event goes right back into the community, whether it’s as the Hoyt Miller Scholarship given to a graduating senior each year; assistance for vision screenings, eyeglasses and even emergency eye surgery for those in need; or everyone’s favorite Lions’ project, its Kidsight vision screenings.

Lions’ members use a special camera to check preschoolers for amblyopia, also known as “lazy eye.” It’s the leading cause of vision loss in children, and it’s not always evident by just looking at a child. (I suffer from amblyopia, which was diagnosed when I was 3, so I know how important early intervention is.)

The screening is free. This year, they plan to check 300 preschoolers, and, on average, they refer about 15 percent to a specialist.

Lions Club members will be ladling up the chili from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the La Plata County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall. The Craft Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so you can shop, refuel and keep on shopping.

Tickets are $6 for all you can eat. They are available from any club member or at the door.

I made a New Year’s resolution to go to as many fundraising meals like this as possible this year. I figure you’ve got to eat, so why not support a good cause while doing so? (And this chili is yummy – definitely a two-bowler – to boot.)

Oh, and don’t bother asking for the recipe, as many of us have done – it’s a cherished secret.

Thanks to Susie Ammann for keeping me posted.

HHH

Who hasn’t looked in the mirror and noticed another crease or gotten up in the morning with a new ache or pain? The under-30 crowd, I’m guessing.

For the rest of us, the signs of aging come as regularly as the seasons. I’m mostly OK with that – I wouldn’t trade the wisdom I’ve gained for anything – but in our youth-obsessed culture, it’s sometimes a struggle to remember that.

And all aging isn’t just about the physical. The Durango Dharma Center is hosting Anna Douglas from Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California to speak about “Aging as a Spiritual Practice” at 7 p.m. Friday in Room 130 Noble Hall at Fort Lewis College. Douglas, 74, has spent years as a mindfulness teacher (another New Year’s resolution for me) as well as practicing it personally.

She’ll also be leading a two-day retreat called “Awakening to Things as They Are” over the weekend.

Tickets for the lecture are offered on a sliding scale ranging from $20 to $50, and are available for advance purchase at www.durangodharmacenter.org. You can find more details about the retreat on the website as well.

HHH

Marking another year of building a life together are Bruce and Kay Mayer, Luis and Jaime Marquez, John and Kay Cooley, Mark and Michelle James, Noel and Virginia Peterson, Sean and Danette Jackson, Nate and Cherish Trammell, Wayne and Linda Ruby, Everett and Phyllis Hoyt, Jake and Sandy Seibert, and Mike and Christine Phillips.

HHH

Here’s how to reach me: neighbors@durangoherald.com; phone 375-4584; mail items to the Herald; or drop them off at the front desk. Please include contact names and phone numbers.