Tia Scarborough
For the Observer
He came, we saw, he dazzled! On Sunday, Ivan Sayers came to Agassiz and brought over 100 years of wedding fashion history with him for the Agassiz-Harrison Historical Society’s Something Borrowed Fashion Show.
A captivated audience was shown just how much work it was to “keep up with the Joneses” fashion-wise during the early 1900s, as they saw, step-by-step, just how much work getting even one dress on could be.
From corsets to petticoats to bustles, and through to the dress that tops them all, layers upon layers were worn to make up a single outfit on a daily basis. The focus of this particular show was on that very special day, the wedding. And from the multi-layered and modest styles that brought in the 1900s through to the girlish and loose fitting dresses of the early '30s, the fairy princes’ of the late '40s and early '50s, all the way through to the fancy free dresses of the socially conscious hippies of the '70s, the audience saw it all.
Through it all the show’s creator, Ivan Sayers, walked the audience through the how and why of the social and political mores and happenings that have shaped the fashion industry through the decades. From the suffragettes, through world wars, and the advent of flower power, the world around us is changing every day pulling fashion forward in its wake; changing the way we can and will express and project ourselves to the world.
With Sayers' love for fashion, and wealth of knowledge on the subject, it’s hard to be anything but fascinated and entertained by the histories behind the many beautiful dresses that were shown on Sunday and the light and humorous way Ivan Sayers delivered it. Until the next chance we’re given to experience one of his lightheartedly entertaining shows, we in the audience will enjoy the memory of this one.