‘Style Then and Now’ taking place at the museum

The Tioga County Historical Museum, in collaboration with Lily Style Loft and Up the Creek Ladies Consignment Boutique, will be hosting a fashion show showing the evolution of style on Sunday, June 9 at 1 p.m. at the Museum. 

At the show, models will be wearing period pieces from the museum, vintage pieces that Lily Style Loft and Up the Creek were able to secure, some vintage clothing and accessories, and some modern “everyday fashion.” 

At the show, models (most from Owego) will be wearing pieces provided by the downtown shops and museum. Guests will be able to be “up close and personal” with the fashion, and items from the shops will be for sale — not the museum pieces though.

“These are artifacts, we’d have to go through New York State to deaccession these and that’s horrible,” Scott MacDonald, Tioga County Historical Society executive director, said with a laugh. 

Theresa Lepkowski of Lily’s and Tammi Seeley of Up the Creek will be intermittently explaining how women’s style has evolved over the years. They will explain changing trends from ruffles to feathers, even the evolution of women’s undergarments.

This is Seeley and Lepkowski’s third fashion show that they’ve done together. In the past, Up the Creek and Lily’s has collaborated on shows to raise money for A New Hope Center. 

Both are honored, they said, to be a part of the Historical Society’s mission and is thrilled to raise money toward keeping the museum’s doors open and free to the public. 

“It’ll let us keep doing what we’ve been doing for the last 105 years,” Scott MacDonald, the Tioga County Historical Society executive director said. 

Events like this help the museum to maintain itself, manage collections as well as provide new exhibits for the public. Coming up, the museum will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a NASA exhibit. 

“All of these types of things take time,” MacDonald said. “They take money to create and research.”

This is the first fashion show of its kind that the museum has hosted, MacDonald said, and he hopes for there to be more in the future. 

“The idea is to engage the community; to bring in local businesses that have some similarity in serving the community as a focal point,” MacDonald said. “We’re bringing in two businesses and history, which is our mission, and engaging the community in a way where everyone wins.”

The Style Then and Now Fashion Show will be on June 9, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Tioga County Historical Society, located at 110 Front St. in Owego. Tickets are on sale for $20 dollars and can be purchased at Lily’s Style Loft, Up the Creek Ladies Consignment Boutique, or at the Historical Society. Seating is limited.