‘Promenade’ shows 110 years of fashion at Fort

More than a century of fashion history will be on display Saturday at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

The annual Summer’s End Promenade, from 1 to 3 p.m., will feature volunteers attired in a range of reproduction clothing illustrating 110 years of history represented at Fort Vancouver.

Weather permitting, participants will stroll along Officers Row and the historic Parade Ground, stopping at the Grant House and its veranda.

Visitors can take photos and talk with participants about what was taking place in Vancouver and in the Pacific Northwest from the 1830s through 1945. Volunteers from the park’s costume and textile department will also be on hand to explain clothing construction and style.

“The sewing skills of the 19th century are very different than those of the 21st,” said Eileen Trestain, coordinator of the Fort Vancouver costume and textile department, in a news release. “Most volunteers have to learn a whole new ‘old’ way of sewing.”

If weather is threatening, the promenade will visit the Grant House and relocate to Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E. Fifth St.

The event evokes an era when an afternoon stroll in pleasant weather was taken for good health, to enjoy the company of friends, and to show off one’s finery.