Trunk Shows - Shopping At Its Personal Best

A trend in fashion shopping is developing that’s worthy of mention. Trunk shows, private showings of clothing collections, are becoming the newest way to buy upscale women’s clothing.

“They provide the ultimate in personal shopping - selecting items for the season with an experienced wardrobe consultant - in the privacy of the consultant’s home,” says Richard Brill, president of Midwest Public Relations and representative of Madeleine, a European fashion company.

According to Brill, “Trunk shows offer the client her own wardrobe consultant who knows her sizes, her preferences, her budget and her past selections.”

You may be surprised to learn that the idea of a designer bringing clothes to the customer is not new.

During the 18th century, prior to the American Revolution, women colonists were very much interested in European fashions, but they faced a major obstacle - distance. It was not possible to run to Paris three or four times every year to select from out the latest styles. If you were lucky, maybe someone in your circle would make the trip once a year and return with couture news.

Then some enterprising designers came up with a clever idea. They created miniature versions of European styles being shown for the upcoming season and dressed them on wax dolls, called poupees (something like a first-generation Barbie).

Everything was packed into a trunk and shipped across the Atlantic where the designers had arranged for one or two women in each major community to host “trunk shows” for their friends and neighbors.

The women would send out invitations and everyone would gather for an afternoon of refreshments and fashion. At the end of the party, guests placed their orders for the dresses they wanted, packed everything back into the trunk and sent it off to the next community.

Trunk shows remained popular for many years until fashion publications, improved photography and faster transportation took their place. Yet, even a modern fashion magazine with beautiful glossy pictures is not the same as actually seeing and feeling the garments.

So once again we return to the trunk show, an idea that has been around for more than 250 years.

If you are having difficulty finding the styles you want, and jumping on the Concorde for a quick trip to Paris is out of the question, a trunk show may be the answer. It’s a personal, exciting way to see and feel what is available in Europe without having to renew your passport.

For more information on a Madeleine trunk show in this area, call (800) 854-1982.

MEMO: Shanna Southern Peterson is a Spokane writer and home economist. The Clothesline appears weekly. Ideas for the column may be sent to her c/o The Spokesman-Review Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210, or e-mail shanptr@aol.com.