MAC exhibit combines motorized wonders and fashions of bygone eras

You’ve heard about great date movies? Well, Laura Thayer calls this “the perfect date exhibit.” If you don’t care about jumpers, you can concentrate on jump seats. And if you don’t give a hoot about a hemi, you can concentrate on hemlines.

Thayer, the curator of collections at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, has tied together two distinctly American consumer objects with “Mutual Seduction: Cars & Costumes,” which fills the main exhibit space beginning today.

This exhibit consists of 12 cars – from a 10-horsepower 1907 Cadillac to a 900-horsepower Tom Sneva Indy racer – surrounded by 60 costumes from the MAC’s collection.

The costumes are representative of each car’s era, so the 1907 Caddie is accompanied by a linen duster which looks like it came straight out of “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” Local musician Charlie Ryan’s original “Hot Rod Lincoln” (circa 1948-50) is accompanied by a tough-guy leather jacket.

Thayer said the idea for the exhibit came from brainstorming sessions among a number of MAC people. Yet she was the logical choice to put the exhibit together because, as she said, “I come from car people.”

Her parents in Davenport, Wash., were car collectors as far back as she can remember.

“My first word was ‘Packard,’ ” she said.

Thayer had connections to many car clubs and collectors in the Inland Northwest. Her goal was to find top-notch restored cars which were representative of their eras. She also wanted cars that had their “own local stories.”

For instance, there’s the 1928 Packard originally owned by an Anaconda Copper Mining Co. big-shot from Butte. His chauffeur would drop him off in Spokane to conduct business. Then the chauffeur and his pals would “load up the car with booze and girls” and head for Liberty Lake.

The cars in the exhibit include:

“A 1907 Cadillac with a bicycle-style chain drive.

“A 1911 Gleason made by a Kansas City wagon manufacturer.

“A 1913 Ford Model T Runabout.

“A 1918 Apperson Brothers Silver Anniversary Jackrabbit 8.

“A 1928 Packard 443 Tonneau Windshield Phaeton.

“A 1930 Chrysler 77.

“A 1937 Cord, Model 812, Beverly Body.

“A 1956 Ford Victoria, two-door hardtop.

“A 1948 Lincoln Zephyr frame with a 1930 Ford Model A Body, which inspired Ryan’s hit song, “Hot Rod Lincoln.”

“1968 Pontiac Firebird.

“Sneva’s 1972 Indy race car, built by Jim Tipke.

“Chad Little’s 1991 Thunderbird, used on the NASCAR circuit.

The biggest problem in compiling this high-rev collection: convincing the owners to part with their babies.

“We had to ask people to put their cars out of commission for a year,” said Thayer.

The costumes come almost entirely from the MAC’s own collection, acquired over the decades.

Thayer said she’s particularly fond of the exhibit’s central display of 1920s and ‘30s outfits, ranging from classic flapper dresses and tuxedoes to opulent movie-queen ensembles to dowdy Great Depression suits.

“We have a fabulous clothing collection and we don’t often get to bring it out in any full way,” said Thayer.