0 Our Fashionating Museum

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum


If our name wasn't already so long, I'd suggest we change it to the Fountainhead Antique Auto and Historic Fashion Museum. For some time we've had more fashions than cars on the floor; in fact, we presently have over 100 outfits on exhibit! I'm told that we are now have the largest fashion collection on permanent display in the western United States. If you love fashion history and haven't visited us, you are really missing out!

Originally begun as a complement to the automobiles with about ten garments on display, the collection now encompasses an extensive array of costume history. Ranging from the 18th century to the mid 20th, the collection now includes everyday wear and formal dress from 200 years of American style.



The gem is our early 20th century collection featuring Edwardian elegance, Empire Revival chic (including "Titanic dresses"), and Flapper shimmer. We presently have a number of 1920s evening dresses on display, including richly beaded and sequined shifts. We are also fortunate to host pieces from designers like Fortuny, Callot Soeurs, Edward Molyneaux, and Maria Gallenga.



We also house a notable assortment of 19th century bustled silhouettes, includible some formidable leg-of-mutton sleeved dresses from the 1890s. Our 1930s garments include bias-cut, curve hugging gowns, daywear, and tailored outfits, including pieces from designers Ceil Chapman and Hattie Carnegie.

The fashion collection does not stop at clothing. We also have a wide range of accessories on exhibit, including shoes, purses, gloves and jewelry dating back to the 18th century. Of course, no exhibit would be complete without hats. You can see some of our most interesting examples in our current exhibit, "Beauty and the Bird: A Tale of Feathers, Fashion and Our Fowl Obsession." This exhibit, originally scheduled to close last March, has been extended by popular demand.

"We weren't expecting it, but this was a 'gold-star' attraction. The cars were superb, but the antique clothing collection was out of this world!"  TripAdvisor Reviews

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying right here at Wedgewood Resort. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

Detail: Our Fashionating Museum

0 Vintage Treads and Threads

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Not a week goes by that I don't encounter a recent museum visitor or read a review that expresses shock at the extent of our collections. It's not surprising that many expect to find no more than a few Model Ts and other old Fords in a Fairbanks car museum, and we are thoroughly entertained by the stunned looks on visitors' faces when they walk through the door and see a huge gallery full of ~60 spectacular automobiles.

I am even more delighted by the women who tell me they didn't want to come to our facility, but then enthusiastically admit that the cars and clothing blew them away. In the past year our historic fashion collection has grown to rival our assemblage of automobiles. In fact, we now have over 100 costumes on display, making ours the largest permanent clothing exhibit in Alaska, if not on the West Coast.

 
Our historic fashion curator, Barb Cerny, has assembled a fabulous array of gowns, suits, dresses, coats, hats and accessories spanning 150 years. While the focus is on the same time periods represented by our cars, several garments date back to the 1880s. From custom gowns to ready-to-wear day dresses, there are even a few treasures by well-known designers such as Mariano Fortuny, Jean Patou and Callot Soeurs on display. Some pieces are from Alaska pioneers, showing that the women who arrived here during Fairbanks' rough frontier days were just as interested in fashion as their contemporaries to the south.

A walk through the museum vividly illustrates how fashion changed from the Victorian's tightly corseted, restrictive clothing to the looser sophistication of the Roaring 20s and glamorous 1930s--just as automobiles evolved from boxy carriage shapes to sleek, stylized designs. My favorite pieces are from the Belle Époche and Art Deco periods, especially the Titanic Era gowns and beaded flapper dresses. Which are your favorites?

 

This winter we will be offering monthly curator talks that will include behind-the-scenes looks at the fashion collection and several "Under the Hood" tours of the automobiles. Watch our Facebook page for details. And if you need more convincing that you should visit our museum, check out some of our TripAdvisor comments (and please add yours if you have already visited).

Detail: Vintage Treads and Threads