Memphis Community Players Holds Fashion Show
The Memphis Community Players opened the “Costumes and Vintage Fashions Fashion Show” at the Memphis Theatre on May 2, 2026, with the Color Guard from the Memphis VFW presenting the national flag to the audience. The group represents the Wallace W. Gillespie Memorial Post 4958.
Twenty-four models showcased over fifty costumes from several of the Players’ theater productions, vintage fashions spanning decades from the 40’s, to the 1990’s, black dresses, formals, and unique/innovative “Just Because” designs. The master and mistresses of ceremonies, Scott Hathaway, Amber Brown, and Angie Tipling shared historical facts about the Memphis Theatre and the Memphis Community Players and provided detailed descriptions of the fashions from the various categories of clothing and accessories seen on the Memphis “fashion runway”. The presentation included choreography by Trinity Davis, music, and lighting to enhance the show.
Perhaps the highlight of vintage fashions set was the wedding gown made from a parachute. Barb Blomme’s father Eugene “Jeep” Vogel was a Staff Sargeant paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division. He served in Central Europe during World War II. Vogel brought his parachute home and took it to a seamstress in Martinsburg, Iowa, who redesigned the parachute into a wedding gown for his bride-to-be Lela. They were married on October 7, 1947. The sentimental piece was soft and light silk.
Models for the Fashion Show included members of the Memphis Community Players, Memphis community members, and area students. There were four mother/daughter pairs – Marie Alexander/Angie Tipling, Amber/Bella Brown, Holly/Oliva Harris, Anna Lynn Kirkpatrick/ Lynnette Dyer, featuring the classic, elegant, vintage, and trendy clothing. Veteran Community Players, (including Anna Lynn Kirkpatrick and Lynnette Dyer) who wore the nostalgic costumes were Sheila Berkowitz, Tom and Teresa Cotton, Jeff Dyer, Brent Karhoff, Chrissy Myers, and Frank and Brooke Wineinger. Julie Clapp and Amy Gaudette joined the MCP as models for the event. Scotland County R-1 student “supermodels” included Tania Bashkirova, Evan Cochran, Hilary Hamm, Chandler Harris, Ciara Smith, and Ava Stott.
Event coordinators were Sheila Berkowitz, Amber Brown, JoAnn Peters, Angie Tipling, and Brooke Wineinger. They would like to thank the business/individuals who provided door prizes for the show: Collect Sets (Amber Brown), Countryside Flowers (Tasha Fadiga), Hair Company
(Michele Garnett), Simply Gifted in Grace (Amy Mathews), and TuckRidge Massage(Katie Dunnett), and a special “thank you” to Theresa Fleming with the Kountry Road Koffee mobile coffee trailer for donating the day’s proceeds.
The emcees closed the show with, “ Fashion can be defined as the prevailing style or trend in clothing, accessories, behavior, or lifestyle, influenced by culture, society, and individual tastes…”.
