By By Adrienne McKenzie
The early 1900s was a period of embroidered dresses and fancy hats for women and button frock coats with bow ties for men.
Atmore residents are invited to join this era of fashion, wearing their finest vintage clothing from the early 1900s period, while celebrating the city's 100th birthday in May.
Atmore's Centennial is May 23, which is a Wednesday, so the celebration will take place Saturday, May 19, in Heritage Park.
First National Bank &Trust will be sponsoring a Centennial Costume Contest during the city's Centennial celebration. FNB&T assistant vice president Lance Blackburn said the employees at the bank are looking forward to the event.
"We are really excited about the opportunity to sponsor the costume contest and to take a trip back in time," Blackburn said. "We hope a lot of people will get involved."
The judges for the contest will give priority to those costumes that are homemade, although individuals who purchase a costume are welcome to join the contest also. There will be different categories for adults, teenagers and children under the age of 12. There is no fee for registering for the contest, so everyone is invited to join. All costume styles should fall between the years of 1900 and 1915.
People interested in participating in the contest should register at the Centennial celebration at the FNB&T Costume Contest tent.
Pictures will be taken of all participants at the time of registration and the winners will be chosen the following week. According to Blackburn, the reason for not choosing a winner at the event is so people will not have to sit around and wait for the winner to be announced, they can go enjoy other activities at the Centennial celebration.
"The judging will be done after the fact," Blackburn said. "The pictures will be taken and then the judges will choose the winners the next week and we will send out the prizes. We didn't want to take away from all the other entertainment."
Blackburn said there are many different options for purchasing, or making, costumes.
"For anyone who can sew, Jo-Ann Fabrics has a number of costume patterns," he said. "There are costume places in Pensacola like Marsha's Menagerie."
Blackburn also mentioned Bienville Costumes, Costume Showcase and Andrade's Costume House, all in Mobile. He said looking on the Internet, researching the "Edwardian Era" is a good idea to see the style of attire in the early 1900s.
For more information about the Centennial Costume Contest call 368-0406.