AUBURN — Floor-length hoop skirts and black mourning dresses were typical women’s fashions during the Civil War. The hoop skirts required up to five yards of fabric before adding ruffles and trims. The mourning dresses were common due to the deaths of more than 600,000 men in the war.

Facts about women’s wear during that era will be the topic of a fashion show at the Androscoggin Historical Society annual meeting and dinner on Tuesday, May 28, at the United Methodist Church, 439 Park Ave.

A social gathering will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will include a display of recent society acquisitions and books for sale. Dinner at 6 will feature baked stuffed chicken served by women of the church, followed by the society’s annual meeting. The program will begin at 7.

The public is invited to attend the meeting and dinner and/or the program. Tickets for the dinner are $18 and may be reserved by calling the society at 784-0586 before Monday, May 20.

The fashion show will be presented by members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Auxiliary. Models will include Delle Babbidge Pierce, Shameka Roaix, Kathy Gowen, Rachel Kennedy, Regina Catterson and Beverly Robbins.

Carolyn Lawson will moderate the show and dress a mannequin named “Jezebel.” There will be a variety of dresses and a display of vintage Civil War era clothing for men as well as women.

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