30 July 2023
Dressing the part
Fascinated by historical fashion, military spouse Rebecca Russell
celebrates the style of a bygone era with a costume ball devoted
to the time of Fayetteville's namesake Marquis.
BY JAMI MCL AUGHLIN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
FEATURE
C
all it a happy coincidence
when military wife and
historical costume expert
Rebecca Russell stumbled
across Fayetteville's Lafayette
Society last summer and discovered that
the group was full swing into planning for a
bicentennial celebration of the Marquis de
Lafayette's farewell tour.
Rebecca Russell, who is organizing a historical costume ball in September, says
her love of sewing was nurtured by her grandmother.
Russell had just received a mini-grant
through the Arts Council of Fayetteville-
Cumberland County to host Regency
costume workshops and was in the process
of organizing a birthday ball honoring
Lafayette as a historical reenactment.
"I was a few months into planning and
doing some research for historical groups
to invite to the ball when I happened upon
