Michigan port appealingly elegant in the past (7)
I believe the answer is:
chicago
'michigan' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'elegant in the past' is the wordplay.
'elegant' becomes 'chic' (I've seen this before).
'in the past' becomes 'ago' (synonyms).
'chic'+'ago'='CHICAGO'
'port appealingly' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for chicago that I've seen before include "3 city in the US" , "Musical (in Illinois?)" , "Type of bridge" , "1970s' John Kander/Fred Ebb musical" , "A windy place" .)