Published: Thursday, 10/11/2001

Styles for office and after

BY VANESSA WINANS
BLADE STAFF WRITER

The scene: On the runway at last week's Sparkling Fashions event of the Zonta Club of Toledo I Service Foundation, model Pat Robinson trooped out in a yellow knitted jacket made from sheared beaver fur. As she showed off the jacket and its matching bag, Mr. Roth, the irrepressible owner of Roth Furs (“Down-town!”), gave the crowd some background. (More fashion photos)

The fur is dyed and knit, giving the fingertip-length jacket the feel of a sweater. And if you wore the bright yellow garment to a football game, Mr. Roth continued, “You could spill mustard on it and nobody would know!”

The remark provided the funniest moment in an otherwise straightforward fashion show of styles from the Doncaster Studio in Perrysburg, Lady C in Sylvania, and Roth Furs in Toledo. As with last year's event, Sparkling Fashions concerned itself with clothes suited for career women with busy social lives.

Fabrics included leather and pleather, silk and wool, with plenty of glitter in the evening clothes. Colors tended toward the cool and elegant: deep purples, rich reds, chocolate browns, and shades of blue from periwinkle to navy. And shapes looked trim and tailored, reflecting the season's trend toward menswear and equestrian-inspired styles.

A few stand-outs:

Patricia Francis wore a beige leather jacket with matching flat-front slacks. Her silk blouse featured an equestrian print on a crimson background. The model's attitude gave the outfit its kick. When the announcer began describing the

handbag Ms. Francis had forgotten, she made a show of pointing at an imaginary purse. The crowd loved it.

Kathy Ulrich wore a modern-looking ensemble of black and brown: black slacks with a brown-lined black pleather (faux leather) jacket, and a tweed sweater with fringe at the sleeves and collar.

Susan Ross Wells modeled a full-length mahogany mink coat with fox collar and cuffs.

As for the eveningwear, Ginny Schlicher and Donna Owens looked regal in a purple. Ms. Schlicher wore a twin set with a long, sequined, slit skirt. Ms. Owens modeled dark silk velvet pants and a long jacket in a flowing fabric. And Sandi Briner wore a sparkling black and gold tweed suit, which was trimmed and lined with black.

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