MOUNT VERNON — There were no empty seats at the 2010 Spring Fashion Show and Luncheon sponsored by Soroptomist International on Saturday.
Held at the Dan Emmett Conference Center Saturday afternoon, mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and friends gathered to celebrate spring and enjoy each other’s company, while savoring a peek at which new fashions will be popular this season. At the same time, they raised money to enrich the lives of women and girls locally and throughout the world.
“The style show is a great fundraiser for us,” said Joan Stallard, member and past president and board member of the local Soroptomist chapter.
“This is a great way to meet some wonderful women,” Stallard said of the event, adding the money raised will benefit several organizations which assist women and girls.
“We are about improving the lives of women and girls throughout the community and nation,” Stallard said. “In Mount Vernon we assist New Directions [Domestic Abuse Shelter], the Delta Project, the Children’s Connection, Interchurch and Hope Now.”
Stallard said Soroptomist International is not a new organization, tracing its beginnings to the first chapter formed in 1921.
The local chapter was chartered in 1956. The chapter’s first president was Helen Zelkowitz.
The club’s fundraisers have evolved over the years to match the interests of society and the club’s members.
This year’s fashion show is the 14th the chapter has organized. Stallard said the show remains quite popular.
Before lunch, those attending the show were invited to peruse several displays set up by local vendors, and some of the organizations benefiting from the event.
Women were able to check out the latest trends in everything from cosmetics and fashion to tools designed just for women.
Carolyn Addair of Tomboy Tools said her pink jumper cables and hammers have become quite popular. She showed off a newly introduced pink cordless drill weighing just one pound, 11 ounces.
Liz McVay, owner of Nailz 4 U and Hair Salon, talked with prospective clients about emerging trends.
As lunch wound down, the runway took center stage, as models wearing fashions from the Weather Vane in Gambier, Nicole Jordan’s, Fashion Bug and Peebles in Mount Vernon and CATO in Newark gave the audience a taste of what are projected to be the popular looks in fashion this spring.
Shelbie McVay, whose grandmother, Jane Shipman, is a Soroptomist, modeled in the fashion show for the first time. The Mount Vernon eighth-grader said she wasn’t nervous, but was very excited.
Door prizes, raffled gifts, and a silent auction with gifts provided by local merchants were popular during the afternoon.
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