Staff writer
Trendsetters and fashionistas alike, prepare to be dazzled. A troupe of volunteer models will don stylish outfits for a Valentine’s Day fashion show at noon Tuesday at Hillsboro Senior Center.
Event organizer and clothing aficionado Rubena Suderman, 92, has always wanted to put on a fashion show, but said she had trouble rallying people until she sparked a chic idea.
“I work at the Et Cetera Shop and I eat at the senior center every day,” Suderman said. “I was talking to the gals one day. I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to have a fashion show that shows how you can dress up real nice with clothes you can find at the Et Cetera Shop?’”
People liked the idea and so she presented the idea to her employers and Brenda Moss, director at the senior center. Moss also agreed to model at the event.
“Oh I thought it was a great idea for a program,” Moss said. “I’ve never been a model before. I’m going to wear black pants, a tan leather jacket with a gold and black cami shirt, a red scarf, and some jewelry.”
Suderman said it wasn’t easy to select attire for Moss, herself, and the other models, but she enjoyed every minute of it.
“The outfits are marvelous,” Suderman said. “I have always liked clothes. I like to dress up and dress down. I lived during the Depression and my family had nothing, just nothing, no money, and we were a big family, but once I got out on my own and made some money, oh boy.”
Suderman attempted to put together outfits that would make people want to shop at the thrift store.
With initial enthusiasm from several models, Suderman said she only had to do a little “arm-twisting” to get some models to fill out the fashion show bill.
Nine women and two men, two of which are a married couple, will walk down the makeshift “runway” at the center, while Betty Seibel narrates descriptions of each outfit.
“It’s the aisle between two tables where everybody eats,” Moss said. “The show will start after we eat. People have been talking about it. I think we have over 50 people coming already.”
Suderman will be modeling a summer outfit.
“It’s purple, which is my favorite color, and I will have a floral jacket on that is really very fashionable,” she said. “Everything cost me $10. That’s the thing. At the Et Cetera Shop you can dress like a million and do it on a dime.”