Published Monday, February 17, 2003
By Larissa Theodore
The Winner in downtown Sharon kicked off its first prom fashion show Sunday, featuring the most popular dresses this season.
Though the fashion store has been around for 15 years come September, never has there been a prom fashion show there, said general manager Patty Iovino.
Susan Henderson, who's affiliated with WFMJ-21 in Youngstown, worked with The Winner on previous bridal shows and came up with the idea to have a prom show.
"I saw all of those different gowns and thought, 'Can we do something?' " she said.
Sunday's show contained all types of dresses with 100 models from the area helping to show them off. The girls glimmered, glistened and gleamed, flashing a variety of gowns from the traditional jeweled dress to the contemporary animal print.
This season, most everything is in, but the most popular dresses point to pastels and full skirts -- making up 75 percent of sales, said Mrs. Iovino.
"White is also popular," she added.
The Winner has something for everyone, she said, with sizes ranging from petite to plus. The store fancies itself as "the world's largest off-price fashion store" bringing the latest designer fashions and accessories comparable to those found at Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms, Talbots and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Fashion show styles ranged from the Molly Ringwald "Pretty in Pink" type ball gown to sleek silhouettes, bright yellows and other alternative designs. This season strapless and off-the-shoulder boustierre type dresses are the rage. But if straps are a must there's also the criss-crossed or one-strap trend.
Winner models were encouraged to pick out a get-up that they liked. Each had the option to buy with a 50 percent discount off the ultimate choice.
"A lot of them have already purchased for their proms," Mrs. Iovino said. "They're a great group of girls. Every girl is beautiful."
Londa Tubbs, 15, a Farrell High School student who modeled in the show, said she wasn't planning to purchase her nicely fit blue gown because she isn't attending prom. "It'd be nice to get asked, but I don't think anyone will," she said.
Cierra Huddleston, 17, a junior at Sharon High School, decided not to buy her gold dress, but Larene Amos, 17, a senior at Sharon, was still deciding on her yellow one.
"I'm not sure if I should get it made or buy this one," she said.
The male models wore tuxedo fashions from American Commodore Tuxedo, out of the Eastwood and Southern Park malls in Ohio. Never Quit Interactive of Lake Milton, Ohio provided sound equipment for the catwalk.
Ms. Henderson said hard work and time pulled the final show together, but it all worked out.
"They came in for the audition and they were all so good we made very few cuts. The nice thing is the support of the parents driving the kids to rehearsal, fittings and through the snow," Ms. Henderson said.
The show also served as a self-esteem booster and allowed a chance for participants to make friends, "which is even more exciting than the show itself," she added.