An atmosphere of glamour surrounded 4-H girls as they showed off their latest fashions at the annual Fashion Revue on Monday.
Each year, a number of girls take the time to make their own dresses, skirts, blouses and accessories for the pre-fair show and model them for the public at an evening event at the First Christian Church.
A backdrop of a kind of 1920s man and woman silhouette set the stage, which was made to resemble backstage in the real Project Runway TV show, complete with modeling dummies, a rack of clothing, fashion model photos, a table of hats and a shoe rack.
Small lights led the way to the stage to give it a fashion runway look.
This year`s revue started off with the junior division of constructed clothing, which simply means they made their outfits themselves, sewing together the cloth and other materials.
Kirsten Wood was first in line with her all-cotton brown, yellow and green spotted dress with a short yellow shoulder jacket as a finishing touch, said announcer Vivianne Lorenzini during the practice session earlier in the afternoon, quoting statements from the girls.
In her statement, Wood told the revue panel that she loved the way the ensemble was coordinated and planned to wear the dress when she starts fourth grade at Weldon Valley Elementary School.
Monday night was the first chance Wood`s grandmother had to get a glimpse of the outfit, since Wood had kept it a closely-guarded secret, she said.
Hailey Unrein stepped on the stage in her lime green frock, which is in her favorite color. She said she made a matching purse to complete the look, because she felt empty-handed walking without it.
This was her second year doing constructed clothing, and she learned to attach facings and cut on the bias to accent her waist, she said.
Unrein said she will feel confident walking down the hallway at Beaver Valley Elementary School to start fifth grade this year.
There is nothing cuter than Jordan Kendrick`s long, light dress for a summer day, Lorenzini said.
Kendrick also sported a denim jacket which she may need for the chill autumn days when she is in fourth grade at Beaver Valley, she said.
As light and breezy as the dress seemed, Kendrick has not spent her days in the cool this summer, since she was also raising market sheep, goats and swine for the Morgan County Fair, Lorenzini said.
Soon-to-be fifth-grader Sadie Jones showed off the knee-length skirt she made as a first-year project with a finishing touch of pink boots. She said she chose darker materials for the clothing because they look better on her.
Hailey Brunner caught attention with her brightly-colored cotton skirt, complete with shiny bangles to make it stand out, especially with matching headband, shoes and jewelry and a sewn-in belt on the shirt.
She expects to have bragging rights as she wears the outfit when she begins fourth grade at Beaver Valley, although the clothing would also be perfect for a casual evening event.
This was a first-year project for Brunner.
Cora Rhode started off the intermediate constructed clothing division — for girls aged 10-13 — with her paisley-print top paired with flowing lightweight denim for her pants and brown suede fashion boots for her third-year sewing project.
She will be starting sixth grade at Trinity Lutheran School this fall.
Emma Mortensen modeled her calico print shirtwaist dress, and said she had to learn three new techniques in order to make it in her fourth year of constructed clothing.
She said the dress was special, because she had wanted something to wear with her grandfather`s boots.
Mortensen will enter eighth grade at Brush Middle School this year.
Makenna Carlock wore a skirt made of recycled neckties sewn together side-by-side, which was part of a recycled clothing project.
It was made to be versatile for summer or spring, her statement said.
Destiny McMinn made a princess-style summer dress and wore a summer hat to complete her ensemble.
She said she had to make adjustments to the pattern for her long figure, and she had put together the hat with silk flowers and beaded her jewelry herself.
“It`s a pretty picture of summer,” Lorenzini said.
Mallory Shaver, Megan McMinn, Hayley McMinn, Christine Dreitz, Maggie Christensen and Chelsea Bruggeling modeled clothing they had constructed for the senior division.
Caitlin Swoape, Taryn McMinn, Wood and Unrein entered fashions in the creative clothing competition called Decorate Your Duds.
Creative clothing entries are previously made clothes which the girls then decorate in various ways to make them stand out.
In the intermediate division of creative clothing were Makayla Zink, Kelly Griffith, Alexandria Allen, Destiny McMinn and Rhode.
Megan McMinn, Hayley McMinn and Dreitz entered creative clothing for the senior division.
Awards
Hayley McMinn was named grand champion in creative clothing, with Dreitz named grand champion in constructed clothing.
Hayley McMinn designed the ruby-red evening gown she made. Her project involved pattern adaptation to fit an original design concept and produce the dress with unique construction techniques. She was earlier named senior creative clothing champion. Hayley McMinn is the daughter of Cary and Shari McMinn of Fort Morgan.
Dreitz` entry had earlier been named senior constructed clothing champion. Her three-piece wool ensemble was a black wool dress, black and white tweed jacket and calf-length red wool coat which were constructed with couture tailoring techniques. She is the daughter of Randy and Connie Dreitz of Brush.
Dreitz also won reserve grand champion in creative clothing for designing a sundress from a plain charcoal gray skirt. She used an original painting of bamboo shoots accented with glitter, crystals and rhinestones. She was earlier named reserve champion in senior creative clothing as well.
Reserve grand champion for constructed clothing went to Maggie Christensen, daughter of Brian and Deanna Christensen of Fort Morgan. She was earlier named reserve champion in senior constructed clothing, modeling a fitted sundress made from a black, teal, white and sea-foam green print.
Other unit champions were:
Junior Construction: Kirsten Wood of Weldona.
Intermediate Construction: Destiny McMinn of Fort Morgan.
Junior Creative: Hailey Unrein of Brush.
Intermediate Creative: Cora Rhode, Fort Morgan, who put a modern twist on the classic poodle skirt and completed the outfit by appliquéing a poodle on her cropped black sweater.
Reserve Unit Champions were:
Junior Construction: Hailey Unrein of Brush.
Intermediate Construction: Emma Mortensen, Brush.
Junior Creative: Caitlin Swoape of Wiggins, wearing lime green shirt and pants decorated with horses and flower appliques.
Intermediate Creative: Alexandria Allen of Fort Morgan, wearing white Capri pants and a knit top decorated with yarns attached by needle felting.
Cloverbud 4-H Members showed decorated T-shirts they had made at a workshop earlier in July using water squirt guns and tie-dye paint. Cloverbuds were Kenedi Brunner, Raelynn Carlock, Olivia Clise, Logan Collier, Tasha Hansen, Jesse McMinn, Madison McMinn, Timothy Rhode, Gillian Steffen, Samuel Swoape, Emma Thomas, Neela Thomas and Retta Thomas.
Emcees for the fashion revue were Gertie Chapin of Weldona and Cindy Powers of Fort Morgan. Presenting ribbons and awards during the show were Jamie Christensen and Katie Christensen.
Fashion Revue superintendents making the show a success were Cindy Chapin, Deanna Christensen, Connie Dreitz, Dana Hanson, Vivianne Lorenzini, Stacie Ritchey and Sheryl Weibert.
Ardith Hendrix of Wray and Linda Valentine of Greeley were the judges. Hendrix is a superintendent for Yuma County 4-H. Valentine is a retired family consumer science teacher from University Middle School and University High School.
– Contact Dan Barker at business@fmtimes.com.
<a href="http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/ci_15621606tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/ci_15621606Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:07:08 GMT 00:00″>Fashion Revue showcases Project Runway