p«fl« 4 Portland Obaarvar April X
1ST!
OBSERVATIONS
SMKIST
from the Sidelines
MEDIUM SEEDLESS NAVELS
By Kathryn Hall Bogle
In a panoply of swirling color, the
Ebony Fashion Fair came to town
last Friday evening and took its
bo» before an enthusiastic audience
yf »ell over a thousand Oregonians
»ailing at the Cine Auditorium
The 1981 edition o f the famous
traveling sho», owned by the John
son Publishing Company, »as
called "Fret Spirit” and »as pre
sented by the Portland Chapter o f
the Links, Inc. Links have presented
Ebony Fashion Fair for the eleventh
year since the conception o f the
sho» 23 years ago
Traditionally, funds raised by this
popular vehicle are disbursed to
charitable organizations, or causes,
by local sponsors. In P ortland,
beneficiaries selected by the Links,
Inc., were: The Kidney Association
o f Oregon, The Center fo r Com
m unity Mental Health and the
AC T-SO Youth Talent Program
for the local branch of the NAACP
The Lnited Negro College Fund, a
national project o f the Links, also
benefited.
"T h e Free S p irit” took the
audience by the hand and led them
through the enchantment o f fashion
design and color.
The inimitable husky, »hispenng
voice and style o f commentator
Shayla Simpson came almost as a
subliminal explanation of what was
unfolding on the stage Eleven svelte
female models and two smooth
macho males accompanied them
Portlanders were interested in the
showing o f storm wear, much o f it
in woolens »ith big checks - “ Rain
checks” according to Shayla. but a
good showing in bright green glossy
plastics in raincoats and a variety of
caps were also to be seen
“ Show your colors” was a
statement by Stephen Burrows, the
renowned Black designer. He then
Ebony Fashion Fair introduced the latest styles to Portland
(Photo Richard Brown)
proceeded to illustrate with his own
blend o f prim ary color com bina
tions in strong reds, yellows, and
shades o f blue sn day-wear
costumes.
Burrows designs mingled with
designs by Oscar de la Renta. B ill
Blass, D io r, Yves St Laurent.
Representatives of Ebony Fashion Fair show benefaciaries m eet
w ith Link m em bers R obert Fentress. Production C o ordin ato r for
Ebony Fashion Fair. M ultn o m ah County Com m issioner Gladys M c
Coy representing N A A C P A C T-SO "; " N a te " Nickerson. The C o m
m unity Center for M ental Health; Clementyne Guy, President, P o rt
land C h ap ter of The Links. Inc ; 'C h u c k " Fo ster. The K idney
Association of Oregon, and Link, Jacqueline Brown, General C hair
person for Fashion Show.
(Photo by Richard Brown)
Valentino and others o f the top
echelon.
Coats and capes were amazingly
versatile as the slender models
whipped o ff a cape to make a skirt
o f it. or turned a jacket inside out to
form a variation o f color or fabric
design for another occasion.
Skirts were shown in all lengths
for day. and for evening wear They
were shown in mini-lengths, m ini
m ini lengths, and toe-tip lengths.
They came slim as a tube, they came
with a “ serious s lit,” according to
Shayla. who meant the slit was up to
the th.gh to show a lovely leg.
There was a mim-culotte, shown
in black velvet, for restaurant dress
ing for the very shapely, young and
daring woman. There was a lovely
lady - like teal colored suit, or two,
for the more conservative type
For at-home wear, there were
hand painted roses on velvet, or on
c h iffo n ( “ shee-fon” Syayla p ro
nounces it) There was jum per
dressing fo r both men and women
in smooth fabrics, light airy fabrics,
and tough m aterial, too. as there
were garments o f leather as well.
Platinum leather at that!
As the models spun and twirled, a
tweak o f a tab or a button and
presto! A short skirt became a long
one, or a hood was converted to a
low necked cow l, or the model
stepped out of a skin to reveal skin
tight pants beneath it.
ORANGES
“ You and the sparkle make it a
night to emember” said Shayla as
the models emerged in shining satin,
or gold lam e' or in the g iitte r o f
sequins, or maybe »ith the strategic
placement o f a b rillia n t medallion
or. a black-as-midnight gown. There
was also “ laceful and g raceful”
dressing, along with ruffles in tiers,
the “ Gone » ith the W ind” influen
ce. commented Shayla (M a k e
corraction)
There were dresses sculptured to
the body, fo r the lady “ » ho has
absolutely nothing to hide” and
some »hich »ere fashioned to “ pro
tect the property » ith o u t obstruc
ting the v ie » .” For a “ return to
rom ance” there were gowns o f
yards and yards o f lace, or one,
by Lanvin, with five tiers o f ruffles
One creation had a gorgeous por
trait collar to frame the face
One never-to-be forgotten gown
had thousands o f bugle beads em
broidered to fo rm huge A fric a n
violets This one was by M ilano of
Italy Another one in this category
was made of panne’ velvet - half the
gown was in turquoise and the other
side was in violet! And the shoes'’
One was turquoise and the “ mate” '
was vio le t! Thanks. Eunice John
son, fo r m aking these selections
"The Free S p irit!”
Link Jacqueline Brown chaired
the Ebonv Fashion F air this year
with Link Alda Ruth M onroe, her
co-chair. Tickets were managed by
Link Jeanne Hartzog. Publicity was
through Link June Brown.
Link Geneva Jones gathered door
prizes fo r lucky ticket holders.
Valuable prizes were donated to
winners by More Cigarettes, Jim
Haugen fo r Oster Kitchen Center.
Ebony Fashion Fair Cosmetics,
Ruth Dieringer for Sarah Coventry
Jewelry and by the H ilto n H otel
»ho gave ducats for two luncheons.
Link Clementyne Guy is the re
tiring president o f the Portland Link
Chapter
POUNDS
60L008 KUOOttS
APPLES
EXTRA FANCY
Small Business Week May 10-16
INVITATION
TO
EXODUS OPEN HOUSE
The House of Exodus expans,on includes the e n tre block between 16th and 17th on the
North s>de of Alberta Street
Open
12 noon - Wednesday May 6, 1961.
Entrance
Agenda
1639 N.E Alberta Street - Portland
12 30 p.m ., Historic review and future projections.
By Tom Boothe
From the front door of the House of Exodus, let me share some vital infor
mation with you. For those who would like to help our young citizens to
become more responsible Please Read Carefully.
YOU SHOULD HELP NOW BECAUSE...
In our community, it is our Responsibility to see to it that our young citizens
become Responsible, Respectful and Constructively Productive citizens. If
we fail to teach and direct them who will?
HERE IS WHY YOU SHOULD HELP NOW
Most youth crimes are Alcohol or Drug related. Prior to a youth Alcohol or
Drug related theft. Burglary or Assault. It cost only about $11.00 per hour
for Preventive Format Educational Counseling per vouth at Exodus as com
pared to between $30.00 and $40.00 per hour for Treatment Format Correc
tional Counseling per youth at Exodus. This $30.00 to $40.00 per hour oer
youth does not include the cost of pain, damage and loss inflicted upon th j
victims. Nor, does it include the cost of the Criminal Record that these
children will carry with them for the rest of their lives, both costs exceed a
simple dollar value.
It only makes good social and economic sense to contribute to the ounce of
prevention; rather than wait to contribute to the pound of cure.
HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP NOW
Th« Caatlaars in action
Castlemont students appear
By Kathryn Halt Bogle
tingent, have sung in performance
before former President Carter and
Mrs. Carter at the White House and
they have also concertized in
Europe. .Mexico and H aw aii. A t
Benson their songs w ill include
selections from the classics of Black
spirituals, gospel, popular and jazz
numbers
The Cast leers and the Castlemont
Stage Band made up o f students of
the Castlemont high school in
Oakland will be in Portland on May
3 for a combined concert at Benson
High School. Concert time is set for
7:30 p.m.
Each group custom arily tours
The Castlemont Stage Band with
independently building its own
24 instrumentalists has participated
itinerary and following
The Castleers, the vocal con in national and international music
festivals and have traveled to play in
Reno, Nevada, to New Orleans and
to Honolulu.
The Stage Band will appear in the
Performing Arts Abroad Festival in
Vancouver, British Columbia after
their Portland performance o f May
3.
Locally, these am bitious young
people are to be presented by the
Oregon A lliance o f Black School
Educators (OABSE) Trish M Ryan
ts new president o f OABSE Dr Er
nest E Hartzog is chairman o f the
ticket committee for the concert.
Join with the Exodus Youth Mental Health Offensive. Eleven dollars ($11 00)
will buy one hour of time that will be spent toward getting a youth on the
right track toward handling responsibility and becoming a productive re
spectful citizen.
All contributions are tax deductable. Make checks payable to- House of
Exodus, 1639 N.E. Alberta, Portland, Oregon 97211. You can't spend your
time or money for a better purpose; Join with the Exodus Youth Mental
Health Offensive, building our community into a better and safer place to live
and raise our children.
Major supporters of the Exodus Youth Program are: The City of Portland
CETA; The Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) and The North/North
east Mental Health Center.
Brought to you m • pubfcc M m c a by H o u m of Exodus