Amateurs Take Off on the Runway : Dozens of men strut, slouch, speed or saunter their way through benefit fashion show.

The virtues of the oversize olive sport coat, with its soft, loose construction a la “Miami Vice,” were all but lost on its inexperienced model.

“I feel like a monkey,” complained John Yelverton, holding out his arms to demonstrate how the sleeves drooped almost to his fingertips.

“That looks good; that’s sexy,” a female model tried to reassure him.

What Yelverton did next would never have made it on the runways of Paris: He rolled up his sleeves.

Yelverton, president of the Arvida Co. in Coto de Caza, was among 54 men who served as models at the Gentlemen’s Haberdashery, a fashion show held recently at the Hyatt Regency Irvine to benefit the Sisters of the Society Devoted to the Sacred Heart.

Small wonder that Yelverton and many others looked uncomfortable before the show. None were professional models. They were politicians, restaurateurs, developers, corporate presidents and other Orange County movers and shakers more at ease in a boardroom than on a fashion plank.

“They try to act cool, but they’re as nervous as all get-out,” said Kitty Leslie, fashion director for Fashion Island in Newport Beach, and the show’s commentator and coordinator. Merchants from Fashion Island contributed clothes for the affair.

Once the show was under way, the men showed their true colors. They strutted, slouched, sped or sauntered their way down the long, long runway to the whoops and whistles of an appreciative audience. Some walked straight ahead, looking neither right or left. Others hammed it up. They threw their hats and jackets into the crowd. Orange County Supervisor Roger R. Stanton tossed his white sweater into the audience to show off a blue-and-white-striped shirt.

“This is easy. The worst they can do to you here is throw those little tomatoes at you,” Stanton said. “That’s not a threat.”

Antonio Cagnola, owner of Antonello Ristorante in Santa Ana, whipped off a yellow blazer by Byblos to reveal a linen shirt appliqued with bright flowers.

“Don’t clap; he’ll take more off,” Leslie joked.

Some men were assisted by professional female models who led them down the runway by the arm and helped them struggle out of their jackets.

“This is the most embarrassing thing I do every year,” said Dr. Albert Nichols, chairman of the Nichols Institute in San Juan Capistrano.

He wore a wet suit with orange sleeves and toted a surfboard down the runway.

For the show, the models abandoned their traditional dark suits for the bright shades of spring.

“There’s so much color this year--purple, orange, lime,” Leslie said. “Even conservative suits had a wealth of color to them, and the ties have gone all-out.”

Bill Harris, president of Rampart General in Irvine, wore a wine-colored silk tweed sport coat, pale yellow shirt and a tie with a fun popcorn print.

Jim Dale, owner of the Villa Nova restaurant in Newport Beach, sported orange nylon swim trunks and an olive, chartreuse-and-orange knit shirt adorned with funky palm trees.

For active sports, colors went even brighter, just shy of the now dead-on-arrival neons.

Michael Brandman, chief executive officer of Michael Brandman Associates, an environmental consulting company in Santa Ana, wore a Kelly green pullover sweater with bright pink stripes by Ralph Lauren.

“I’d wear this myself,” said Brandman, who wielded a golf club for his trip down the aisle.

Even power suits have strayed from traditional navy and gray tones.

Carl Karcher, chairman of the board of Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc., wore a suit the color of coffee grounds that he pulled from his own wardrobe and toted a hot dog down the runway.

“We’re seeing mostly three-button suits with soft European shoulders,” according to Bill Moore, sales associate for men’s clothing and furnishings at Neiman Marcus in Fashion Island, which contributed clothes for the show.

“It’s all earth tones--sands and taupes blended with woven materials,” Moore said. “Most of these guys haven’t worn brown for three years.”

Many of the models buy the outfits they wear at the show.

“We sell a ton of clothes at this show,” Leslie said. “So many of the men are so busy they don’t have time to go shopping. They just say, ‘I’ll take it.’ ”

Most participants say they model in the show because it’s for a good cause, and a few admit it’s the politically smart thing to do.

Many are friends of the event’s chairman, Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, whose wife, Emma Jane, came up with the idea for the show 13 years ago.

“I’ve done it every year since the beginning,” Dale said. One year he got caught in a jacket that had zippered sleeves. The sleeves were supposed to zip off to make a vest, but the zipper stuck, so Dale was forced to finish his turn with one sleeve on and one off.

“It looked like I’d been in a bar fight,” he said. “But I enjoy the camaraderie, and the sisters are wonderful people. It’s real special.”

Proceeds from this year’s affair go to help build the Heart of Jesus Retreat Center for children in Santa Ana. Last year the event raised $130,000 for the sisters, according to Riley. This year the proceeds will be smaller because attendance was down from 600 last year to about 500.

“We hadn’t realized how much the recession has hurt people,” Riley said.

The show has become so prestigious, however, that men pay $150 to model, even though some find it an ordeal.

“That scared me to death,” said one developer-turned-model after departing the runway. “I’d rather face the most hostile city council.”