Six With Style

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Sunny (no one calls her Sonia) Lubner has two wardrobe challenges that determine her style. She is a size-two petite and she's forever suitcase dressing because she travels constantly with husband Clive who owns the Robb & Stucky furniture store empire. The couple's primary residence is in Fort Myers, but they spend a week of every month in Scottsdale, Arizona and in Dallas where they keep an apartment. Sunny needs to dress for business meetings, socializing and also for community galas that R&S helps to sponsor in cities where there are stores. "No matter how well I pack or how thoughtfully I buy for my closets in other cities, I will invariably be standing in front of a mirror in Dallas realizing that what I need is in Fort Myers," she admits. "My only recourse over the years has been to overpack." The Lubners are South African and came straight from Johannesburg to Fort Myers 24 years ago when Clive left the family furniture business to strike out on his own. The 54-year-old brand new grandmother describes her style as "whatever is available in my size and whatever I can have altered," which is a nice way of saying she has to work hard to get the simple, classic and tailored look that most reflects her informal but also appropriate-to-the-occasion style.

Where do you shop?

I have my best luck at Neiman Marcus in Scottsdale because a wonderful sales associate there will put things aside for me and call me when I'm out there. I also love to wear Chico's clothes, which I buy locally and have altered to fit me. When we are abroad, my favorite places to buy are Cannes, London, Venice and Florence.

What are your preferences?

I love pantsuits in neutral colors or in black. I avoid patterns because I'm so short and I never wear red, yellow or orange. For accessories, I can never get enough shoes or handbags. I've stopped counting how many I have.

Anything in any of your closets across the country you'd never part with?

Oh, yes. It's a black Emanuel Ungaro cocktail pants suit with a beaded band across the torso. I haven't worn it in two years, but I will again and when I do I'll feel great in it. It's a classic and won't go out of style. But even if it did, I'd wear it anyway. Trends don't mean anything to me.

Where does your sense of style come from?

I'd say from observation and by simply growing up and growing older. Style is an interior thing and it's all about self-confidence and being comfortable with yourself. I get better at it as I go along.

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Kathy Prutos, the 43-year-old CEO of Prutos Public Relations Inc. in Naples is a direct, high energy woman who has made a big-city fashion attitude (she's from Chicago) work in a tropical resort city. At 5-foot, 91/2- inches, she wears French and Italian spike heels that she buys at Marissa's and dresses for success every business day of her life. Because she is in and out of her car so often, Kathy long ago gave up linen and selects tropical weight wool, microfibers and silks that won't wrinkle. But she says her biggest and best fashion secret is a personal shopper, a sales associate at Saks Fifth Avenue who selects clothes and accessories and phones Kathy when it's all put together. That service, along with a personal chef, means that fast-track Kathy has the time to do what she's really good at, while letting other pros do the same.

What does your personal shopper know about your tastes?

Roz knows that I love classic Escada, Ann Klein for suits and Dolce & Gabana for blouses or bodysuits. She knows I can't get enough black and that I wear it every day with some little accent color. And she knows I am partial to a certain shade of blue that has a lot of violet in it.

How about accessories?

That's the personal touch. Accessories say who I am. There are the high heels, of course. I've been this tall since the ninth grade and while I hated it then, I'm quite comfortable with it now. My favorite accessory is a gold bracelet that my husband Dean gave me for my 35th birthday. I wear it every day. But, I'm choosy about all my accessories. It's how you freshen up an outfit, dress it up or down.

Is your closet as organized as your buying habits?

Pretty much. I organize by seasons-hot and hotter-and by color. That means rows and rows of black and a few other shades.

What's your health and fitness routine?

The personal chef sees that we eat right. I see that I do an hour of aerobics three times a week in the morning as soon as I get up. I pop in the videotape and get moving.

What informed your sense of style?

Living and shopping in Chicago when I was younger. I've always been drawn to that sharp, crisp, slightly cutting-edge look that goes with big cities. I lived and worked near Michigan Avenue close to Neiman Marcus. I've been influenced a lot by that store. When Dean and I moved to Naples in 1988, I brought that influence along with me.

What will you be buying for spring/summer?

A new black leather briefcase.

Anything you can't part with in your closet?

Not really. Once a year I go through all my clothes and take boxes to a local woman's shelter. I believe in recycling my clothes.

She was born Suzanne, but her brother named her Sass and Sass Edwards is how she is known today. An indefatigable volunteer, the 57-year-old Sass is apt to spend mornings at the Edison-Ford Estate working on Gala 2002 (coming up April 6), afternoons at a bank board meeting or on a Lee Health Care Resources Board project, and dinner out with husband John and friends. She doesn't have time to go home and change. So, she's worked out a wardrobe that will see her through the many roles she has to play. Originally from Ohio, Sass spent winters in Fort Myers as a child and was a neighbor of young John Edwards, a seventh generation Floridian who would become her husband. Thirty-three years ago, when they wed, she moved to Fort Myers permanently and has become a force for good in her community.

How is your fashion sense shaped by your lifestyle?

Usually, I'm out all day doing different things so I need to wear something all-purpose. For me, that's St. John knits. I buy coordinated jeans, top and jacket and then I mix and match. Just add loafers and I'm ready for the day. I'm a one-look person and that's my look.

How about colors?

Like most women, I wear a lot of black. But I enjoy pastels, too. Never red. And I don't do orange even though I'm a huge Florida Gator fan. I wear the UF blue instead.

Has anyone influenced your style?

Probably, my mother Margaret. We shop together and we both buy St. John. Sometimes, we buy identical outfits and then we have to check with each other to make sure we don't wear it to the same family event.

Where do you shop?

Right here in Fort Myers at Jacobson's and Saks Fifth Avenue.

How about accessories?

I wear a gold watch, two rings and a pair of gold heart-shaped earrings that were a gift from my husband. I wear the earrings all the time, except when I'm playing tennis.

Hobbies?

I play tennis three times a week in a league. I've done it for many years, it's more fun than exercise. My life seems to keep me running ragged and provides most of my exercise. I love to cook and do it often. My specialty is chicken pot pie, a recipe from my mother-in-law. But, my proudest hobby is baby-sitting by granddaughters who are 7 and 5. I drop everything to spend time with those little girls. And nice for me, they love to shop.