As Jane Seymour walked through the second floor of Raleigh's Saks Fifth Avenue on Sunday, it was telling that it wasn't the Escada jackets, the St. John suits or the Armani collection that the actress fussed over.

It was the more laid-back, less stuffy Elie Tahari.

"I think Tahari is so clever," she said, fingering a fitted black jacket with the trim of a faux black blouse sewn into it. "I like the idea of bringing art sensibility to clothing."

Even Tahari couldn't ask for better approval. Seymour, who was in town last weekend to help the local chapter of the American Red Cross raise money, was as gracious and classy as she seems on television and in films.

She was surprisingly approachable. And at 54, enviably beautiful.

"It's been a life's dream meeting her," said Brittany Alverson, 18, who drove to Saks from Cleveland, S.C., to have Seymour sign one of her ballet slippers.

It's something she and Seymour share. Seymour's first dream was to become a ballerina before injuries cut her dancing career short, and she tapped into her talent as an actress.

"She's my favorite actress in the whole world," Alverson said, clutching her signed slipper.

Like most of the fans who showed up to meet Seymour, Alverson became devoted after watching Seymour as TV's "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."

Plenty, though, know her best as Elise McKenna from the cult film "Somewhere in Time." Or as the James Bond girl Solitaire in "Live and Let Die." They lined up with books and CDs for her to sign. Most wanted their pictures taken with her.

While Seymour was happy to oblige, she surprised fans by sharing more of herself than just an autograph. With Alverson, she talked ballet. With Janice Reed of Raleigh, it was about her art.

Yes, art.

Seymour has a full-time business involving her paintings, which sell for as much as $35,000. Many of them were on display and for sale at the Red Cross event at the Carolina Country Club on Saturday and then at Saks on Sunday. She has incorporated some of her art into a line of handbags, which she signs and personalizes after each one is sold. In addition to her work as an artist, she's also an author. Seymour has written several books, including her latest, "Remarkable Changes," in which she shares some of her toughest challenges -- including a public divorce -- and how she and others turned dark times into opportunities.

Ready to wear well

She's also very much a girl, willing to talk about her favorite designers and a relatively minimalistic beauty regime. And she was even up for a little shopping trip.

Instead of basking in Saks' top dollar designers, Escada and Armani, she tracked down the more modest and edgier Tahari.

She's so familiar with the designer that she walked through the Tahari department pointing out all the pieces she already owns from the fall collection. And it's not just for her downtime either. She pulled out pieces that her character is wearing in a WB network sitcom "Modern Men," in which she plays a life coach to three 20-something single men. The show is set to premiere in midseason.

Her favorite piece was one she already owned -- a reversible sage green jacket in shiny velvet for $448. She said she wears it with cocktail dresses, jeans and winter white.

She loved the jacket so much she thought Red Cross volunteer Christa McElveen, who tagged along with Seymour while she browsed, should have it too.

"If Jane Seymour picks something out, I have to have it," McElveen said, obligingly putting it on.

Seymour was right. It went well with McElveen's dark hair. It was a modern cut, short around the hips, and a snug fit.

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