Reynolds strolled down an impromptu catwalk at the State Fair on Saturday, dressed as Cruella DeVille with a twist: Her coat was a lush green blanket of fresh sod.

She wasn't the only one. Others wore sod cuffs, collars, aprons and hats as they displayed fashions from the past two centuries.

James Llewellyn, 39, from Lexington, leaned on a column and chuckled in disbelief. Another model, dressed like Jackie Onassis, except in a jacket and skirt of St. Augustine grass sod, bopped on by to the Tom Jones hit, "It's Not Unusual."

"It's definitely crazy having something like this when there's no rain to make the grass grow," Llewellyn said. His lawn long ago turned brown from one of the worst droughts in state history.

But Reynolds said the point of the fashion show -- with the slogan "Turfgrass is the New Black" -- was to introduce fairgoers to ways to keep lawns green without long stretches of watering. Reynolds is a webmaster for N.C. State University's Center for Environmental Turfgrass Research & Education.

"If more people became aware of it, maybe we'd have more water," Reynolds said.

Most fairgoers enjoyed the show, snapping pictures and laughing at the pun-filled repartee of the master of ceremonies, Ryan Parker. He was dressed as Elvis in a white jumpsuit adorned with zoysia.

"If you love your grass tender, it will always be green!" he told the crowd.

N.C. Agriculture Secretary Steve Troxler joined in the fun, dressed in top hat and tails with turfgrass flourishes.

This is the fourth year the center has pulled together a turfgrass display for the fair. The last three have been decidedly offbeat. Year two featured a turf-grass-covered Volkswagen bug, while last year fairgoers saw a "living" room of furniture upholstered in turfgrass.

Reynolds comes up with the displays. She gets much of her help from her teammates on the Carolina Rollergirls, where she goes by the stage name "War Witch." Parker is the team's announcer.

Many of the Rollergirls served as models Saturday. It was less punishing than slamming into competitors at a skating rink, but that didn't mean they weren't taking risks.

Kathleen Holm, a blocker on the team, wore a football uniform with shoulder pads made of Bermuda grass. The blades gave her an itchy rash around her neck.

She was a good sport about it.

"It's good to get the word out about the Rollergirls, and it's fun to wear grass," she said. "Next time I'll try to keep it away from my skin."