Robert Paul Moran, 87, worked in fashion merchandising

Robert Paul Moran, 87, of West Chester, retired vice president and director of fashion merchandising for the former Strawbridge & Clothier department store chain, died of heart failure Sunday, Oct. 2, at Park Lane at Bellingham, a nursing home in West Chester.

Mr. Moran became manager of the fur department at Strawbridge & Clothier in 1957. After a series of promotions, he was named head of fashion merchandising.

He had a terrific eye for what would sell, said a son, Robert Jr. Mr. Moran purchased items for Strawbridge's on buying trips to Italy and France, coordinated popular fashion shows at the Center City store, and was friendly with all the designers and models, his son said.

Fashion writers interviewed Mr. Moran every spring and fall for his opinion on fashion trends.

In 1978, when Annie Hall floppy hats, vests, and scarves were all the rage, he told the Philadelphia Daily News that the new look was selling well, but that customers could still find "commonsense clothes."

In 1981, he advised an Inquirer fashion writer that "designer jeans are the tonic for people who want that kind of signature. The difference is status - not a better fit or make."

During a cold spell in 1984, Mr. Moran told The Inquirer that customers were buying "anything practical and for warmth." But for holiday parties, he said, female shoppers were going for glitter, lace, bugle beading, and black-velvet coatdresses with satin collars.

Fashion losers, he said, were velvet pants, challis shawls, and stacked heels.

Mr. Moran was always impeccably dressed, his son said. He also chose the clothing for his wife, Jean Batal Moran, and their four children, including once outfitting his two sons in brown velvet suits. "Heads would turn when we would all come into church on Sunday," Robert Jr. said.

Mr. Moran retired in 1986 from Strawbridge & Clothier, which was sold in 1996 to the May Department Stores Co.

He and his wife enjoyed travel abroad and vacationing at their summer home in North Hampton, N.H.

For many years, he was active in fund-raising for Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was formerly on the board of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif.

Mr. Moran grew up in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Merchant Marine in the Pacific. After his discharge, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1948 from the University of Notre Dame. Before joining Strawbridge & Clothier, he worked in the fashion industry in Newark, N.J.; New York City; and Cleveland.

Besides his wife of 52 years and his son, Mr. Moran is survived by daughters Marijean Boueri and Kathleen; another son, J. Douglas; and 11 grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be said at noon Friday, Oct. 7, at SS. Peter & Paul Church, 1325 Boot Rd., West Chester. Friends may call from 11 a.m.