It was Sunday night at Chez Vous, the neighborhood skating rink, and the dancers all wore roller skates. Nary a pair of inline skates was in sight.

Even with the threat of a snowstorm, business was brisk as the regulars came to skate, mingle, and dance. Most people knew the owner, Bert Toney, and greeted him as they came in. Some brought their own roller skates, others headed to the rental window to get a pair of tan skates with two orange wheels in front, two in back.

For the most part, they know they are old-fashioned, but they also believe two things: That inline skates are inferior, the rigid boot restricting movement and creativity, and that roller skating will come back into style.

Phoebe Morgan, a Milton resident and Sunday night regular, roller skates and rollerblades, but enjoys roller skates more because she can also dance on them.

''Rollerblading is more difficult because it's all on one line,'' she said. ''It's harder to get your groove on and more difficult to cross your feet over.''

Douglas Miller of Dorchester, agreed.

''Roller skating allows you the flexibility to dance,'' he said. ''Rollerblading is not dance, it's choreographed movement.''

Skaters of different skill levels are welcome at the Rhodes Street rink, but on this night, most are adept and don't need to hold onto the rail. Floor guards, employees wearing black and white striped shirts, moniter skating speeds to prevent the rink from becoming a roller derby.

Nanci Palladino, who comes from Malden each week, said she has been to other rinks where skaters are not as cordial. She goes to Chez Vous every Sunday for the atmosphere.

''At some places, people come in and have an attitude,'' Palladino said. ''I don't show off, but I've been to other rinks and not been welcome because they think you're going to try to.''

She also spends one less day in the gym because she counts skating as one of her cardiovascular workouts.

''You get a workout here, but you get a total package: fun, dancing, and talking to people,'' she said.

Other skaters agreed the clientele at Chez Vous keeps them coming back, making it feel more like recreation than exercise.

''I think of rollerblading as exercise. I don't think of it as going to have fun,'' Morgan said. ''They're heavier and it's harder. Trying to keep balanced is also tiring.''

Sunday nights are not the only time the skaters get together. Palladino, Twanya Lawson, who has been coming to Chez Vous since she was a child, and others recently skated the Walk for Hunger and have skated in other charitable events.

Palladino, who had walked the course for more than 10 years, said she will never walk it again after this year's skating experience.

''We waited for a while after the walkers started so they could get pretty far ahead,'' she said. ''We got to the first checkpoint in about five minutes and caught up with the walkers shortly after that.''

Waiting for them at the end of the course, however, they realized their sport is not valued by all.

''These teenagers in the Common were laughing at us and saying, `Look at the oldies on roller skates,''' said Palladino. ''It was funny how they saw us.''

The oldies were in their 20s and 30s.

Lawson believes the inline skate craze will fade and roller skating will again emerge as a popular activity.

''A lot of people think roller skating is out of style but it will always be in style,'' she said. ''It's like haircuts. People want to keep up with the Joneses instead of keeping it real with yourself.''

Toney, president and manager of Chez Vous for 10 years, said his rink has been around for 60 years and is still successful, but other rinks are not doing as well and supplies are not as easy to find as in the past.

''I buy from other roller skating rinks selling their supplies because they are going out of business, like in Atlanta and California,'' he said. ''For some reason, it feels like roller skating is a thing of the past and inline is one of the future.''

Toney believes his place continues to thrive because each generation brings their children and the rink caters to various tastes. Saturday afternoon is for children and young people. Saturday night is for college students. Sunday afternoon and early evening are for teenagers, and Sunday night is for the 21-and-over crowd. The time frames are not enforced, but the music reflects the generations and most people come when their age group is skating. Chez Vous does not serve alcohol; and mature teenagers are allowed to skate with the adults Sunday nights.

Although skaters at Chez Vous said they love the sport, very few do it outside. Lawson said skaters today need a place to go, unlike during her childhood when people skated in the street.

''People look at you almost like you have nothing better to do than skate in the street,'' she said. ''Some people almost seem ashamed to be seen skating outside.''

Morgan, however, plans to join the rollerbladers around Jamaica Pond and other spots in the city as soon as she can find a pair of roller skates to buy.

''There's not a lot of selection, especially in athletic stores,'' she said. ''But there're some rollerblading shops that still carry skates.''

Toney believes roller skating will make a comeback.

''I think it started with quads,'' he said, referring to the four wheels, ''and that's where it's going to stay.''