SMILE, IT'S A MOTHER'S DAY MAKEOVER - PROJECT LETS THE NEW YOU SHINE THROUGH

Author: Barbara Bradley
bradleybar@gomemphis.com
Edition: Final
Section: Appeal
Page: C1
Index Terms:
CONTEST HOLIDAY

Article Text:
"Oh, gosh, yes, I need a makeover," said Jamie Dickson, 54, a Germantown mail carrier and mother of three grown children, and she's going to get her wish for Mother's Day.

Dickson is one of three moms in the Memphis area chosen to get a new image in a joint project by The Commercial Appeal and WREG-TV Channel 3.

We also chose Mary Pratt, 50, of Memphis, an assistant professor of history at Southwest Tennessee Community College and a divorced, single mother of three.

And we chose Carrie Lavell Phillips, 41, of Olive Branch, Miss., a customer service representative for the Internal Revenue Service and a single mother also with three children.

The women are getting new hairstyles from three salons, Capelli, Diva Colour Studio and Hi Gorgeous. All have had clothes selected for them by Jane Curtis, fashion coordinator for Stein Mart stores, and they'll be given one outfit as a gift. Curtis, a private image consultant, will do their makeup.

We'll show you the results later this week on Channel 3's Live @ Nine, the news/talk show hosted by Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman, and in The Commercial Appeal on Sunday.

Three weeks ago we offered our readers a chance to give their mothers a new way of looking at themselves for Mother's Day. We asked you to write and tell us why your mom deserved a makeover and to send us a photo of her. We received about 170 responses.

You told us of a mom caring for a child paralyzed in a car accident and a widow caring for three children, one with cerebral palsy. One mom had reared 20 foster children. Another had four children and four jobs.

Somewhere in Memphis is a lovely librarian hidden behind clunky glasses and dull clothes because she's more interested in helping young students than in helping herself.

If these moms could see these letters, it would mean more than a makeover.

Unfortunately, we can help only three. The mothers we chose had obvious assets they weren't using, such as good hair in an outdated hairstyle or a figure that needed to be shown off rather than covered up.

Tiaa Jackson, 10, a fourth-grader at Olive Branch Intermediate School, entered her mom, Phillips, without her knowledge. When Tiaa found out she had won, the excited child rode out on her bicycle to meet her mom coming home from work and deliver the news.

"I told her I'd do it just to let her know what she got me into," said Phillips, with good humor. Phillips is the breadwinner in a household that also includes two disabled adults, her brother and Tiaa's father.

Dickson makes 554 stops a day on the mail route she drives in Germantown. She was nominated by her daughter, Sarah Dickson, 26, who phoned her with the news.

"I just started laughing out loud," said Dickson. "I thought it was so great. She's a fantastic daughter. I lucked out."

Pratt, nominated by her daughter, Lisa Pratt, 23, has had the primary responsibility for rearing her three children for 14 years. Her two sons are now in college. Lisa Pratt sent us a photo of her mom on one of her son's high school graduation day dressed in a pair of rompers her sister gave her.

Oh, dear. That called for a fashion rescue!

But Pratt also turned 50 Monday and got a surprise birthday party earlier from Lisa. We want to make that birthday a turning point. This mom deserves an exciting new image for what we hope will be a fantastic decade.

Fashion editor Barbara Bradley: 529-2370.

Caption:By Thomas Busler
"Oh, gosh, yes, I need a makeover," says Dickson, happy to search through the racks at Stein Mart for just the right style, thanks to her Mother's Day makeover.

A necklace finishes the look for Jamie Dickson, her daughter Sarah helping her with the clasp.

CAPTION: Mothers all, (from left) Jamie Dickson, Mary Pratt and Carrie Lavell Phillips have Mother's Day makeovers in the works. All three were nominated by daughters and picked from about 170 to get an image update, courtesy of The Commercial Appeal, WREG-TV Channel 3 and Stein Mart. Dickson, 54, is a mail carrier; Pratt, 50, a college professor; Phillips, 41, an IRS customer service representative.

CAPTION: By Jim Weber
Three salons are participating. In the first step of Pratt's makeover at Diva Colour Studio, color specialist Ted Cortese and fashion consultant Carolyn Bendall show Pratt which shades go best with her skin tone.

CAPTION: By Barbara Bradley
A brownish-pink blush to enhance Phillips's features is applied by Jane Curtis, image consultant and Stein Mart fashion coordinator. All three women's new looks will be featured on Channel 3's Live @ Nine this week and in The Commercial Appeal Sunday.photo (7)

Copyright 2003 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN
Record Number: 0FADFF3B9FB295EC

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tn Used With Permission

www.thecommercialappeal.com