The Commercial Appeal
May 11, 2003

MOTHER'S DAY MAKEOVER
CONTEST WINNERS GET FRESHENED-UP HAIR, FACE, FASHION

Date: May 11, 2003
Author: Barbara Bradley
bradleybar@gomemphis.com
Edition: Final
Section: News
Page: A10

Index Terms:
HOLIDAY CONTEST
Article Text:

Jamie Dickson, a letter carrier from Germantown, wore men's uniforms on her mail route, let her husband buy her other clothes and wore two feet of "Cher hair" for 30 years because he liked it.

A sloppy T-shirt and shorts wasn't just a house outfit for her, said daughter Sarah Dickson, 26. "That's what she wore out."

But no more. Sarah entered Dickson in our Mother's Day makeover contest sponsored by Stein Mart, WREG-TV Channel 3 and this newspaper. She and 169 others wrote and told us why their moms deserved a makeover.

Dickson, 54, won. So did Mary Pratt, 50, of Memphis, nominated by her daughter Lisa Pratt, 23, and Carrie Lavell Phillips, 41, of Olive Branch, nominated by her daughter Tiaa Jackson, 10.

Now they've got new clothes, new hairdos and new makeup. We think the results range from great to a head-turning "is that the same lady?"

Jimmy Dickson cried "Wow!" when he saw his wife Jamie, with her new hairdo created several days ago. When she stopped by his office to show him her complete makeover, "he couldn't stop grinning," she said. "He wanted to take me out for lunch and dessert. He acted like he was thrilled! to be married to me."

Pratt's transformation was equally dramatic. "People tell me I look 10 years younger," said Pratt, an assistant professor of history at Southwest Tennessee Community College.

When Phillips, a customer service representative for the Internal Revenue Service, walked in to work with her new hairdo, her co-workers applauded.

She liked it so much, she said, "I drove with the windows down so everybody could see me. I tried to catch all the red lights."

For two weeks, the women have been racing to appointments, getting a new outfit, shoes and accessories given to them by Stein Mart and chosen by Jane Curtis, Stein Mart fashion coordinator. Curtis, a private image consultant whose company is called About Face, also did their faces using BeautiControl makeup.

They received new hairdos from stylists Lynn Shea, owner of Capelli, Ted Cortese, owner of Diva Colour Studio, and Larry DeLancey, owner of Hi Gorgeous.

All the makeovers were done with respect for the personalities of the three women, their fashion preferences and lifestyle needs.

To add icing to the cake, each woman was a star for a day. The makeovers were featured, one a day last week, on Channel 3's Live @ Nine news/talk show with hosts Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman.

"It's been like a dream. So much has happened," said Pratt. "People are giving me newspapers and sending me E-mails." A colleague passed a newspaper photo of her around a room full of people. She said she's felt pressure to make sure she keeps up her new image.

While almost everyone involved was enthusiastic about the results of our makeovers, Tiaa, Phillips's daughter, reacted just like a 10-year-old.

"It looks good," she said to her, in a bored fashion, then begged her mom to take her to a video arcade.

Jamie Dickson
The problem
Dickson, long-legged and short-waisted, wore loose-fitting clothes to hide what she considered an out-of-proportion figure. Yet, her real love was for feminine, frilly styles.

The remedy
Clothes: Clothes that showed off her small waist but did not cut her in half. A long embroidered sweater hugged her curves and lengthened her torso. The embroidery, like the swishy skirt, satisfied Dickson's love for romantic styling without being too fussy, and the black and white colors were great for her cool-toned skin. Her fancy was allowed to take flight in little black sandals with butterflies on the toes.

Hair: Lynn Shea, of Capelli salon, cut her long hair to shoulder length, layered it for lift and graduated the length on the sides to soften Dickson's features. She wove in dark, warm brown color to cover some, but not all, of the gray, and added clear color for shine.

Makeup: Fashion coordinator Jane Curtis dusted Dickson's deep-set eyes with soft white shadow to bring them up, brushed mauve and blue on her lids for color and drama, and extended her eyeliner out and up to create bigger eyes. She used wine-tone blush and rosewood lipstick.

Mary Pratt
The problem
Pratt wore little makeup and left her curly hair gray because chemicals just made it more unruly. Her children called her humdrum clothes "teacher" style.

The remedy
Clothes: A classic suit look to make her feel comfortable, but chosen for her slightly pear-shaped figure. A houndstooth-check jacket called attention to her upper body and shaped her silhouette with a black border. The trumpet skirt slimmed her lower torso, accented her good legs, and provided a flirty touch that enlivened the jacket. A marvelous shell and red-stone necklace gave it all panache.

Hair: Ted Cortese, of Diva Colour Studio, used three low- or no-peroxide colors on her hair to add light brown color, gold highlights and gloss. He trimmed it, tapered the sides and created a side part to soften her strong features. Best of all, Pratt now has "wash and wear" hair that requires only a styling cream and finger-shaping to look wonderful.

Makeup: Curtis used pale green eyeshadow to take the red out of Pratt's lids and soft brown at the corners to enlarge her eyes. She used plum on her cheeks and a soft bronze red called "samba" on her lips to go with her strong necklace.

Carrie Lavell Phillips
The problem
Phillips, who battles her weight, could hardly bring herself to shop for clothes at all. "Everything looks too big," she said, "so I think, 'I'll just do with what I got. I'll get something for the children and leave.' "

The remedy
Clothes: A variety of styling tricks that add up to one great effect. A light, feminine, embroidered pantsuit in slimming black with a jacket that fell over the hips trimmed Phillips's silhouette. Adding shoulder pads visibly raised her torso and slimmed her hips. Opening the jacket created a bright, vertical corridor of color down her torso that took inches off her waist.

Hair: "We had to get rid of that mullet!" said Larry DeLancey, of Hi Gorgeous, who cut her hair 6 inches in back, notched the top, and added dark brown tones and caramel highlights. He then used a tiny flat iron to create an all-over flipped 'do that was light, airy and sophisticated. She can do this at home with a curling iron, he said.

Makeup: Curtis emphasized Phillips's almond-shaped eyes with taupe on the lid and mauve and plum colors applied to the outside corners. A rich dark bronze lipstick brought out her cupid's bow lips. Bronzing powder provided that glowing finish.

Fashion editor Barbara Bradley can be reached at 529-2370.

Caption:
By Jim Weber
Jamie Dickson, with daughter Sarah Dickson, wears an embroidered sweater in rayon and nylon by Items, and a chiffon print silk skirt by Jones New York.

CAPTION: By Mike Maple
Mary Pratt wears Isabela D's houndstooth-check jacket and trumpet skirt, with shell sweater underneath and pointed-toe shoes by Liz Claiborne.

CAPTION: By Dave Darnell
Carrie Lavell Phillips, with daughter Tiaa Jackson, wears ELCC's silk and linen pantsuit trimmed with turquoise embroidery and SML Sport Woman cotton and Spandex shell and sandals by Mootsies Tootsies.

CAPTION: Jamie Dickson, Mary Pratt, Carrie Lavell Phillipsphoto (6)

Copyright 2003 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN
Record Number: 0FAFFFBD682F634B

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