TV REVIEW: Tim Gunn's Guide to Style on Erica Mollica

Here we meet Erica Mollica, who wants to be a "wow" and not just an "enh" for her engagement party to Terrence Garraway. Tim and Gretta notice very quickly that she likes to wear capris, which Erica explains is because of her height. Regular pants just don't fit her properly. Tim also notes that Erica exposes way too much of her midriff, and that her outfit screams, "I am 14 years old." He doesn't know it yet, but there's a definite reason for this.

Tim asks her to dress head to toe in the outfit she wants to wear for her engagement party. She comes out in some very low-cut pants, a teeny-tiny short, and a loose mandarin-collared jacket with no lines and a very strange pattern. She reveals her "surprise:" the pants have square cut-outs with diamonique circles. Tim pronounces it to be "disarmingly vulgar."

Erica's posture is very slouchy, which Gretta says sends both an external and internal message of low self-esteem. Tim asks Erica when she achieved her first great height. Erica says that she shot up to 5'10" as a freshman in high school (hence, the 14-year-old outfits). She obviously still has not shed the baggage associated with being that gawky, awkward teenager.

As they go through Erica's closet, they note that much of it is too small: shirts too short, pants cut off as capris. They do find a wrap dress that Gretta wants to make over and a red dress that they think will look stunning on Erica -- and it does! But she's still slouching. They take all the rest of her clothes away in an attempt at a "fashion detox."

Now it's time to fit the foundation. Erica has never been fitted for a bra before, and doesn't really feel the need because her boobs are small. She finds out that she is actually a cup size smaller, which is really disappointing to her, "like being a guy and finding out that your penis is smaller than you thought it was." She hated the idea at first, but after they get some bras that fit, she begins to like it better and better. The new bras accentuate her breasts and her figure instead of merely covering them up. She now has angles!

Tim's goal for Erica is that he wants her to embrace and flaunt her height. So at his loft, they input her measurements into the computer, and wham! Here's Erica. She's not impressed; she is actually embarrassed. Tim tells her that he wants to address her posture. He turns the image to the side so she can see her hunched-over shoulders, and informs her that even if they get the clothes right, they still may not look good because of the way she holds herself in.

So then he shows her with her old clothes on so that Erica can see what everybody else does. She is horrified by the image ("Hooray!" from Tim). He then shows her some good things that she can wear, and some other things that she needs to look for. He presents her with a pair of 5-inch stilettos and commands her to walk in them. To no one's surprise, she just kind of ambles around in them and feels very awkward. To help her get over that, Tim has invited a very special person to help her get over that: supermodel Tyson Beckford. Erica melts into a little puddle on the floor, but picks herself up as Tim leaves them alone fo her to practice her walk. She's still no model on the runway, but she is at least starting to hold her head up high.

Erica's visit to In-Style is pretty much an overwhelming experience for her. She tells Katrina Szish that her goal is to accentuate her height in a positive way. Katrina tells her that they have been informed that she is going to Bali for her honeymoon, so they have put together a fun beach bag for her. They are giving her a halter-top swimsuit, which she can adjust to feel comfortable in, two bikinis, a towel, some reading material, and a beach bag. After all of that, Erica is touched and comments that this has been a really good day. But the work and the subsequent epiphany is still to come.

The next day is shopping for all of the essential items. At first, the shopping goes very, very badly. Erica confides that she has never spent this long shopping. She gets easily frustrated by the lack of clothes that fits and she would have already thrown up her hands and gone home. Tim comes to join them and suggests that they start trying things on. Gretta thinks that Erica is already anticipating disappointment and that is why she is so wound up. The trying on of clothes starts out as a beastly task, but it seems to be exactly what Erica needs. She notices immediately what looks bad on her.

Then she finds Them: the jeans that look good and feel good. She says that the capris have finally left the building, and suddenly, everything else that she tries on looks really amazing. She's even wearing the stilettos now.

Now that she has gotten a taste of everyday fashion, it is time to meet the fashion design star, Ygal Azrouel. Erica has never been in such a high-end store before, and she feels that now she has attained that "ultraglamourous moment." She tries on dress after dress in which she looks good and exudes confidence, so much so that Ygal is impressed with it. He wants to give her one of his dresses as a gift and she tears up because all she wanted was to try them on. Tim tells her that the best way to choose is to pick the dress that she cannot live without.

At the John Frieda Salon, it is time for hair and makeup. Harry Josh wants to add color to her hair, both to hide a few gray strands and to add texture to her hair that color provides. After the makeup stylist is done giving her some amazing eyes and makeup tips, Harry blow drys her hair with a diffuser, then applies a large curling iron for large waves.

Back at Tim's loft, Tim and Gretta ooh and aah over her new look (and she really does look good), then give her two presents. The first is her wrap dress with shorter sleeves, and the second is a pair of sweaters she had that have been made over into sweaters for stuffed animals, one dog named Gretta and one named Tim. It's time for the fashion show.

Erica is completely surprised when she opens those doors and sees everyone near and dear to her sitting out there, including her fiance' who cannot take his eyes off of her. As she goes through her outfits, he gets progressively more excited and definitely wowed by her look. Tim and Gretta ask her mother why she feels that it took Erica so long to build up to this moment. Her mother says that Erica was always a person to think about other people, and she is finally thinking about herself. Aw, cher.

She has one final outfit, the dress she will be wearing for the engagement party. As she is getting dressed, Tyson Beckford and Ygal Azrouel join the crowd. By this time, Terrence says that his heart is popping. Amid the smashing success of her wardrobe, Tim and Gretta have a gift for her, a pair of flowery earrings studded with diamonds by Laura M to symbolize the transformation she has undergone. But that's not it; they have also flown in her maid of honor, her sister. Erica bursts into spontaneous tears, since she was just thinking that the one person that she wanted most to see her transformation wasn't there, and now she is. So there is bubbly and tears all around.

Once again, Fairy Godfather Tim Gunn and Greta Monaghan change the world one person at a time -- through fashion.

TV REVIEW: Tim Gunn's Guide to Style on Ariana Vargas

NOTE: I wanted to point out that the guitar pick necklace from last week was designed by Payson Cooper of NYC. You can see her designs at http://www.paysoncooper.com.

Tim and Greta's challenge this week is Ariana Vargas. She is getting ready to move to Chicago to become head of Marketing and PR for a company that her sister is opening. The problem is, she has no clothes to go along with her new job and her new life. I mean, she does have clothes, but, yuck. She's got peeling shoes, sweaters with pills, sweat stains, and some really bad hemlines. Her wardrobe is so bad that it elicits 3 priceless gems from Tim: "But first we have to get a tetanus shot!" "I wouldn't wish that wardrobe on a homeless person!" "[That outfit is] Brittney Spears does Huckleberry Finn."

Ariana confides that the Brittney comment is her all time low.

Greta makes Ariana try on a really awful-looking, skinny-strapped dress because she also notices that Ariana is a little... lacking in support, shall we say. Ariana reveals that she is actually wearing a regular bra that she has tucked the straps into the dress. When pressed, she admits that she has lost her one and only strapless bra.

Clearly, this girl has not a fashion clue. In speaking with her a little more, she confides that she came from a single-parent home where money was really tight, and she holds onto clothes that are long past their shelf life. So even though she now has the money, she's still got the mentality. As usual, what starts off as being about fashion ends up being very, very personal.

In a Guide to Style first, Greta and Tim can find nothing worth keeping or salvaging in Ariana's closet. All of it is bundled up into garbage bags.

Now that Ariana is completely without anything to wear except a shirt and jeans, she's off to Bra Smyth to get her correct size and a basic undergarment wardrobe. They quickly determine her size -- and get her a strapless bra, right off the bat. She chooses a few other very pretty, great-looking bras and is on her way to Tim's loft to get the lowdown on her shape.

Since Ariana is long-waisted (ie, the area from clavicle to crotch is long), she has to learn how not to chop her body up into proportions that make her look off-balance. Because she has a big butt and a small waist, Ariana has been fitting her hips first and not worrying about the waistline, or wearing shorter waistlines, which also cut her off. Her tops are too long and only accentuate the weaknesses in her proportion. Tim also recommends ditching cap sleeves for just about any other sleeve length at all, including sleeveless.

At In-Style Magazine, Ariana is confronted by the sight of her old clothes next to the chic clothes in the showroom. Katrina Szish, the consultant, also asks her why she holds onto clothes, and she tells her about her childhood. Katrina then tells her that she doesn't have to go crazy and buy a ton of clothes, but if she wants to keep clothes for a really long time, then she needs to buy better quality clothes that will stand the test of time. She also instructs Ariana on how to look for little details that say "quality:" even stitching on the inside seams and hems, covered buttons, etc.

Armed with knowledge (and a better bra), Ariana heads off to do some shopping. At first, it's a disaster. She picks out a bunch of things and likes none of them, now that she knows what to look for. She's still not comfortable in making fashion choices -- until she finds a little black dress that she loves. She points out that the belt is a little poofy -- and has her fashion epiphany when Greta and Tim tell her that it can be fixed. It never occurred to her to have the clothes tailored to fit her body; she was just willing to go along and try to fit her unique body into off-the-rack clothes.

Now it's time for the wow moment. Tim takes her to Angel Sanchez, a Venezuelan designer who does very meticulous styling and draping. Ariana feels comfortable with him because he's Latino and understands her curvy figure. He tells her that she can have one of his dresses to wear to the charity event that she and her sister are attending where there will be potential investors for the company. Needless to say, she is overwhelmed. She says that it is like a dream come true, but a dream that she never knew she had.

For hair and make-up Greta and Tim take her to Devachan Salon, which is a high end salon that specializes in curly hair. After years of not loving her hair, Ariana is encouraged to embrace it by Lorraine Massey, who is the original Curly Girl and known for helping people get in touch with their inner curl. Lorraine cuts her hair dry and tells her to move around as she cuts from different angles. She also cuts a good 6 inches off, which Ariana likes less and less.

After the cut, she goes off to Edward at Devachan Salon for color, and he gives her a lot of natural-looking highlights. Then it's back to Lorraine's chair again, where she clips her wet hair up and separates it based on Ariana's natural wave. She allows it to dry naturally, then shakes it out. Ariana says that it's going to take some getting used to, but she likes it.

Gordin Espinet of MAC cosmetics gives Ariana a very natural look because she gives off an air of simplicity. She has good skin, so he just mists her face the covers it with moisturizer. With her new look complete, it's time for the fashion show.

Something, however, is still amiss. Greta can tell that Ariana is still a little freaked out by her haircut, but Ariana assures her that she will get used to it. Everyone is wowed by Ariana's new look as she sashays down the runway (and almost stops when she sees her sister there, because her sister was supposed to have been in Chicago), but Greta is tired of that hesitancy in Ariana's face. She can tell that the hair is REALLY bothering her. So before she can take her half-way face on her new look down the runway again, Greta straightens her hair into a sleek, but still full, look. Ariana now realizes how good the cut she got really is, that she can go from curly to other options.

She is infinitely more comfortable as she models her other looks, and is prepared to work her Angel Sanchez look down the runway. Angel himself comes in to see his dress, and he is blown away by it. Everybody is happy, and it's hugs and kisses all around.

As a parting gift, Greta and Tim give Ariana a Dior watch that is both stylish and business-y. She's very happy to get it, but that's not the only thing they have up their sleeves. They have also flown in Ariana's mother, and that's when the waterworks start. Ariana's mother, Eve, is so proud to see her daughter's transformation, and Ariana is so very happy that her mother is there.

Once again, Fairy Godfather Tim Gunn and Greta Monaghan change the world one person at a time -- through fashion.