Alan Kahn has two drawers devoted to tie-dye shirts. But that's not his real problem. Kahn wears the tie-dye Ts for his weekend gigs as a magician, but the rest of his wardrobe is bland.
What to wear, what to wear? For a variety of reasons that question
can induce panic. Perhaps you've gained weight and live by the
credo ``baggy is better.'' Or maybe you're trapped in the wrong
look - the '70s, the sweatsuit, or the Jeans and T-shirt Uniform.
We asked readers with wardrobe woes to come out of the closet and get a fashion fix-up courtesy of Menlo Park-based personal image designer Carla Mathis. Candidates for the assignment were brutal: ``My co-worker wears MC Hammer pants;'' frank: ``I've been arrested by the fashion police so many times I'm a fashion felon,'' and desperate: ``I will get kind of nauseous when I'm buying clothes.''
Finally, four readers chosen, we camped out in a dressing room at Stanford Shopping Center's Bloomingdale's, and the apparel adventure began.
Presto - Change-O!
Alan Kahn has two drawers devoted to tie-dye shirts. But that's not his real problem. Kahn wears the tie-dye Ts for his weekend gigs as a magician, but the rest of his wardrobe is bland.
``Jeans wear out, I buy a new pair. A flannel shirt wears out, I buy a new flannel shirt,'' says Kahn, 38, a father of two who is getting a teaching credential at San Jose State University while substitute teaching for three East Bay school districts.
For the makeover the Fremont resident adds a cream sweater and a beige suede jacket over a shirt and jeans. In addition to wanting a wardrobe with style, the 130-pound, 6-foot-2-inch Kahn would like to know how to look less tall and thin.
``He's an Italian stallion,'' says Mathis. ``He's elegant and mysterious.'' She notes his salt-and-pepper hair and fine features. ``We need to support his quiet masculinity.''
To do that Kahn needs to stick to very well-made clothes of fine fabrics, preferably made by European designers. She pulls out Versace pants and a Dolce & Gabbana shirt, forbidding Kahn to ever wear anything bold or vertically striped. She chooses understated colors - chocolate, charcoal and tan.
A little mousse to Kahn's hair, and the magician is turned into a model.
