Looking to score: Pro fixes up Hub singles with date-night makeovers

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Boston Sunday Herald - Sunday, November 16, 2003

By Raakhee P. Mirchandani

Sure, your personality is rockin', but for some reason the guys and girls at the bars barely give you a second look. Well, stop worrying. If you can't get a date because you dress like a freak, we've got some advice for you.

We asked Samantha von Sperling, director of Polished Social Image Consulting in Boston, to help Adam Vogel, a 24-year-old personal trainer at Crunch Boston, and Anna Edwards, a 23-year-old recent college graduate, shed their typical date looks for something more stylish.

Vogel's new smooth and sexy outfit is from Emporio Armani on Newbury Street. Edwards got a chic - but inexpensive - makeover at Express in CambridgeSide Galleria.

Von Sperling is more than just a fashion consultant. In addition to giving clothing and makeup advice, she offers dancing lessons, personal shopping trips, consultations with a Newbury Street hairstylist and closet-cleaning sessions. "If you're a movie star, you need 50 evening dresses; if you're a lawyer, you need 20 sharp suits - minimum," she said.

Her help doesn't come cheap. An hour's consultation runs about [$300] - and that price doesn't include the clothes, shoes, accessories and hairstylist appointment she might recommend.

But with more than 1,000 clients a year - including an author who spent $2,000 on clothes in two hours, and a Boston mom and her two daughters who spent $6,000 on their new looks - von Sperling is making this city over, one person at a time.

Here's what she did with our two. Maybe you can adapt some of her advice to fix up your look and reel in the guys and girls this weekend.

ANNA EDWARDS

What she came with: A bad attitude about shopping ("I hate shopping with a passion"), a pretty face and a jeans-and-sweater look that's just too casual for a night on the town.

Sweater, $80, French Connection
Jeans, $70, Mavi
Boots, $130, Nine West
Fake Gucci bag from Italy, $20

Makeup: M.A.C. face powder and blush, Revlon cover-up, Bobbi Brown eyeshadow, ChapStick.

What she left with: "These colors are perfect on her, they suit her," said von Sperling. "The T-shirt is a classic and can be worn with anything. The jewelry adds a nice classy touch to her outfit, and it's perfect for going out."

Clothes (all from Express): cashmere pocket T, $58; silver necklace, $16; tie-bottom cargo pants, $78; purse, $38.

Makeup: Yves Saint Laurent Radiant Touch airbrush wand; YSL No. 1 tinted moisturizer; Nars blush in Orgasm; Physicians Formula blush palette. "I kept the complexion hers - it's the peaches and cream she was born with, just refined," von Sperling said. "This look will bring out Anna's eyes, her natural pink skin tones, and look completely natural."

Hair advice (from Giovanni Cudia of G Spa, Newbury Street): Cut off 2 inches and add layers; ditch the blow-dryer in favor of natural curls; add blond or chestnut highlights in at least three shades, or color the hair cranberry-red.

Anna's verdict: "I want to buy the pants," she said. "They're comfortable, they fit well. And the shirt is cute, too. I don't know about the jewelry and purse, though."

ADAM VOGEL

What he came with: A determination to stay casual. "I wear sweats all day at work, so I don't get dressed up very often. And, I don't want to look like I care." Said von Sperling: "This look is great if he's going to the Rack, but if he meets someone in a bar who wants to go to, say, Whiskey Park, he's not dressed for that."

Shirt, $70, Abercrombie & Fitch
Jeans, $178, Diesel
Sneakers, $60, from Puma

What he left with: "We put him in clothes that he likes, that he's comfortable in and that will work for almost any situtaion," von Sperling said.

Clothes (all from Emporio Armani): ribbed mock-neck knit top, $168; reversible Armani Jeans leather jacket, $798; classic flat-front pants, $228; shoes, $398

Adam's verdict: "I would do this look," he said. "I'd ditch the jacket, but I dig the sweater and pants."

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