After winning a magazine contest, the Cernkovics were revamped from head to toe. They've delighted in their spiced-up wardrobes since.
By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published October 11, 2004
TARPON SPRINGS - Last spring, Alexandra Cernkovic, a stay-at-home mother of three, sat down at her computer and poured her heart out about her fashion frustrations to the editors of Ladies' Home Journal.
"I am so busy with my family that I feel out of touch with the part of me that loves to shop - and I want her back!" she wrote. "Also, I am unclear as to what a "Mom' is supposed to look like."
She went on to seek the magazine's advice to help her daughter Christina find trendy clothes that would fit her thin, 5-foot-4-inch frame and make her feel special as she entered middle school. Then there was the rest of her crew. They needed to climb out of their T-shirt and jeans rut.
Her letter and photos stood out from among 700 others. After several followup phone calls, the five-member family was chosen the winner of the magazine's first family style makeover contest.
"They are a happy, busy family who had just lost their way," said Patricia Reynoso, beauty director for the magazine. "Alexandra didn't complain about her life; she just asked for a little guidance. They are a good-looking family without having beauty that was unattainable."
In July, the Cernkovics flew to New York for a three-day whirlwind trip in which they were given the celebrity treatment. They were pampered, exfoliated, extracted, massaged, trimmed, colored, combed, dressed and photographed. Their story will be featured in the November issue of Ladies' Home Journal, which comes out Tuesday.
On a recent afternoon, they gathered in the living room of their Tarpon Springs home to discuss their makeover memories.
"It was like nothing I've ever felt before," said Katie, 8, who attends Sunset Hills Elementary School.
The family stayed in a suite in Manhattan's Marriott East Side, where Michael, 3, said the best part was pushing the elevator buttons. He also seemed to enjoy his stint as the family photographer, where he managed to capture most of the family's memorable moments from the waist down.
Alexandra, a 40-year-old former flight attendant, said she was surprised at how much the Big Apple had changed since she lived there in the 1980s.
"When I was there, it was scary," she said. "I was attacked once in the subway. Now it is clean, safe, and everyone is very friendly."
Well, somewhat safe.
While the family was there, a suspicious package was found in a manhole near the hotel. The road was roped off, the police were called, but it turned out to be false alarm.
"It was just an incredible experience," said Alexandra's husband, Milan, 47. "It's something we'll all remember. They gave us tickets to see 42nd Street (the musical), and we were five rows from the front."
The prize is valued at $14,000, and the Cernkovics brought home armfuls of clothes selected from their wish lists, which were created as they shopped. Because most of the attire is for fall or winter, they have been slowly blending it in with their regular Florida garb until cooler weather arrives.
Alexandra wore a black spaghetti-strap top with her new low-rise flared jeans from Banana Republic, which flattered her trim physique. Her graying hair had been colored with dark and light shades of blond and cut in layers by celebrity stylist John Barrett.
"I learned a lot up there," she said. "When I got back, I wanted to shop and experiment with new looks."
She pointed to her multicolored scarf, which ran not around her neck but through her belt loops.
"I noticed a lot of people wearing scarves and neckties for belts," she said.
Then there were her black shoes, so pointy you could clean your fingernails with them.
"Pointed shoes are back," she said. "We used to call them roach killers."
Alexandra has striking blue eyes, and she has learned to bring them out by using eyeliner, she said.
"I'm wearing more makeup now," she said. "More eyeliner, more concealer, and I'm trying different colors of lipstick."
She went to her closet and pulled out about a dozen new clothing items she brought back from the trip: jackets, blouses, slacks and a pair of soft, fleece-lined Australian sheepskin boots.
A DKNY woven jacket still has its $345 price tag; another rust suede jacket is marked $350.
"I have a pair of jeans that cost $150!" said Christina, 11, who wore a new, long-sleeved 70s style shirt by Rampage.
She said her friends at Tarpon Middle School approve of her New York threads and enjoy hearing about her worldly adventure.
"It was my first photo shoot," she said.
The only part Christina didn't care for was when the photographer took pictures of the mother and the girls during their pedicures.
"They shot us in our robes," she said. "I don't want anyone seeing me in a robe."
Christina's flaxen tresses were cut and donated to Wigs for Kids, an organization that makes hairpieces and donates them to cancer patients.
She admits that at first she was a bit traumatized by her short new 'do but said now she likes it and gets many compliments.
Milan dug into his closet and showed off his new colorful, stylish wardrobe.
"I had about 48 T-shirts and had to clean out half of them to make room for all this stuff," he said.
As the lead aviation technician for Delta, Milan wears steel-toed boots every day at work. His feet often hurt, and he said he found the pedicure intoxicating.
"The way they play with your feet and get in there and rub those muscles, it was very relaxing," he said. "I could have done without the manicure, though."
He does get teased a bit at work about his pedicure, he said.
Milan said he was shocked when his wife told him they won.
"We never win anything, and I'm not a public kind of guy," he said.
He said he didn't think his wife needed a makeover but likes the improvement.
