Achieve Your Dream Look: Stunning Style Transformations

Melanee Farrah, 32

Real life: Government analyst
Secret alter ego: Gamine

Conservative jackets and pants suffice for long workdays; one horrendous haircut scared her away from making style changes.

Why she's ready to try a new look:
"I work really hard, travel for my job, and rarely do anything to feel good about myself before I walk out the door in the morning. I guess you could say my issue is that I overperform and underdress."

The haircut that made her very afraid:
"A mullet. I was in high school; it took forever to grow out. I'd love to try a pixie, but I'm gun-shy."

Her dream style:
"Clothes that are structured but still playful, feminine, and elegant...and an Audrey Hepburn haircut."

The Hair

Melanee wasn't ready to commit to a pixie, so Roberta fitted her with a wig instead. It was dyed a slightly warmer version of Melanee's natural color, with sable brown highlights, to bring out the golden tones in her skin. To keep the short cut feminine, Roberta used a razor to blend the layers. "The style should look a little grown-out," she says, "with none of the sharp edges you'd see in a man's haircut."

The Makeup

Short hair brings out your features—so use a light hand with color. Rebecca put the focus on Melanee's large brown eyes and left the rest of her face almost bare. She blended a charcoal liner on Melanee's upper lashlines, smudging it up onto her lids, and lined the lower rims with a black pencil. A blush and lipstick in soft peach tones complete the look.

The Clothes

It's the balance between masculine and feminine elements that makes Melanee's fantasy look work: Tailored Theory cigarette pants are a nod to a structured menswear-inspired style, while the fresh Adam floral blazer and Petit Bateau striped top are pure gamine.

Your Inner Gamine

If you don't want to go short, you can still get almost the same glamorous, no-fuss effect by pulling your hair into a low ponytail or bun. Pat a couple of drops of shine serum over your hairline to calm flyaways.

Keep clothing streamlined and tailored (with capris, blazers, and white button-downs), paired with simple ballet flats and delicate accessories like stud earrings.

Shirt, Petit Bateau, $75, petit-bateau.us. Pants, Theory, $335, Bloomingdale's, 800-555-7467. Earrings, Sonyarenee Jewelry, $58, sonyarenee.com.