Looking better now

SOUTH COAST PLAZA — Even A.J. Backer’s friends might not recognize her these days.

Prior to January, anyone who saw her walking around town or on campus at Marquette University in Milwaukee would have seen her in baggy sweats and oversized shirts, but not anymore.

The 21-year-old college student made her way around South Coast Plaza on Wednesday looking stylish in a red top, jeans and heels. She and four other former fashion victims shopped for new outfits for a future episode of the reality makeover series “How Do I Look?” on E Entertainment Television’s Style Network.

This taping was unlike the usual shows, however. In January, Backer appeared on the show with two friends and a professional stylist. On that show the country was shown how she dressed, and her old wardrobe was discarded. She then created a new look, complete with hair and makeup tips, with the help of the friends and stylist.

At South Coast Plaza, the show was putting her newfound fashion knowledge to the test, and she was given $1,000 to put together two head-to-toe looks. Today she’ll be given the necessary tools to do her own hair and makeup.

“This time it’s a lot better,” Backer said as she stood outside DKNY. “In the original show I walked around a mall and got made fun of for an hour.”

This time, she said, she’s feeling the heat. She and the other four contestants are vying for a $10,000 prize, which will go to whomever comes out with the best look.

“It’s intense,” she said. “There’s so much pressure. We have look good in only three hours.”

The task was made easier by the variety of stores she shopped in at South Coast Plaza, a place she said is unlike home.

“I really like” South Coast Plaza, she said after she had finished shopping and had about $10 to spare. “It’s big and it has a lot of stores we don’t have and a good variety of pricing.”

Eleven stores were approved to be in the show, including some that are exclusive to South Coast Plaza, like Barneys New York Co-Op, which usually will not appear in tapings like this. The contestants also browsed in Replay, Miss Sixty, Theory and Laundry by Shelli Segal.

Barney’s manager Kevin Peterson convinced the corporate office that the show would benefit the new division of Barneys. The shoot didn’t seem to be affecting business in the store, and the only real accommodation he made for the contestant and crew was turning down the music.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity for this store, and I’ve watched the show and saw how it worked,” Peterson said. “I thought it would also be good exposure for Barney Co-Op because it’s a newer division.”

The show also sealed what South Coast Plaza representatives have thought for years — Orange County is quickly rivaling Los Angeles and New York as a fashion and lifestyle hub. Beverly Morgan, South Coast Plaza’s public relations manager, had been gently nudging E’s representatives to convince them of Orange County’s style quotient when she caught the attention of merchandising and talent producer Jamie Krell, who is a San Diego native and has shopped at the mall many times.

“Especially with all the reality-based shows like ‘The OC’ and ‘Laguna Beach,’ and all these people are looking to these girls as women who are living in this community for fashion,” said Krell, who is responsible for booking malls for the show. “This is where fashion is at our fingertips, but it’s a different sort of vibe, it’s not like New York, it’s California-cool, casual and trendy, but still classy and beachy at the same time.”

Unlike the conservative, black chic of New York, she said, Orange County and South Coast Plaza have a nice mix of styles. Krell thought the diversity of stores matched well with the diversity of the five contestants, who include a mom, a musician and Backer, a journalism and political science student.

Morgan and others were excited to bring the national show into the shopping center, which already has a large group of customers. According to a recent ZIP Code survey, customers come from 100 miles all around. That may expand as the network’s No. 1 show is broadcast to its 43 million subscribers.

“We’re thrilled that the producers of Style Network’s ‘How Do I Look?’ chose South Coast Plaza to shoot their special reunion episode,” said Debra Gunn-Downing, the mall’s spokeswoman. “When this episode airs in February 2007, viewers will see what an incredibly special shopping destination South Coast Plaza is.”

By the end of the day, Backer had picked out styles for day and night, with one centered around a blue dress and one around shorts and a blouse. She purchased shoes and accessories to match, and this time all on her own.