By Howard Koplowitz
Shana Wagner was not up for an Academy Award Sunday, but the “Rachael Ray” show made her feel as if she was after the Ridgewood resident was given a red carpet makeover on Friday’s episode.
Wagner, a 26-year-old who works in retail, admires the fashion choices of actress Emma Stone, who appeared in the Academy Award-nominated film “The Help,” and “Rachael Ray” deployed a team of stylists to recreate Stone’s look on the red carpet.
“I am the fashion police in my own mind and I like that [Stone] wears whatever she wants and always looks good,” the Ridgewood resident said in a phone interview.
Wagner attended a taping of “Rachael Ray” a few weeks ago when a producer asked the audience what red carpet looks they liked.
The 26-year-old said she is a fan of Stone’s style and was one of a few women selected to appear in the red carpet makeover episode that aired Friday.
“I was really excited,” Wagner said. “I’m always up for a change and a red carpet.”
Stone was part of the ensemble cast of “The Help,” a film adapted from the novel about the life of black Southern maids in the early 1960s.
Along with a Best Picture nomination, the film also earned Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress nods for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain.
As part of Wagner’s makeover, her hair was dyed from dark brown to red to emulate Stone’s locks.
Stone wore a black strapless Alexander McQueen dress to the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Wagner was fitted in a similar getup — a black and white strapless BCBG dress — on “Rachael Ray.”
The show completed the look for Wagner by giving her dangling cocktail earrings and a black clutch.
“We got to keep everything, which was exciting,” the Ridgewood resident said. “I think it went really well. We all liked the way that we looked. It was a lot of fun. To see it come together was really nice.”
Wagner said she was looking forward to the Oscars and planned to keep an eye out for what Stone wore during Hollywood’s biggest night.
“It’s a little bit of an event in my home,” she said. “Me and my sister watch the red carpet, make a dinner, get some snacks. We like not being bothered for those few hours.”
