Tyra Banks and friends showcase a 'FABLife'
NEW YORK - When Tyra Banks starts getting dressed, she finds trouble is waiting.
"I've got so many clothes and the most amazing shoes in the world!" she explains. "But when I look in the closet I feel paralyzed. I'm stuck. So I tend to reach for the same thing over and over again."
Whatever same-old-thing condition is plaguing her fashion-wise has surely escaped notice by any of her fans. But if Banks truly feels she's in a rut, help is now at hand: She need only reach out to Joe Zee, a fellow lifestyle expert on the new syndicated "FABLife," premiering Monday (check local listings).
"I think I'm gonna need Joe to go in my closet and put together outfits," Banks says.
Maybe he will.
But Zee, a celebrity stylist and Yahoo's style editor, is primed to counsel "FABLife" viewers as well: Such as when he heaps the entire contents of a viewer's closet on the studio floor and reimagines a wardrobe using what the viewer already owns, plus a few key additions.
Leah Ashley - a devotee of flea markets, vintage stores and all manner of "upcycling" - will be full of do-it-yourself projects for spinning household clutter into gold.
Lauren Makk is ready with interior and exterior home transformations that won't turn viewers' wallets inside out. (In a regular "Makk Attack," she'll make a house call to surprise a viewer with a room makeover.)
Foodie-supermodel Chrissy Teigen will be cooking up culinary tips and tasty dishes (maybe including her recipe for osso bucco, a favorite of her husband, singer-songwriter John Legend).
Meanwhile, chief stylist Banks reigns as the resident authority on beauty and business matters of interest to viewers. (Such as with her "Elevator Pitch" feature, when Banks will listen to aspiring entrepreneurs as they pitch their new business ideas to her in - you guessed it - an elevator.)
"Watch our show and you'll know everything you need," Banks sums up. "We'll not only tell you what's hip, but our stylists are at the vanguard of DECIDING what's hip. We're trying to change the world!"
This band of fab-specialists aims to learn along with the audience, partaking of one another's expertise each weekday hour.
Zee, for example, doesn't know from a glue gun - not yet, anyway - nor is Ashley a whiz in the kitchen so far.
And Teigen isn't so swift with do-it-yourself projects, as she readily concedes.
"I'm like a bulldozer on the DIY segments with Leah. Somehow I ruin everything. But I love her craft projects and creating great gifts.
"We really do learn so much from each other," she says, "and we take these ideas home and share them with friends."
For instance, reports Teigen, "Joe taught me that any time you get a deodorant stain on your shirt, you can tear off the piece of foam from a dry-cleaner hanger and rub the foam against that stain. And it comes off!"
"FABLife," then, is a learning experience for all concerned.
"Fashion should be a reflection of you in a really fun, positive way," says Zee, who's all set to show how. "No one should feel intimidated by fashion."
Similarly, Ashley loves sharing tips on how to repurpose stuff you can't use and are tired of into "something that's fabulous and new. Doing that is great for the planet, and it saves you money, too."
Makk is just as budget-conscious with her design projects for turning your home into a castle. She advocates for resale, reuse and recombining elements to unlock a whole new look.
"I'm never gonna say, 'Get rid of everything! Get new stuff!"" she pledges.
Banks, who in the past hosted a daytime talk show solo, says she loves the "FABLife" camaraderie as well as the wide exchange of knowledge.
"I feel like the show is like pop-art-candy-fun information," she says in her rap-chatty way.