Gwen Betty has style. She is a well educated, worldly, and an all-around downtown gal. This season's crisp autumn winds however, have found her unusually restless and ready for a change. "I'm a full-time student and I work a labor intensive job, I just don't have a lot of time to worry about how I look," Betty said. "But, I'm still wearing my hair the same as I did in high school. I want a change that will reflect the person I am growing into."

Her mission (should she choose to accept it) is to completely surrender all image control to the whims of the Go-Go Style squad.

Gwen described herself as a regular person. Her evenings are just as often spent discussing historical political analysis with close friends over a glass of wine, as they are drinking beers in a neighborhood tavern. However Gwen admits she "enjoys going to the Snake Pit as much as she appreciates a night at the symphony." Her eclectic pastimes call for a clothing store that excels in trendy diversity, The Buffalo Exchange. "Buffalo Exchange just had so much mix and match fashion," Betty said. "Everything they had could be coordinated with something else to be totally in style, and without spending a lot of money."

A butterscotch colored swag tank, a matching caramel mini skirt in camel wool, dark chocolate knee length boots, and a lovely faux fur collared suede jacket in a deep espresso brown... was the delicious mêlée we snatched up at the lower 13th Avenue shop. The complete four-piece ensemble totaled under a hundred bucks. "I am not a fashion whore," Betty said. "I know, because I have friends who are."

Our swanky "almost-new" duds-in-tow, the next stop was Allure magazine's pick, The Parlor (1736 Wynkoop). The "Art Team" anxiously awaiting our arrival, swept Gwen off and began to orchestrate their plan. Stylist Phil Lombardo, a five-year veteran of The Parlor, was tonight's scissored hands. He chose a cut that focused on 'texture' and 'disconnected shapes with strong fringe. ' "Gwen wanted to maintain some of the length," Lombardo said. "Her hair is really fine and we didn't want it to get too wispy. So we cut it really blunt so she will actually have an edge."

What is the best tip for super-chic hair? According to Lombardo, "People should change with the seasons. In the fall, I encourage autumn colors -- in bolder, all over color." Janelle Eide, steps up to the plate with a palette of Schwarzkopf hair colors. "This technique is a 'linear fusion' technique that echoes the look fur would give," Eide said.

According to Eide, hair trends often follow fashion trends. Fur collars, patches, and the other furred-out accessories flooding the catwalks have made an impact in the world of follicle couture as well. Eide applies dark golden copper, warm blonde, and a darker than Gwen's natural brown in an elaborate tin foiled headdress. "This look was literally taken from fur. It's color that is applied, but not necessarily in big chunks," Eide said. "It's blended like an animal's fur coat." "Like Lassie," Lombardo said, laughing. "Lassie was getting a lot of lovin'."

Cosmetologists Lora Powers and Barbara Morin tag teamed applying Gwen's make up. Using the latest collection of colors from the Trucco "Whiplash" line, they feathered on products like Illuminous white eye pencil and Roxy golden mascara. Thick eyeliner and progressive wild mascaras are in for fall according to Morin. "It's an elegant look with peek-a- boo color and just a touch up of liner or lipstick for the nights." "The biggest mistake people make with their cosmetics is that they forget to update their make-up," Powers said. "When you change your hair color for fall, it's important to change your make up too."

Gwen took an encouraged turn in front of the salon mirror, encircled by stylists and Go-Go brood clapping and whistling in approval of her transformation. "I love it," she said. "I feel like a new person. I used to always put my hair up in a bun -- now, I can't wait to wear it down."

Mission complete.

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