By Amanda McGregor
SALEM — Friends and loved ones had had enough of Leanne Marrama's spandex and monochromatic black wardrobe, so they put her style on trial.
Marrama, a member of the Salem witch community, was picked for a makeover on the popular TLC program "What Not to Wear," which is set to air Friday.
The show's cast and crew descended on Salem in September, where they filmed Marrama's look being "put on trial" — reminiscent of Salem's infamous 1692 witch trials — by a jury that included other members of the city's psychic community.
The show then swooped Marrama — and all of her clothes — to New York for a week, where "What Not to Wear" hosts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly weeded out her wardrobe and gave her $5,000 to start anew, and redid her hair and makeup.
The results will air Friday at 9 p.m.
"I'm so excited to see the episode," Marrama said. "It's going to be very funny, and I hope other people can learn something from it."
CinemaSalem will host a free public viewing of the episode as it airs live. Marrama plans to attend, along with her family and friends.
Marrama, 39, has two children and said her wardrobe was problematic prior to the show.
"I either had witch clothes that didn't fit me," she said, "or I was running around in fuzzy pajamas. I had nothing in between."
She said she didn't even own a pair of jeans.
"Because I have children, walking in my robes and my cape to PTA meetings kind of put people off," she said.
When the show filmed in Salem on Sept. 9, residents and tourists flocked to the downtown to catch a glimpse of the commotion and to get autographs from "What Not to Wear" hosts "Stacy and Clinton," revered as quick-witted TV fashion gurus who stage weekly style interventions on victims of bad fashion.
Stacy and Clinton starred in footage around the Witch City, including scenes in Derby Square in which they were chased by an "angry mob" composed of "Cry Innocent" actors in Colonial clothing.
The show gathered footage of Marrama's friends and family members talking about her fashion foibles.
"When I met her, she was wearing baggy Celtic robes and plastic flowers in her hair," said Christian Day, a friend and fellow Salem witch who was filmed for the episode. "Leanne has always been gorgeous, but she always had trouble finding her own style."
Residents hope Salem is featured prominently in the episode. Footage was also shot at the Hawthorne Hotel, where Marrama was "reintroduced" to her family and friends after the makeover.
"I sobbed," Marrama recalled. "It was the most exhilarating yet terrifying moment because I was afraid of what people would think."
Marrama has worked in Salem for about five years, and she flaunted her magic during the taping of "What Not to Wear," giving show host Clinton Kelly a psychic reading.
With her new fashion enlightenment, Marrama plans to run a glamour magic class.
"It's just nice for once in my life to turn heads, rather than to shake them," Marrama said. "The whole experience helped me grow up, it helped me move on.
"It didn't change me, it just brought out what was always there."
Staff writer Amanda McGregor can be reached at amcgregor@salemnews.com.
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