Gina Coleman

Whether she's at Oprah's party or around town, Gina Coleman knows how to look chic

Gina Coleman

Photograph By Cybelle Codish

To look at Gina Coleman, the glamorous owner of the Green Room Salon & Spa in Southfield, it’s hard to envision her as the car- and sports-loving tomboy she was growing up.
But with the help of a friend who loved clothes and fashion, Coleman shifted gears after college and cultivated a love for stylish clothes. Now a business-savvy mother of two, Coleman likes to shop for her basics twice a year. For charity events, she’ll splurge — something she did when she and her husband, former Detroit Piston Derrick Coleman, were invited to the party for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in Oprah Winfrey’s backyard in Santa Barbara, Calif. (The couple had previously met Obama at Seldom Blues in Detroit.) Definitely a splurge-worthy event, Coleman turned to New York stylists Christian Choy and Zuri McDaniels.
Invitations to Winfrey’s September garden party suggested that women wear flats for greater ease when walking around the grounds.
But Coleman opted for a pair of Michael Kors wedges, saying, “I didn’t go with flats; my husband is 6 feet 10.” She wore the shoes with an off-white Gucci halter-style dress. “It was perfect for Oprah’s house,” she says.
More typically, Coleman says she’s drawn to BCBG. “It’s my favorite,” she says. She heads there for her casual looks, and loves the Max Azria collection because she says she can find outfits “straight off the runaway.”
For cute, wearable pieces, she says: “I am starting to get into Theory.” And, like so many women, she turns to Old Navy for her tanks and everyday wear. Though not a huge department-store shopper, she sometimes heads to Neiman Marcus, and considers its shoe department a favorite. “I have fallen in love with Christian Louboutin,” she says, as well as Cole Haan for comfort and beauty. “I also like Tender; that was one of the big finds here,” says Coleman, a New Jersey native who moved to Detroit when Derrick was traded to the Pistons.
To keep current on fashion trends, Coleman reads magazines like US Weekly. “A lot of people go for the gossip, but I actually skip the stories,” she says. “They are so current on what everyone’s wearing that you can really get a feel [for] all different kinds of looks.”
She also says that, while it’s fun to see what others are wearing, the secret to looking chic is to know your body and know what works. “Feeling sexy and fabulous comes within,” she says. “Don’t feel like you have to [follow] every trend, and don’t worry about splurging on one great piece.” — Aleene Jinn Hang