Kory Helfman assists Cole Barnett at Ken’s Man’s Shop in Preston Hollow. Image from Ken’s website.
The reality TV show Love is Blind will return tomorrow, Feb. 10, with three encore episodes set in Dallas and starring (mostly) Dallas personalities.
I’ve done tough things in service to stories I have written. I have seen bodies pulled from lakes, I’ve jumped from an airplane, I have spent nights and weekends studying housing and real estate data.
But a couple months ago, when I chose to interview Lakewood resident Kory Helfman, owner of Ken’s Man’s Shop in Preston Hollow, about his experience outfitting contestants on a reality TV show about finding true romance with a stranger, I watched said series, Love is Blind, in its entirety. And that was rough.
Hehe. I kid. I kid. It was fun. Far more exciting than learning about the low-income housing tax credit.
As explained in our February magazine, the series features young men and women meeting from individual pods that hide their appearance. They spend a few episodes “dating,” hoping to fall in mutual love with another, sight unseen.
Pairs who connect become engaged and decide during a finale, at the altar, if they will tie the knot.
It’s legit dramatic, emotional and, though the middle episodes drag a bit, gripping. I went from not caring to, if we’re being honest, caring too much and following all of the players on Instagram.
While living together in the Dallas area and navigating their weird relationships, couples spent episodes hitting up several Dallas and Fort Worth businesses and preparing for a dicey wedding day.
That’s where Ken’s came in.
When producers called Helfman in spring 2021, he said “I will,” because he had worked with them on Married at First Sight, which, is a different show from, and a predecessor to, Love is Blind.
Though Ken’s air time in Love is Blind is fleeting, the contestants and production crew were in the store for two days, not only acquiring menswear but also filming pivotal content.
Our February story delves into LIB from a fly-on-the-wall perspective (Kory Helfman’s), but anyone interested in the specifics of the styling, attire, accessories and methods employed during the fittings should check out the deets on Ken’s website.
Cole Barnett in a tie from Ken’s
A large part of Ken’s business is dedicated to weddings and wedding attire. (Full disclosure: I worked at Ken’s when I was in college at SMU, and, in my opinion, anyone who shops Ken’s for casual, business or formal attire and accessories is a sharp-dressed dude.)
“For the contestants, we made sure to tailor each individual’s apparel based on their unique style, preferences, personality and more,” according to the shop website. “We’ll do the same for you when you shop with us.”
A couple other tidbits learned while reporting this story: Kory Helfman is closely related, first cousins, with former Bachelor host Chris Harrison, which had nothing to do with the story but still, right?
Also, Kory’s father, Ken Helfman, though retired, enjoyed the episode of LIB featuring the shop. While he took little interest in the show as a whole, he was thrilled at how good his store looked on TV, Kory Helfman says.
Both Helfman and I also learned that more people watch reality TV dating shows than you might imagine. “Like a football coach in Arkansas texted me that the football team was watching it in the locker room,” he told the Advocate with a laugh. (When I first called him about the show and story his first words were, “Not you too!”)
No wedding attire was needed, at least not that we are aware of, during the three new Love is Blind Dallas episodes, dubbed Love is Blind: After the Altar, which drop Friday, Feb. 10.
Although, there are hints that one of the unmarried couples will be re-engaged. We’ll be watching for sightings of neighborhood people and businesses and hoping that Alexa’s dad Adam Alfia, a part owner of Shell Shack, FWIW, makes another appearance.
