“What Not to Wear”

“What not to Wear” is a show on the TLC channel that is basically all about picking apart people’s wardrobes. It just so happens that the people that end up on this show all have the most bizarre collection of clothing. That’s where the two fashion-forward hosts come in to play. Stacy London and Clinton Kelly are there to tell the fashion victims just how bad they look. And trust me, they are definitely not afraid to be brutally honest with these people.

The show pretty much follows the same routine every time I watch it. It begins with what could be called a summary of the episode that you are about to see. You’ll get a few glimpses at the fashion victim’s outfits and see a few shots of them out trying to update their wardrobe. After that, it cuts to the usual opening that introduces the viewers to the hosts. This section shows Stacy and Clinton out on the street “magically” transforming people into fasion law abiding citizens. When I say “magically” I mean they literally push a woman into a store and she comes out a second later looking gorgeous. Of course, before this the woman looked like she just rolled out of bed.

After the viewer is stunned by the “powers” of the hosts, they are actually able to get the scoop on the participant of that episode. The people who become participants are nominated to be on the show by their friends and family. The friends and family nominate the person by secretly video-taping them for two weeks and pleading on the video for Stacy and Clinton to come and help their friend shape up their wardrobe. The person doesn’t find out about any of this until he or she is literally ambushed by Stacy and Clinton and an entire camera crew. Once that person figures out what’s going on, they are told that they can have a Bank of America card with $5000 on it to buy themselves a whole new wardrobe in New York. The catch is, they have to agree to give up their entire current wardrobe, meaning whatever Stacy and Clinton say goes, goes. They all then proceed on to watch the secret footage to further humiliate the surprised nominee.

The next step is for the fasion victim to pack up their entire wardrobe and bring it with them to New York in order to be critiqued by the hosts. Once there, the participant needs to face the dreaded 360 degree mirror. This involves putting the person in a small mirrored room which forces them to see themselves from all angles in their offensive clothing. This is yet another place for Stacy and Clinton to point out just how bad his or her fashion choices are. Clips of the 360 degree mirror are shown between clips of the fashion savvy hosts ripping through all of the clothes and literally throwing away the really offensive stuff into the garbage. This almost always ends up with Stacy and Clinton throwing everything out and the participant fighting and failing to keep their favorite pieces of clothing.

After they have finished going through the entire wardrobe, it’s time to get down to business. The two fashion experts begin the participant’s fashion education by showing the person three example outfits that would be perfect for them. From these outfits, a list of rules are made for the fashion victim to keep in mind while out shopping for their new clothes. They have two days to spend the $5000. The first day they go out alone and the second day, Stacy and Clinton go along to offer their fashion expertise. While out on the first day of shopping, the participant is being watched by Stacy and Clinton. They make funny comments about how poorly the fashion offender is doing. Generally, The first day involves the participant complaining about outrageous prices and saying the they, “Just can’t see themselves wearing that.” Little comments like that really make Stacy and Clinton mad which, in turn, means a good laugh for the viewer.

The next day, with Stacy and Clinton in tow, the participant spends the rest of their money and ends up with a more sophisticated wardrobe. Once they have their new clothes, they get a hip new haircut and, since the participant is almost always a woman, they also get a brand new make-up routine. After they get all of this new stuff, it’s time to put it all together for the final product. The newly trained fashionista comes out in three different outfits and thanks Stacy and Clinton for all of their help. Once and a great while, the change is so drastic that it actually brings the hosts to tears.

The last step of the show involves the participant going home to reveal their new look to the people that nominated them. This usually entails the participant walking into a huge party of people chanting his or her name until the person finally walks into the room and everyone roars their approval. It all wraps up with the participant explaining how grateful they are and how much they appreciate the experience.

Analysis

After describing the show in such close description, I really notice how alike all of the episodes are. They all involve a person who is always a woman. This person is always represented in the worst way possible as far as their looks go. They always just happen to be shown in their pajamas and sweats instead of any nicer outfits. This is probably done to make the viewer believe that the participant is actually much worse off than they really are. I suppose if the audience saw the person looking at least halfway decent, the show wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining.

Another thing I noticed while describing “What Not to Wear” is how brutally honest Stacy and Clinton are with the people who are nominated. They don’t hold anything back when talking to the participants about how bad they look. I can recall a few episodes where the person was told they look like a prostitute or a bag lady. Stereotypes such as these are thrown around so often during the show that the viewer probably doesn’t even notice all of them. Again, this is all probably done to make the audience laugh and feel entertained.

I think overall, the repetition throughout all of the episodes is there to make the viewer feel comfortable. They know what will happen everytime they tune in yet, they still get excited to see it. A viewer can take comfort in the fact that they are going to see a certain show at a certain time and they’re going to feel a certain way after they’ve seen it. Recently, the layout of the show was changed a little bit and I know that it just isn’t the same for quite a few people that watch it. They want the show that they have become accustomed to seeing. Basically, change is not good when it comes to a show that people watch religiously.