TV Review: What Not to Wear
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this show's core positive message
(anyone can look great) can help mitigate the pressure to look
like an airbrushed supermodel that young girls face daily. But
during most of each episode, the subject experiences sarcasm
and mild ridicule. The TLC version is based on a BBC show of
the same name; in the original, two women with soft, caring
voices speak frankly to the makeover subjects with dry humor.
In the American version, the fashion experts sound less
sympathetic and sometimes a bit mean.
Families can talk about the nature of beauty and whether we all
need to look like models. What assets do the people who appear
on this show have -- including their talents, personalities,
and apparent character? Is that attractive? How do they react
to change? Why might people want to stay the way they are, even
if it doesn't work for them? How do you think these people's
"new looks" will affect their futures? Does it matter? Should
it matter? What kinds of messages do makeover shows send in
general? And why do you think most of the subjects are women?
Do men have less pressure to change their public image?
WHAT NOT TO WEAR has a simple, ultimately admirable message: No matter your shape, your size, or whatever physical liabilities or hang-ups you have, you can be beautiful. For dramatic effect, the show starts with an ambush. Friends and family of someone in need of fashion advice nominate her (or sometimes him) for a makeover. The subject is secretly filmed until -- surprise! -- fashion experts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly show up and announce they're giving her a $5,000 wardrobe and the benefit of their advice. In New York, the subject learns that said advice is wisecracking and mild ridicule, and a set of fashion rules. She's sent shopping and makes mistakes, prompting wisecracks from Stacy and Clinton, who eventually arrive on the scene to help her choose flattering clothes. After expert hairstyling by Nick Arrojo and a grooming and makeup lesson from Carmindy, the subject looks fantastic -- without plastic surgery, weight loss, or anything at all drastic.
The beauty of What Not to Wear is that even though the subject is initially mocked, she learns that she doesn't have to change any part of her core self in order to pep up her image. And when the subject shows off her changed image to Stacy, Clinton, and her friends and family, she's as delighted as everyone else at her transformation.
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