Learning about life with What Not To Wear
Ever since a few seasons of TLC's What Not To Wear showed up on Netflix streaming, I've been watching it while I eat lunch. I'm late to the party, of course, because the show ended last year, but I'm enjoying catching up, and I wish there were more than just a few seasons on Netflix. At first, I watched on a whim, not really expecting anything beyond some interesting makeovers and a few snarky comments from hosts Stacy and Clinton about fashion. I soon began to realize, however, that personal style and fashion are about much more than the superficial. Here are a few insights I've gleaned from this deceptively silly show.
1. Be the best version of yourself: Now, I know this gets into Oprah territory, but this point is actually important. The people on What Not To Wear have many different body types and looks, they come from a variety of backgrounds, and they display many different personalities. Clinton and Stacy never tell the contestants to change any of these things -- they just try to help each person play up what makes them uniquely beautiful. Slowly, each person on the show learns that they can be work-appropriate without sacrificing personality, age-appropriate without sacrificing youthfulness, and pulled-together without sacrificing comfort or practicality. Oh -- and wear clothes that fit. This seems obvious, but it's amazing how many people walk around wearing clothes that are too big or too small. Forget about whatever "size anxiety" you many have, try stuff on, and figure out what fits!
2. The clothes should enhance, not hide, the person: This is sort of a reiteration of point 1, but it's worth mentioning again. It's amazing how many people on the show are using their clothes to hide from the world. This goes for the person wearing shapeless, dumpy outfits as much as it does for the person wearing over-the-top trashy outfits. In both cases, the person is completely eclipsed by their clothes. For the person wearing those clothes, this hiding is often a way to ignore self-esteem issues they've been carrying with them since their early teens.
3. Confidence is the most important accessory: I'm pretty sure Stacy or Clinton or both have said that exact line at some point in the show. It may be cheesy, but it's the truth. The key to "pulling-off" any look you want is confidence!
4. Good style is redemptive: Now, neither Stacy nor Clinton have ever said that, exactly, but I believe it's true, and here's why. We live in a world saturated with ridiculous female body images and expectations, fashion trends that are fit only for a 12-year-old girl, and the constant pressure of social media applications that can make it easy to believe that everyone else is naturally pretty, stylish, confident, and on-trend while we poor lugs struggle just to get out of bed and wear something more than yoga pants each day. The world of fashion and style is, in many ways, corrupted (just like everything in the world). But that doesn't mean that the world of fashion and style is bad. Instead, the world of fashion and style is ripe for redemption. When you take a style meant for an adolescent and you make it your own, when you figure out what looks good on you and makes you feel good, when you strive for health and wellness instead of a photo-shopped ideal, when you stop hiding and start shining, when you cut yourself and the world some slack when you need to wear sweatpants -- and when you spend some time taking care of yourself by putting on jeans and a blazer instead -- these actions are redemptive. We can take a corrupted system and make it beautiful. We can respond to a fashion culture that promotes sameness by celebrating our uniqueness (this, by the way, is what I think fashion and style blogs do). We can wear clothes that celebrate color and shape, balance and line, life and beauty -- we have the choice to make our personal style about the "beautiful extras" instead of extra burdens.
I could go on.
But instead, if you find yourself on spring break this week, with a little extra time on your hands, I recommend a few episodes of What Not To Wear. You might just find some life lessons thrown in with the fashion tips.
1. Be the best version of yourself: Now, I know this gets into Oprah territory, but this point is actually important. The people on What Not To Wear have many different body types and looks, they come from a variety of backgrounds, and they display many different personalities. Clinton and Stacy never tell the contestants to change any of these things -- they just try to help each person play up what makes them uniquely beautiful. Slowly, each person on the show learns that they can be work-appropriate without sacrificing personality, age-appropriate without sacrificing youthfulness, and pulled-together without sacrificing comfort or practicality. Oh -- and wear clothes that fit. This seems obvious, but it's amazing how many people walk around wearing clothes that are too big or too small. Forget about whatever "size anxiety" you many have, try stuff on, and figure out what fits!
2. The clothes should enhance, not hide, the person: This is sort of a reiteration of point 1, but it's worth mentioning again. It's amazing how many people on the show are using their clothes to hide from the world. This goes for the person wearing shapeless, dumpy outfits as much as it does for the person wearing over-the-top trashy outfits. In both cases, the person is completely eclipsed by their clothes. For the person wearing those clothes, this hiding is often a way to ignore self-esteem issues they've been carrying with them since their early teens.
3. Confidence is the most important accessory: I'm pretty sure Stacy or Clinton or both have said that exact line at some point in the show. It may be cheesy, but it's the truth. The key to "pulling-off" any look you want is confidence!
4. Good style is redemptive: Now, neither Stacy nor Clinton have ever said that, exactly, but I believe it's true, and here's why. We live in a world saturated with ridiculous female body images and expectations, fashion trends that are fit only for a 12-year-old girl, and the constant pressure of social media applications that can make it easy to believe that everyone else is naturally pretty, stylish, confident, and on-trend while we poor lugs struggle just to get out of bed and wear something more than yoga pants each day. The world of fashion and style is, in many ways, corrupted (just like everything in the world). But that doesn't mean that the world of fashion and style is bad. Instead, the world of fashion and style is ripe for redemption. When you take a style meant for an adolescent and you make it your own, when you figure out what looks good on you and makes you feel good, when you strive for health and wellness instead of a photo-shopped ideal, when you stop hiding and start shining, when you cut yourself and the world some slack when you need to wear sweatpants -- and when you spend some time taking care of yourself by putting on jeans and a blazer instead -- these actions are redemptive. We can take a corrupted system and make it beautiful. We can respond to a fashion culture that promotes sameness by celebrating our uniqueness (this, by the way, is what I think fashion and style blogs do). We can wear clothes that celebrate color and shape, balance and line, life and beauty -- we have the choice to make our personal style about the "beautiful extras" instead of extra burdens.
I could go on.
But instead, if you find yourself on spring break this week, with a little extra time on your hands, I recommend a few episodes of What Not To Wear. You might just find some life lessons thrown in with the fashion tips.
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