What
Not To Wear: Lifestyle vs. Fashion
By:
Kaitlin Wren
“What Not to Wear” used to be a guilty pleasure show of
mine. I loved watching Clinton and Stacy give snarky and humorous comments to
women whose fashion sense was “all wrong” and then watching them throw away
entire wardrobes to give the women $5000 and a fresh start to build up their
clothes collection with a new sense of style. I say “What Not to Wear” used to be a guilty pleasure because
after learning to think critically about what I watch, I realized that “What
Not to Wear” isn’t really a show about fashion at all. On the surface, “What
Not to Wear” is a superficial television show that tells women (mostly) how to
dress, but a deeper look into the text and dialogue between the hosts and the
women indicates that “What Not to Wear” is a show that empowers women to take
control of their life by first focusing on their exterior image, which in turn,
raises women’s self-esteem and confidence.
The truth in my claim lies completely within Clinton and
Stacy’s number 1 rule on the show: Clothes should bring you joy and make you
feel beautiful (TLC). “What Not to Wear” (WNTW) focuses on positive body images
and acknowledges the fact that all women are built differently. In a psychology
study done by Hyejeong Kim and Mary Lynn Damhorst, it was confirmed that body
dissatisfaction is positively related to concerns with fit and size of garments
(242). And right they are. The problem is, women think it’s them and not the
clothing. Too many women find themselves in dressing rooms with clothes that
don’t flatter their body type leaving them with low self-esteem and confidence,
and over time, too many of these dressing room encounters will force women stop
caring how they look and simply give up. This is when Clinton and Stacy step
in.
Clinton and Stacy realize that all women are built
differently and instead of taking the “cookie cutter” approach, they give each
individual woman tips on how to dress for their body type and accentuate their
best features, while concealing insecurities. It’s amazing what the right kind
of dress can do to a woman’s self-esteem. It can be safely assumed that the
opposite of Kim and Damhorst’s hypothesis would be true- if women find garments
that are flattering and fit well then they would be more satisfied with their
body image. Who knew Clinton and Stacy were fashion icons and psychologists?
There are plenty of examples of women on WNTW who have a
negative self-image and hide themselves behind boxy or unshapely garments because
they assumed they would never find clothes that would make them feel good about
themselves. The one woman I want to talk about is Becky from season 9, episode
1, who is a personal assistant for two celebrities and is often in the shadow
of them. She has a great job, awesome networking opportunities, and lives in
the beautiful city of Los Angeles; the only problem is she has no
self-confidence about her body. Clinton and Stacy came in to save the day and
give her tips on how to stand out in the glamorous city of LA instead of just
fit in. In her episode, she was caught wearing clothes that did nothing to
flatter her body type. Clinton and Stacy let her know how beautiful she was and
told her to try on things that had shape to it but the most important piece of
advice they left Becky with was “You have to fake it ‘til you make it” meaning
you need to wear clothes out of your comfort zone and prove that you have high
self-esteem and are worth something.
The way Becky was dressing was giving her no upward mobility in her career because she was always working with other celebrities who weren’t always pleased with their first impression. In another psychology journal, researchers state “you are what you wear”. Further research describes what this phrase means, that you are perceived as more competent, authoritative, trustworthy and productive when wearing business casual and the opposite is true (Karl, Hall, Peluchette, 453). Becky’s low self-esteem and poor dress made her seem less competent and powerful at work. This is a common problem among the women on WNTW and Stacy and Clinton take note of this problem and help empower women to dress for success in their workplace and hope it translates to their personal values and beliefs. In Becky’s episode, the hosts tell her to put herself first and feel good about yourself before you can fully help others. "It's not about the clothes," Clinton told one of the women featured in the first episode of the final season. "It's about being the best version of you that you could possibly be" (Van Loon).
Even Clinton admits that WNTW is more than just clothes;
it’s about feeling beautiful and confident in how you look. What Not to Wear is a show that is
empowering women to take control of their lives, starting with the basic
function of wearing clothes that make you feel beautful. Women have called
their experience on the show “life changing” and that they really just needed
someone to help them show their beauty to the world. Michael Klein from TLC
reports that Clinton and Stacy’s greatest reward is when they get letters from
participants' friends and family telling them how the person is doing and how
the show has improved their lives. With results like that it wouldn’t be fair
to call What Not to Wear a superficial
fashion show. This show is telling all women of all shapes, sizes, and age that
they are beautiful and worthy of having high self-esteem and it all starts with
an appropriate wardrobe and if you look good, you feel good.
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