Why I dislike Trinny and Susannah

Look at those bright and shiny faces. The devil comes in many guises, I guess. As most of my teenage ladyfriends (I love that word, it makes everyone using it sound like an old fashioned gentleman in tweed) I used to love watching What Not To Wear. It was practically the only show on air dealing with clothing and style. If I stumbled upon it, I immediately called out to my sister and we would watch it together, making fun of the clothes of the victims, criticizing their choices after they got their shopping spree and feeling all exultant and warm when friends and relatives got to see the new and improved women (and occasionally men). Of course, there is the nasty part of Trinny and Susannah completely wrecking the confidence of their protégées, commenting on their body shape, ripping up their clothes, cross-examining their loved ones to come up with a pseudo-psychological profile that always comes down to a person being unhappy and not living life to the fullest because of his or her wardrobe. And lo, how the clientele of this self proclaimed fashion police thrived after they were on the show! Or so we are told.

Let me be clear: I do not have a thing against make overs and I do think they can make a change in how one feels about oneself. It doesn't build confidence per se, but positive feedback from others and the insight that changes can be made, that skins can be thrown off, can do wonders.

What I resent in What Not To Wear is the assumption that you most certainly cannot be happy if you don't dress according to you age, lifestyle and body shape. I think that Trinny and Susannah victimize two kinds of people. The first are the blissfully unaware: women who don't really pay a lot of attention to the cloth on their backs, or gals who do put a lot of effort in their looks, but don't realize that they look like they're engaging in a dress-up because their clothes are hopelessly outdated. Whe all have an aunt that is part of this group. The second target exists out of women who dress differently because they think it renders them a certain unique and quirky quality, or just because they like other styles, or because they rank humor and personality above looking as if you just stepped out of a magazine. You know, the Tilda Swintons and Lady Gagas of this world.

Well, and I could not be more serious stating this, I endlessly prefer these both kinds of people over the vast masses of people who buy the same shirts at the H&M and accessorize them with the same stuff from Zara or whatever, just because it's in vogue to look a certain way and their friends all have the same stuff and how can you possibly be cool if you don't? And even if they look good, they still give the impression they just stepped out of The Attack of the Clones.

So please, if people don't care about their looks, LET THEM. If people do care and you think they look utterly ridiculous but they feel good in what they're wearing, LET THEM. Don't send them to the M&S with 2000 pounds. And if you must give them a make over, fucking listen to what they actually like instead of imposing stuff on them that simply doesn't represent who they are.

These girls are going on and on about how they boost confidence without any diets or plastic surgery. Call me crazy, but I think anyone who gets the full attention of two pseudo psychotherapists and a party of friends celebrating them, telling them how wonderful they are and how good they look, will gain self respect. New clothes or not.