The thing I like the best about this show (and there are many things I like about it) is the chemistry between Stacy and Clinton, and the way they interact with the makeoveree of the week. It was seriously lacking here. They seemed wooden and uncomfortable, and they didn’t seem to care for the makeoveree at all.
Also gone was the funny repartee. The dialogue consisted of either Stacy or Cilnton saying, “How does in feel to be in (some French boutique) and able to buy anything you want?” Then the makeoveree says “Great!” What the fuck was she supposed to say? This exchange occured three or four times.
Then of course they were in Paris. They must have talked about how wonderful it was to be in Paris twenty times. I know that Paris is fashion mecca but come on. I don’t ever want to go to Paris or even set foot in France. Even so, I may have enjoyed it if they had, I don’t know, actually filmed part of Paris instead of the inside of high-fashion boutiques.
That’s another thing, none of them seemed to sincerely enjoy being part of the experience. The makeoveree wasn’t happy or bubbly or cheerful. She seemed to be more nervous than anything, and took much of it for granted. Clinton actually left Stacy and the makeoveree alone for a while, and headed down the street. I thought he might have been bored. Stacy tried to be enthusiastic but came off as a big dork.
Plus, I may not understand haute couture, but I thought the clothes the makeoveree came away with were just plain ugly and didn’t fit very well. They are not going to look very good in five years anyway; they are going to look very dated. She would have been better off just shopping for some “normal” clothes that fit well and didn’t cost $12,000 for a fuzzy coat. In five years those “normal” clothes would either have been replaced without regret or still wearable while that hideous pink weirdfabric suit will look like a dinosaur. Plus, she’s going to have to wear a huge bib whenever she eats anything and she’s going to have to be carried into buildings so her $2,000 shoes don’t get mud on them.
I thought this episode was devoid of everything that made the show great. There’s no way a normal person could afford any of those clothes, or even want them. And it wasn’t fun to watch. I give it half a star, just because Clinton looked especially cute in those glasses.
I agree. I usually watch WNTW and sigh, thinking, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to be able to shop in all those great stores in NYC and get such great quality, stylish clothing? Oh, well.” So even ordinary WNTW is nothing at all like my own shopping experiences, but at least I can learn about classic, flattering styles and look for similar clothing where I live. The Paris trip was even further removed from my life, and it was, frankly, a little boring to watch.
I agree completely. Totally boring. The vast majority of the world will never buy stuff like that in a million years, so watching someone be showered with high fashion clothing was pointless. The spent way too much of the episode gushing about how much everything cost, when the real benefit of watching the show (at least for me) is seeing how good clothing can make a so-so body look good.
I’m usually way excited to see the transformation at the end, but in this case, it was just like “Woo, $6k coat that you can only wear once every few months, because it’s too stand-out to work into a regular rotation”.
I was also disappointed that they didn’t comment on her hair/makeup at the end…I thought she looked beautiful, but all they could do was blabber on about the cost of the clothes. Feh.
I couldn’t possibly bring myself to spend $50,000 on clothes. The most I could do is probably a couple hundred dollars, and that’s including the cost of a nice suit. To spend the rest of the money, I’d probably buy things that’d sell well on ebay or something…
To be honest, I hate “What Not to Wear.” Maybe I’ve been seeing the wrong episodes, but I never see anything wrong with the outfits the women have to begin with. The hosts are just plain ruthless and the changes always seem unnecessary to me. Not to mention the fact that the hairdresser seems to have a bizarre fixation with lopping off all long hair.
“What Not to Wear” and “Clean Sweep” are just too painful to watch.
I thought that episode was boring as well. I liked the stuff the gal got from Calvin Klein, tho.
I agree that quite a few of her purchases were uber trendy and will look rather dated pretty quickly. If I had been given $50,000 and a trip to Paris, I would have bought a lot more jewlery, a fabulous gown, and a whole shwack of staples that would last for 10 years.
Also, I didn’t think that Clinton and Stacy were really into the winner either.
The weird thing about Clinton/Stacey not being that into the winner is that it seemed like THEY picked her. From the way they talked, it came across to me that they were an integral part in deciding who would get the $50k spree, and she was specifically chosen because she was very much into the hoity toity high fashion thing. In face, their very first segment after arriving in Paris was the three of them sitting in a café discussing the woman’s very first big fashion purchase…she said she’d saved up 3 paycheck’s worth of money (about $1700) to buy a jacket by some famous designer I’d never heard of.
So, this woman was clearly chosen for this specific project because they thought she’d be the best fit for spending $50k on super-expensive fashion…but the whole thing just came off seeming really lackluster.
Me, I’m just glad they cut that orange lump off the top of her head.
Meh. It had some good points, but the girl just didn’t seem happy. I liked that Clinton & Stacey weren’t overly hostile to her, but I have a feeling that a lot of the beginning was edited out. And she looked sooooooo much better after. I’m glad it wasn’t 2 hours like I thought it was going to be.
But $50,000 on clothes??!? Against a strong euro, she really didn’t get many clothes. I think it would have been more interesting to take her to fashion shows or something. Nah, I just can’t see ever spending that kind of money on clothes. But I definately would have bought the signed Marc Jacobs autographed rhinestone flats, but I think that was the cheapest thing they showed.
I think there was only one thing that I liked about what she bought, and that was the pants. I think I would have bought those pants, too, and maybe the shoes. The autographed shoes were nice, but I don’t think I would have ever worn them. But I have a love of cute shoes because my big feet don’t fit into anything that would look good on them. I can only admire them on other people. sigh
Disagree with the first assertion, but I will say it’s harder to spend a ton of money on clothes if you’re a man. As a guy, you could buy five tailored suits for $1,000 each (give or take). Add two spare shirts (one in the main color and one in an accent color) to each outfit, shirts each $50, and that’s another $500. Silk ties to round out the collection of suits, $50 each, $250 total. Black shoes, brown shoes, and new tennis shoes, high-end $200 each, another $600. Three sets of workout clothes from your university / high school / local sports team’s apparel collection, $150 total if you really pushed. Two pairs of jeans: one very nice, $100; one for casual events, $50. A few soft shirts or polos in classic colors, $75 each: $450 total. Hell, maybe I could take a few pairs of Air Force issue uniform items and get a tailored uniform out of the deal!
…anyway, I’ve made my point. I could maybe spend $7,500 on clothes without getting into some really silly stuff. Realistically, I get by spending far less than that, bargain-hunting for clothes that fit well and look good.
As for your second assertion, it’s spot-on. I think both of the hosts are needlessly cruel, and if you’ve ever read anything about brainwashing, their emotional manipulation should make your stomach turn. Watch how they shatter the person’s confidence and then make the victim dependent on their approval. Then they parcel that approval out, one smile or friendly comment at a time, while still intermittently berating the victim. As someone who has seen passive-agressive parenting and also been through military training, I find their methods a little blatant, and it makes me a little queasy to watch how easily they do it.