Thursday, November 20, 2008

A Meeting with my Stylist...Clinton Kelly!

Yes, that's right. My stylist Clinton Kelly was in town today and I got a chance to "catch up with him"...like the other 300 women that showed up at Macy's.

I saw Clinton last year and as before, he did not disappoint. He is as engaging and endearing in person as he is on the show and even cuter.

Clinton initially talked about his top 4 tips and here they are, a good reminder to all of us of What TO Wear.

1. Get a professional bra fitting - this one step will make your clothes look better. Ideally "the girls" should be in-between your shoulders and your elbows. Most forms used by designers follow the tween-shoulders-and-elbows proportion so clothes will most likely fit better if yours do too.


2. Shapewear is your friend - most of the women fitted on the show will be fitted with shapewear. It's a great way to hide underwear lines and bulges.

3. Tailoring is for everyone, not just men. Men just assume that they will have to get tailoring done when they buy a suit, and yet we women think it should fit off the rack. Whether it's shortening or lengthening pant or skirt hems, Clinton says that almost all the clothes on the show are tailored.

4. You gotta try on LOTS of clothes. Clinton says that they really do shop from store open to store close for two days for the What Not to Wear make-over person. With two full days of shopping they are happy if they come away with 7 full outfits. Did you catch that? SEVEN outfits for two whole days of shopping. So his sympathy for someone who tries on two pairs of pants and calls it quits is NIL.

As hard as it looks on television Clinton swears it's actually harder than what's shown. Every minute you see on TV takes about 1 hour worth of filming. So a 45 minute show has been edited down from 45 HOURS of filming. Still, in the midst of all the hard work, Clinton says it's rewarding to hear back from people who have been on the show of the promotions, raises and finding the love of their lives that have happened subsequent from their makeover.

He said a few of the trends this season are purple, short or modified trench coats and plaid. I was inspired enough to even buy a purple shirt, on clearance of course. Right now is a GREAT time to shop in department stores as they are getting rid of the last of the Fall items and looking toward Winter so if you're going out to shop, remember to Shop Savvy!

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