Posts Tagged ‘What Not to Wear’

TV WEEKLY RECAP: The CW’s Stylista and Stacy London!

October 24th, 2008

On Wednesday night I tuned in for the premiere of Stylista, a new reality show where 11 aspiring fashion writers compete for a cushy editorial job at Elle magazine.

There was editrix Anne Slowey, Elle’s Fashion News Director, swooping into the office in front of her trembling would-be assistants and tossing her coat on an underling’s desk without saying a word.

So Devil Wears Prada of you, Anne!

I’ve worked in the field for quite sometime and (thankfully!) never witnessed any editor toss a coat on a desk other than her own. So I had to ask, was that the real Anne?

 “I have a feeling it’s bit of a caricature,” Anne admitted, live and in Manolos, at the Stylista premiere party, held at Kiehl’s beauty store on Manhattan’s East Side.

 

Contestant William Buckley (a.k.a. Clockwork Orange boy) concurred. “She’s actually really laid back and real,” he shared.

 

But the amount of work the contestants do is all for real.

“We were asking people who had very little, if any experience at all, to do things senior editors do,” said Anne. “I was impressed and amazed with how well they all did.”

Good to know. It’s obvious Anne knows her stuff, and I want to see her nurture the potential in these young dreamers as the show goes forward.

Well, all except Megan. She’s a bi-atch!

So what else does a gal reporter do when she’s got one of the powerful women in fashion media standing before her? Ask what is the must-have item this season for my winter wardrobe!

“It’s all about tuxedos jackets,” Anne instructed. “And if you’re not willing to go for something crazy like the Louis Vuitton platforms, a long, soft clutch is the number one trend.”

I’ve got the Amex out a raring to go!

Catch Stylista Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.

Speaking of fashion… I had an amazing experience shopping and supporting a good cause on Sunday.

What Not to Wear’s Stacy London held a private shopping event at her NYC abode to raise money for the Animal Medical Center of Manhattan.

My girlfriends and I gorged on delicious treats from the Halcyon Gourmet and raided Stacy’s racks, all the while getting fashion advice from the guru herself.

Yep, I died and went to fashionista heaven!

What Not to Wear airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on TLC.

Until next week, fellow fanatics!

 

PS: For some great tips on looking your fashionista slimmest, check out the "10 Tips to Cheat Your Size" spread in this week’s OK!, featuring advice from experts like L.A. image consultant and FashionWith Confidence DVD author Wendy "The Image Lady" Brown!

 

Ask Stacy London!

November 19th, 2007 / Author: cwillett

First, Stacy London told you What Not to Wear on her hit fashion makeover show, but starting this Friday, the style guru is going to be Fashionably Late when her new talk show debuts on TLC.

To celebrate, Stacy is going to take questions from OK! readers and answer them in the only way she knows how. So, if there’s anything you want to ask her, whether it’s about picking the perfect outfit, throwing the perfect relationship or finding (and keeping) the perfect man, ask away — either in the comments below, or by e-mail to: asktheeditor@okmagazine.com

Fashionably Late premieres Friday, Nov. 23, 10 p.m. ET/9 CT, only on TLC.

Q&A: Stacy London

September 18th, 2007 / Author: cwillett


What Not to Wear host Stacy London is a fashion guru. On her weekly makeover show she helps fashion victims everywhere find their personal style. But things weren’t always so easy for Stacy. She grew up with psoriasis. She found out she had the disease when she was 4, and after a tough childhood battling the disease, she’s never looked back.
Currently, Stacy is a spokesperson for the National Psoriasis Foundation’s
Psoriatic Arthritis Total approach to Health (PATH) program, which offers tips on how to improve overall health and live with a positive attitude. For more information on the PATH program, visit Psoriasis.org/PATH. OK! caught up with the TV host to discuss fighting the illness, her TV shows and her fashion faux pas!

How’d you get involved with the foundation?
Two things got me involved. Years ago I had an ex-boyfriend, who also had psoriasis, who told me about the foundation. I’m very much aware of the affects of the disease. That was my first introduction. My second was when the foundation approached me. I want to help empower people to have a very realistic approach to all aspects of your lifestyle in dealing with these kinds of diseases and also, you know, for lack of a better term, take the bull by the horns and really master living a full life with these kinds of diseases. I really believe that will lead you to a better, sort of more positive outlook on your life.

How did you overcome it?
Humor. I really tried to be funny. I think that’s what made me constructively critical of other people. I know what’s cruel and what isn’t, and I am very, very clear about that line. And there were people who could laugh with me and make fun of having a disorder with me, that I loved because I got it. I got the fact that they were accepting of me even when they were joking with me, and that’s different then somebody being cruel. And that’s the difference between What Not to Wear and sort of telling somebody they look crappy. We are really looking to be constructively critical. I think that constructive criticism in this country is sort of really underrated because what underlies it is a true heartfelt concern. So if you’re going to joke around with somebody that has a psoriatic disorder, do it in a way that obviously has some heart to it.

Is there anyone that you made over on What Not to Wear that hasn’t kept up with it that you wanted to just shake and say, "Why didn’t you just listen to me, you look like a mess again"?
Oh please, yea, there are oodles of those people. But they will learn in their own time. You can’t push people too hard. You can’t push a mule. But some people look like that because they are in their comfort zone. And whether or not that winds up being some sort of protective shield for them physiologically, whatever it is, people come to realizations in their own time. What’s great about our show is that in a very short amount of time, if someone is willing to sort of take it on they do, in fact, feel great, and that’s all we can hope for.

Do you look back on stuff you’ve worn and been like, "Oh my god, how did I leave the house like that, what was I thinking during this period of my life"?
Don’t get me started! It was from about the age of 9 till 30. Those 20 years were not pretty. It started with glasses and braces when I turned 9, and it just basically got worse from there. I mean look I grew up in the ’80s, it was a tough time!

Did you always want to have your show own like Fashionably Late?
Well, you know I feel like it’s sort of the next step. I’ve been doing What Not to Wear for five years, Clinton’s been doing it for 4. The rules of fashion styling after a certain point are pretty finite, so this is another way to really explore fashion in style, the larger picture of style, in a more kind of a girlfriend party kind of way. I just love the idea of that, I love playing hostess. And I love the idea that you can still get information and get how-to take-away stuff, but do it in this great sort of party setting that you don’t even need to leave your couch to enjoy, I mean there’s just nothing better. You can go watch my show on Friday night, go shopping on Saturday and have killer shoes that everybody is talking about on Monday. What could be better?

 

By Jocelyn Vena

TV RECAP: WEEKLY ADVENTURES IN A TV WORLD

September 7th, 2007

To glam it up for New York City’s Fashion Week and the New York Television Festival, I met with celebrity hairstylist Julien Farel at his Madison Avenue salon. He’s coiffed the manes of Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera and The New Adventures of Old Christine’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and is currently beautifying tennis stars at the US Open (airing on USA). “I want you to have big, fluffy, sexy hair,” he whispered seductively in my ear before adorning me with sexy, show-stopping ringlets.

I then hit the television festival for Fox’s special screening of the New York produced series New Amsterdam. Danish born actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays John Amsterdam, a 17th century settler who has lived in the Big Apple for the past 400 years (his rent-stabilized apartment has gotta be dirt cheap!). As a New York homicide detective, John uses his immense knowledge of the city to solve crimes. I caught up with his onscreen partner and alum of HBO period drama Rome, Zuleikha Robinson, who confirmed that playing a man who’s lived through four centuries has turned Nikolaj into an onscreen Casanova. “He gets to kiss a new girl every week,” she exclaimed, referring to John’s flashbacks where he recalls his lovers over the years. Zuleikha classified the time-bending series as a love story since John can not end his immortality until he finds his soulmate. “And I’m a sucker for romance,” she laughed.

I also stopped by up-and-coming designer Frank Tell’s spring fashion presentation on the Lower East side. The models were rocking bone straight, backside-grazing hair, courtesy of stylist Topher who works at Arrojo salon. That’s in Nick Arrojo, the hair transforming guru from my favorite reality make-over series, TLC’s What Not to Wear. See, everything in life really can be related back to TV!

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