A makeover is a radical change in appearance. When the word is used to describe a change in human physical appearance, it may imply a change in clothing, haircut, or cosmetics. A personal makeover might also include plastic surgery, dental veneers, or contact lenses. Sometimes a makeover is used to refer to non-physical things, such as a makeover of character, personality or attitude. It can also refer to a dramatic change in construction, such as when a building is renovated or is refurbished. Makeovers are usually referred to in a positive manner, as a way to start fresh or improve your life.
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unknown individuals rather than professional actors. Reality television came to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the global successes of the series Survivor, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises. Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for the events being depicted on-screen. Competition-based reality shows typically feature gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges or by the viewership of the show.
A television show is any content produced for broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, cable, or internet and typically viewed on a television set, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings.
What Not to Wear originated on BBC Two in 2001, hosted by fashion gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine who also co-authored several fashion books based on the show. The first episode was broadcast on 29 November 2001.[2]
BBC Two is the second flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tends to broadcast more "highbrow" programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore free of commercial advertising. It is a comparatively well-funded public-service network, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public-service networks worldwide.
Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine are two British fashion advisors, presenters and authors. They originally joined to write a weekly style column in The Daily Telegraph which lasted for seven years, but they are best known for presenting the BBC television series What Not to Wear for five series and then Trinny & Susannah Undress... on ITV. They have written several fashion advice books which have become bestsellers in Britain and America, and released their own clothing and underwear ranges. Trinny and Susannah have also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as makeover experts. They are estimated to be jointly worth £10 million. Over the course of their career, Woodall and Constantine have dressed over 5,000 women.
In 2002 during the show's second series, Jeremy Clarkson and Lesley Joseph appeared in a special episode, where Constantine and Woodall gave them a fashion makeover.[3] After Clarkson appeared on the show, he commented "I'd rather eat my own hair than shop with these two again".[4] During the process of choosing which celebrity to give a makeover, Constantine and Woodall compiled a list of who they thought were the worst dressed celebrities.[5] Also in 2002, Constantine and Woodall won a Royal Television Society Award, for being the best factual presenters.[6] The show was also nominated for the Features Award at the BAFTAS in both 2002 and 2003 but was beaten both times.
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for co-presenting the BBC TV show Top Gear with Richard Hammond and James May from October 2002 to March 2015. He also currently writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun.
Lesley Diana Joseph is an English actress and broadcaster, best known for playing Dorien Green in the television sitcom Birds of a Feather from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2014-2017. Other television credits include Absurd Person Singular (1985) and Night and Day (2001–03).
Trinny and Susannah did a spin-off show in 2003; What Not to Wear on the Red Carpet which featured comedian Jo Brand and news presenter Sophie Raworth having a special makeovers to attend a BAFTA Award ceremony.[7] By the end of series three, viewing figures had reached a respectable 2.8 million on BBC Two.[8]
Josephine Grace Brand is an English comedian, writer and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on Saturday Live, she went on to appear on The Brain Drain, Channel 4's Jo Brand Through the Cakehole, Getting On and various television appearances including as a regular guest on QI, Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You?. She also makes regular appearances on BBC Radio 4 in programmes such as The News Quiz and Just A Minute. She is currently the presenter of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice. In 2003, Brand was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.
Sophie Jane Raworth is an English journalist and broadcaster. She works for the BBC as a newsreader, anchoring BBC News at One. She also regularly appears on the BBC News at Six and occasionally on BBC News at Ten.
Following a ratings success, What Not to Wear was promoted to BBC One in 2004 to air its fourth series.[9] The format was changed slightly, where a 30-minute show with one makeover was replaced by a 60-minute show featuring two makeovers.[8] The series that aired for the first time on BBC One began on 29 September 2004, and had success with viewing figures which peaked at 5.26 million during the episode aired on 20 October 2004.[10] For a Christmas special aired on 22 December 2004, Trisha Goddard was made over by Constantine and Woodall,[11][12] where the episode generated 7.42 million viewers.[13] Other What Not to Wear specials saw them giving David Baddiel[14] and Ingrid Tarrant makeovers. Tarrant, however, did not wear what Constantine and Woodall had selected, and changed her dress in the back of the taxi whilst driving to the award ceremony.[15] The fifth series began on 19 October 2005, where viewing figures still remained strong. On 16 November and 23, 2005 ratings reached 4.91 million[16] and the series averaged with 4.8 million viewers.[17] In 2005, Britney Spears revealed that she was a fan of the show when she commented "The girls are so dramatic in the makeovers, you just get caught up in it. Would I go on the show? Never say never.?"[18]
BBC One is the first and principal television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was renamed BBC TV in 1960, using this name until the launch of the second BBC channel BBC2 in 1964, whereupon the BBC TV channel became known as BBC1, with the current spelling adopted in 1997.
Patricia Gloria Goddard is an English television presenter and actress best known for her morning talk show Trisha, which was broadcast on a mid-morning slot on ITV before later being moved to Channel 5. She has been based in the U.S. since 2010, when she started working on Maury as a conflict resolution expert. She hosted a U.S. version of her own talk show, named The Trisha Goddard Show, from 2012 until it was cancelled in 2014.
David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in The Mary Whitehouse Experience and partnership with Frank Skinner. Besides comedy, Baddiel is also a published novelist and a screenwriter who is the author of the children's novels The Parent Agency, The Person Controller, AniMalcolm and Birthday Boy.
In April 2006, it was announced that Lisa Butcher and Mica Paris would take over as presenters of the BBC show, after Constantine and Woodall signed a contract with ITV to host their new show Trinny & Susannah Undress.[19] The new series hosted by Butcher and Paris managed to reach viewing figures of 4.26 million on 19 October 2006[20] and the first show of the series attracted 4.2 million viewers.[17] The seventh series, which consisted of eight episodes, was aired on BBC One starting in August 2007.[21][22] The first episode claimed 3.1 million viewers, about 1 million less than the first episode of the last series.[23]
Lisa Butcher is an English fashion model and TV presenter.
Mica Paris is a British singer, presenter on radio and television and occasional actress.
ITV is a British free-to-air television network with its headquarters in London, it was launched in 1955 as Independent Television under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to BBC Television, that was established in 1932. ITV is also the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, its legal name has been Channel 3, to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time, namely BBC 1, BBC 2 and Channel 4. In part, the number 3 was assigned because television sets would usually be tuned so that the regional ITV station would be on the third button, with the other stations being allocated to the number within their name.
The British version of What Not to Wear has been broadcast around the world, with non-English speaking countries viewing the series in subtitles. The show is broadcast in:
In Italy the local version of the show, called Ma come ti vesti?!, hosted by Enzo Miccio and Carla Gozzi, is broadcast on Real Time. There is also local version in Russia which is called Snimite eto nemedlenno (Снимите это немедленно, literally Take it off immediately) that broadcasts on STS.
Every episode features an "ambush" style confrontation and makeover of a woman, and sometimes a man, who has been nominated by their friends as particularly unfashionable. The subject has their current fashion sense evaluated. The presenters take particular regard to the participant's body-shape and self-image (with the help of a 360 degree mirror cabinet) and determine what will work best for them. The participant is then given £2000 to go shopping for a new wardrobe, which is supposed to be in accordance with the advice they have been given. Although they are free to spend how they wish, they are spied upon and counselled on the ways of fashion by the show's two hosts.
Trinny and Susannah were often known for their tactile behaviour with the participants and for frequently referring to breasts as "tits".[4] They were also renowned for their direct comments on the show, where Trinny's comments have reduced some participants to tears, and Susannah once spontaneously pulled a female candidate's underwear down during filming as her knicker line was visible.[27]
Episode format
The participant is nominated by their friends and relatives for being particularly unfashionable. The show then secretly follows and videotapes the nominated participant for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, the fashion experts review the secret footage and prepare to surprise the participant. During the surprise visit, the participant is offered a £2000 cheque to buy a whole new wardrobe.[28] But they must hand over their entire existing wardrobe and be prepared for some harsh criticism and to receive fashion advice from the two experts.[28]
On the first day of the participant's visit to the studios, there is a review of the secret footage along with the participant. On the videotape, there are normally comments from family members and friends about the participant's style and appearance. The experts then go through their entire wardrobe, which has been brought with the participant. They critique the items and then most of the clothing gets discarded or even cut up with scissors. The participant is asked to put on an outfit, that they like and think most suits their figure, and then must face the 360 degree mirror.[29] The experts comment on why the outfit does not suit them.[28] The experts give suggestions throughout the day and then present three different outfits to the participant to help illustrate the rules that they will need to follow as they shop for new clothing.
The participant is then given two days to shop for new clothing at a suitable and selected location. On the first day, they are left to their own devices, to test how much they have learnt about which clothes are "suitable" and comply with the rules. On the second day, the experts ambush the nominee and comment on whether the previous day's purchases complied with the correct guide lines as to which clothes to buy. The second day, the fashion gurus sit in a café and watch live video footage of the participant shopping and comment on whether the participant is following the rules given. If the participant is struggling, they rush to the scene to help. The experts then accompany the participant around the shops, providing advice and assistance, often being critical.
After all the shopping, hair stylists and makeup artists work on the nominee's hair and makeup respectively. After the makeover, the participant reveals themselves to the experts and are brought to a full-length mirror to see their transformed state. The participant models three outfits for the experts, often showing confidence and poise. The participant departs and, soon after, reveals themselves with their transformed appearance to their friends and family. Sometime after the participant's makeover, the fashion gurus pay them a surprise visit, in order to establish whether they have adhered to the rules for their clothing.
In later series, the format changed. It saw the hosts receiving hundreds of videos from certain groups of people that had nominated themselves for a makeover, instead of other people nominating them. There were select groups such as women facing menopause and those who had lost partners. The hosts would have to watch and choose five people from these videos, as to who they thought were in need of help the most. The five selected candidates were then invited to the studios where they would be interviewed on why they thought they needed a makeover à la What Not to Wear. Then two candidates were selected and offered a What Not to Wear makeover. The series also saw the hosts spending a day as the two participants, where they would drive their cars, work in their jobs and live in their homes. There, they would make the participant's husbands a meal, meet their other close family and venture into the participants wardrobe to dispose of any "unsuitable" clothing. The rest of the episode would sustain the format seen in previous series.[30]
Publications
Woodall and Constantine book.
Trinny and Susannah are the authors of several fashion advice books based on the series. Their books have proceeded to become number one bestsellers in Britain and have been translated throughout the world.[31] Other success included when the book What Not to Wear gained Trinny and Susannah a British Book Award in 2003 for "The TV & Film Book of the Year".[32] The book also outsold Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson when sale figures reached a total of 670,000 copies.
Books by Trinny and Susannah linked with What Not to Wear include:
What Not to Wear (2002)
What Not to Wear 2: For Every Occasion (2003)
What Not to Wear: The Rules (2004)
What Not to Wear: For Every Occasion (2004)
Popular culture
A lethal far-future version of the show appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Bad Wolf". Set in the year 200,100, Trinny and Susannah provided the voices of killer androids Trinn-e and Zu-Zanna who offered makeovers in a more gruesome form.[33]
On the show Big Impression, Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona took to spoofing Trinny and Susannah's presenting techniques on What Not to Wear.[34][35] Trinny and Susannah were also spoofed in a sketch on 2DTV when it showed them giving Santa Claus a makeover, where they substituted his red suit for a casual shirt and trousers.[36]
Trinny and Susannah appeared on Children in Need in 2004, which saw them giving EastEnders characters Little Mo and Mo Harris a makeover in the style of What Not to Wear.[37] In an episode of the last series of French & Saunders, Trinny and Susannah are mentioned as being "bullies" in a Celebrity Grading Report sketch where Dawn French was the headmaster of a celebrity school where she had to write comments on various celebrities.
Related Research Articles
Susannah F Constantine is an English fashion journalist, advisor, television presenter, author and designer. Her second book, co-written with her fashion partner Trinny Woodall, What Not to Wear, has won her a British Book Award and sold 670,000 copies.
Sarah-Jane Duncanson "Trinny" Woodall is an English TV celebrity, Founder of TRINNY LONDON, fashion and make-over expert, television presenter and author. In 1994, after ten years working in marketing, Woodall met Susannah Constantine whom she joined to write a weekly fashion column for The Daily Telegraph. This led to the launch of their own internet fashion-advice business and the release of their first fashion-advice book.
Stacy London is an American stylist/fashion consultant, author, and magazine editor known primarily for her time as co-host on What Not to Wear, a reality television program that featured wardrobe and appearance makeovers. After graduating from Vassar College, London started her career as a fashion editor at Vogue and transitioned into being a stylist for celebrities and designers. She moved into television by co-hosting What Not to Wear with Clinton Kelly, and doing fashion reporting for Access Hollywood, The Early Show, and the Today Show. From 2009–2010, she was a celebrity spokesperson for Pantene, Woolite, Dr. Scholl's, and Riders by Lee. She co-owns Style for Hire and is the creative director of Westfield Style.
Ready2shop.com was a British dot-com fashion advice business co-founded in November 1999 by fashion gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. Backed by venture capital from J.H. Whitney & Co. and Atlas Venture, the business ceased trading after running out of funding following major cuts in staffing in November 2000. It was dissolved at the end of July 2001.
Trinny & Susannah Undress... is a British reality makeover and fashion-themed television programme on ITV featuring fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.
What Not to Wear was an American makeover reality television series based on the British show of the same name. The show premiered on January 18, 2003, and aired on TLC in the United States. What Not to Wear was hosted by Stacy London and Clinton Kelly.
The Princess of Wales Hospital is a district general hospital in Bridgend, Wales. It is managed by the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board.
A personal stylist advises individuals on new fashion trends, clothing styles, colours and make-up. A personal stylist is not to be confused with a wardrobe stylist, who selects the clothing for published editorial features, print or television advertising campaigns, music videos, concert performances, and public appearances made by celebrities and models. Personal stylists typically work one-on-one with the client, while Wardrobe Stylists are often part of a larger creative team collaborating with a fashion designer, photographer, art director, hair stylist, and makeup artist to put together a particular look or theme for the specific project.
Trinny & Susannah Undress the Nation is a British reality fashion-themed television documentary series on ITV featuring fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.
Queen's Gate School is an independent day school for girls in Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London, England.
Capsule wardrobe is a term coined by Susie Faux, the owner of a London boutique called "Wardrobe" in the 1970s. According to Faux, a capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items of clothing that don't go out of fashion, such as skirts, trousers, and coats, which can then be augmented with seasonal pieces. This idea was popularised by American designer Donna Karan, who, in 1985, released an influential capsule collection of seven interchangeable work-wear pieces.
Louise Roe is an English television presenter, model, and fashion journalist. She is notable for hosting BBC's The Clothes Show, E!'s Fashion Police, E!'s Perfect Catch, the MTV Europe Music Awards' Red Carpet Show, and The CW's TV show Plain Jane. She currently hosts STAR World's reality TV show Fit for Fashion.
iVillage UK was a British women's lifestyle website run by media company iVillage, owned by NBC Universal.
Trinny & Susannah: Stylar om Sverige is a Swedish/British television show, first aired on Swedish channel TV4 Plus on 28 March 2011. In each episode, Trinny and Susannah visit a Swedish city where they go out and find people that they think need some help with their style. Ten persons get chosen for each show and each gets a total makeover and the opportunity to walk the runway in front of their family and friends.
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