What Not to Wear: Great for Womens' Confidence

In a time of distorted body images in the western world, Stacy and Clinton might just be doing more than we think for the moral of women. "This was a life-changing experience!" is often the phrase the women (and sometimes men) exclaim at the end of every show. We, as the audience, don't see what is truly going on behind the scenes, but must admit that the confident posture and smile of Jane (and sometimes John) are genuine.

Perhaps a short description of the show is needed: a loved one of the target bad dresser sends a request to the What Not to Wear crew and if chosen, Stacy and Clinton fly to wherever it is the person in need of a makeover for the reveal. Jane is ever so shocked and embarrassed-that is, until that $5,000 credit card value is flashed in front of her eyes in exchange for her current, unflattering wardrobe. Tough love is the applied technique from here on out.

The women aren't sent to stores without some direction; the hosts criticize their current wardrobe in a humorous and somewhat cruel manner: "this is What not to Wear," is the message being communicated during this section of the show. The next phase includes the hosts presenting to Jane, ideal outfits suited especially for her body-type. Intermittently throughout the first half of the show, Jane is asked to enter a nightmare room rightly labeled the "360 mirror." This is where the audience feels empathetically offended for and with Jane. There does seem to be a valid point here: you cant escape your body if you want to accept it and you cant dress your body if you don't accept it.

The last step of show arrives just in time as Jane is convinced she will never wear her new wardrobe: "it just isn't me" she says. The hair stylist comes to the rescue with moxie. He knows how to compliment that new wardrobe into what that makes it "me" for Jane. Jane is broken down at this point: far too much tough love to leave the experience untraumatized. The make-up artist is Jane's consolation. She is suitably soft-spoken, motivating and therapeutic in her language. I must admit, it truly is amazing what a little make-up can do for these women: not in a superficial way so much as the way in which, finally, they can't take their eyes off of their glowing mirror image. Jane leaves ready to suit-up and show-off. Stacy and Clinton see the full transformation first and are often teary-eyed as they launch Jane off to reveal her confident self to friends and family.

The $5,000 ticket to the mall might make some cringe with jealous discontent, but I happen to know that many come across the show and feel compelled to keep it on their TV screen: the show's message is being communicated to a huge population of women and men alike. This grand amount of money isn't much when considering the number of people that are affected by this one bold contestant.

Diverse are those who appear on the show; they are of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, ages and occupations-this is the beauty of the show. Stacy and Clinton are always proving that there is no need to change one's body and no need to buy clothes that suit one's ideal and often unattainable form; Jane only needs to flatter what she has and this can make a world of difference in how she feels about herself. If we really think about appearance, what matters is the way in which we carry ourselves; others judge from there. Pure confidence radiates and affects how others see us, regardless of our physical form. The main point is that, when attempting to become more confident, a good place to start might be outward appearance and inner healing or acceptance can be triggered from there.