It's like, in the middle of all this, I'm paranoid that you'll think I don't like poetry.

Buffy ,'Empty Places'


Non-Fiction TV: I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own

This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]


Liese S. - Jul 02, 2012 11:50:09 am PDT #19501 of 23273
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."

I try to watch it every once in a while, but I just get so angry. I want that done for me, but, you know, without the trauma. I am trying to improve my wardrobe, but every time I step more conservative, I get all miserable and cranky. I need to figure out a way to make my existing wardrobe more flattering.

I bought a fabulous dress at the Ann Taylor outlet, though. It's b/w stripey, but looks like a normal person's dress. Okay, well, it looks like a very unusual normal person's dress. But I love it. And I got a pair of cargo pants for 7 dollars. I need to go back and see if I can buy out the rest of their stock in my size, because honestly, that's what I wear.


kat perez - Jul 02, 2012 12:11:48 pm PDT #19502 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

A friend of mine is in the Style for Hire network and has met Stacy and Carmindy and Ted Gibson and I am always trying to convince her that they should just do a show called What to Wear for people who just want to add more fabulosity to their wardrobes but don't necessarily need to ditch everything about their old looks. And of course, make me the first guest on the show because . . . free clothes!


Atropa - Jul 02, 2012 12:30:53 pm PDT #19503 of 23273
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.

A friend of mine is in the Style for Hire network and has met Stacy and Carmindy and Ted Gibson and I am always trying to convince her that they should just do a show called What to Wear for people who just want to add more fabulosity to their wardrobes but don't necessarily need to ditch everything about their old looks.

The What Not To Wear shows bug me, go figure. Plus, a friend of mine was on one of them, and right about the time that the hosts tossed her Fluevog boots and the black & red metalflake glitter vinyl corset (that she had purchased from me) was when I kinda had a rage black-out.

Do those shows really throw away the things they tell people to get rid of? Tell me they at least donate them to thrift stores or something. YOU DO NOT THROW AWAY FLUEVOGS, G-D DAMMIT.


Dana - Jul 02, 2012 12:31:11 pm PDT #19504 of 23273
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.

They donate them.


Atropa - Jul 02, 2012 1:01:47 pm PDT #19505 of 23273
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.

Thank goodness.


Scrappy - Jul 02, 2012 1:06:56 pm PDT #19506 of 23273
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

And they let people go back and claim stuff we see them "throw out."


askye - Jul 02, 2012 1:17:27 pm PDT #19507 of 23273
Thrive to spite them

Unless something is really horrid and then they do toss it out. But I think that's mostly for clothes that are damaged.

I'm mixed about What Not to Wear. I don't think they do too well with people who aren't exactly mainstream, but a lot of the women who go through the process really do seem to have a boost in confidence and self image.

There are people who don't. I remember one woman, I think she said Fuck about every sentence (there was a lot of bleeping) and she was really reluctant to go on the show. She just sort of picked things that went with the rules. She'd been bleaching her hair and the show darkened to her normal color and she hated it. They actually took her blonde again after the reveal but before the party.

But then there are other women, like the young woman from Utah who'd gained 20 lbs or so since getting married and she wore the same clothes that were falling apart. Her pants legs were held together by safety pins. She broke down the first day because she was so unhappy and things didn't fit.

Stacy and Clinton made a point of telling her - the problem was the clothes, it wasn't her. There's nothing wrong with her if her clothes didn't fit, she just needed to find different clothes. She looked a lot happier at the end of the make over process.

But then I think, "they'd probably try to make over Jilli!" not that Jilli would be on the show but if someone were trying for a Jilli look they'd make them over to mainstream.


flea - Jul 02, 2012 3:50:28 pm PDT #19508 of 23273
information libertarian

I had never watched it, but I just watched the streaming episodes of What Not To Wear from the website. I am not very impressed with the clothes people (too much pop psychology, and they pick the same style clothes for everyone), but that hair guy is wonderful. Three for three, all the women loved their hair - it felt like them, but better. He should have his own show.


Atropa - Jul 02, 2012 3:53:56 pm PDT #19509 of 23273
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.

(too much pop psychology, and they pick the same style clothes for everyone)

This. THIS. I would love to see a show that focuses on helping people find their personal style, instead of dressing them in whatever is in fashion that looks marginally okay on them.


Dana - Jul 02, 2012 3:54:42 pm PDT #19510 of 23273
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.

You haven't really seen the show until you've seen someone have a breakdown about their hair. The last episode before this that I watched, the woman had a fit that her hair was colored a little darker. She was so invested in being a "blonde bomshell."