The thing about What Not to Wear, though, is that nobody forces you to go on it. It's been on the air forever and if you want to know what it's all about, you can know. But if you agree to go on the show, then go on and get in the spirit of it. Get your not to wear on, you know? If you hate everything Clinton and Stacy choose for you, you can toss it all out and never wear any of it ever again. And I feel like Clinton and Stacy really do try. Like with this women from the show today, when she was so miserable and uncomfortable with the clothes she had picked out following their rules, they offered her all her old clothes back even steven. They even had them all packed up in her suitcases and ready to go. I think C&S do a fairly good job of trying to get to know the women who come on the show and tailoring their rules to what they want to look like, if these women let themselves be known, but yeah, they are very much in the mainstream of fashion. If you want quirky, well, they don't do quirk. I don't mind the pop pyschology of it all because again, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it and all that.
Ted Gibson is the hair guy and I love him so, so much. The same friend who works for Style for Hire goes to his salon in NYC and she went there even before he got on the show. She doesn't go to Ted (because that is bank!). She goes to Eugene. And Eugene is also fabulous. The folks in that salon really listen to their clients and give them what they want rather than all short, all the time (which was my main problem with Nick - although I really liked Nick, too) Carmindy is a fave of mine also. I'm not crazy about how she does her own make up but I think she always makes the makeover candidates look good and fairly natural. And she gives them stuff that they might actually be able to do at home, not some 20 step beauty regime with 17 different kinds of product. I appreciate that.
I understand the fear of cutting your hair off amongst black women because there is so much tied up in the black hair experience, especially long hair - who has it and who doesn't and how long can your hair actually get and on and on. In some circles getting even an inch trimmed off is viewed as a crime against humanity. Also, it can take a really long time for hair to grow back and if you have relaxed hair, there is the chance of breakage, etc. Hair cutting is a thing. I've never really understood it for other women but that's just because I assume that other people's hair grows faster, but I could be totally wrong about that.