I cherish the time I am able to spend pottering around in Joseph-Beth Booksellers above almost anything else. It is heaven to me. I can stay there for six hours and still not be ready to leave. I have. It was on such a heavenly excursion to Jo-Beth that I discovered a book called "What Not to Wear". The cover showed two 30-something women in simple but well cut clothing against a stark white background. It interested me immediately and in what may have been one of the most fortuitous moves of my young life, I opened it.


The introduction claimed that all women can look stylish if they know what not to wear, that looking good isn't about wearing the latest trends, but about knowing what does and does not suit you (maximizing your assets and minimizing your defects) and that while your best friends may not tell you about your fashion mishaps, Trinny and Susannah (the women on the cover who would soon become household names to my mother and I) are not your best friends, and they will. The contents of "What Not to Wear" consisted of chapters with titles such as "No Tits", "Saddle Bags", "Big Butt", and "Short Legs". I was intrigued. I immediately turned to the Chapter called Saddle Bags to see what these two bad-ass British fashion journalists had to say about my most loathed body part. I quickly learned that I should attach myself at the hip (literally) to the A-line skirt and that slash neck tees can draw the eye to my shoulders and make my hips appear more proportionate. I was in love.


Soon I was watching "What Not to Wear" on BBC America religiously. I was there following along and learning all I could as Trinny and Susannah styled the nation (that's the U.K., not the U.S.) one hopelessly mismatched housewife at a time. What I love about Trinny and Susannah's style is that it's all about using clothing to show off a person's natural beauty. It's about making the most of what the good Lord gave you. This show is about everyday women with imperfects bodies. It's not about dressing up super models. Trinny and Susannah themselves have average female figures that they are able to poke fun at and use as examples whenever the opportunity presents itself. Trinny has very short legs and a long torso, so she likes to wear dresses over pants (this make her legs look longer) or layer tee-shirts (to break up her long torso). Susannah has huge breasts, so whenever the duo is dressing a well endowed client Trinny likes to do a little squeezed tests to see who's are bigger. I delight at this incredibly forward European way of doing things. As an insecure and body conscious American girl I am envious of the way Trinny and Susannah talk openly about the female body with little to no reserve.


The absolutely delightful Englishness of the show is half the fun. I've learned all kinds of fashion related British idioms including trousers (pants), polo neck (turtle neck), vest (sleeveless tee shirt), knickers (panties), mutton dressed as lamb (an older women wearing teenage style clothing), and sloan ranger (I'm not exactly sure what it means but it has something to do with wearing pearls). Now, just a few years after my life changing discovery in Joseph-Beth Booksellers, I am happy to report that my Trinny and Susannah addiction has caused me to buy all three of their books and see every episode of their TV show. What's more, every morning when I pick out my outfit for the day I wonder what Trinny and Susannah would think of it. Until next time.

Love. Evolve.
Celeste