Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Threads

Fit to be snide

Wildly popular What Not to Wear co-host Clinton Kelly dresses down women as he dresses them up, as he did in Tampa with his usual exacting elan.

By SHARON FINK
Published April 7, 2007

Clinton Kelly, co-host of What Not to Wear, says the top worn by Andrea Bigus of Spring Hill is the perfect length: It hits the middle of her rear end. “Divide your butt and conquer it,” he says.
	[Times photo: Justin Cook]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Justin Cook] When it comes to prints, plus-size women should go bigger, as on this dress from Style & Co. at Macy’s. [Times photo:Associated Press/PR Newsphoto] Queen Latifah, top, keeps her accessories big. The dress of Niecy Nash, below right, has a distinct top, midsection and skirt.

TAMPA

Four years of his life devoted to exorcising bad fashion habits from women. One hundred and seventy-five hours of television spent on the particularly nasty demons of 175 women. A rabid following in the United States, Canada and South America.

"And you come to see me wearing horizontal stripes," Clinton Kelly deadpanned incredulously to the plus-size woman in the big, baggy T-shirt.

Six hundred women who had come to see the co-host of TLC's What Not to Wear at Macy's in Tampa's WestShore Plaza roared with laughter. Even the woman under scrutiny, Betty Trascritti of Tampa, chuckled good-naturedly. She knew she was breaking a cardinal rule.

"Have you heard of my show?" Kelly asked Trascritti as she faced him on a runway.

"Actually, I watch it," she responded.

"Are you watching with the sound off?" Kelly shot back.

Another audience roar.

Practical advice delivered with snark has given Kelly rock star status among fans of the U.S. version of What Not to Wear, a fashion makeover show that began in Britain and whose British version can be seen on BBC America. He even gets to go on tour, which is why he was at the Macy's at WestShore Plaza last Saturday.

The department store chain sends Kelly across the country to talk about clothing sizes that don't get a lot of high-fashion attention, such as plus sizes, his topic on this day. He had plenty of dressing tips as he interacted with the audience and narrated a runway show of plus-size clothes. But he also had advice women of all sizes could use.

Straight from the runway, and from an interview before the show, here are Kelly's tip sheets:

Advice for all women

- Get a professional bra fitting.

- Get your clothes tailored.

- Shapewear is your friend. (These three things are the mainstays of every What Not to Wear makeover. "That's why people look so good at the end.")

- The most flattering length for a crop pant is right beneath the widest part of the calf.

- Elongate the neck and elongate the leg, and you elongate the woman.

- Coral is one of the most flattering colors for just about every skin type.

- If a V-neck is too low for you, put a T-shirt, tank top or camisole underneath it. (And every woman should have seven camis in her wardrobe in basic colors.)

- If you don't know what kind of shorts to wear, go with walking shorts. They come to just above the knee and are very flattering.

Fans of What Not to Wear are familiar with the show's dreaded 360-degree mirror room, in which the subjects are forced to stand wearing some of their favorite premakeover outfits while co-hosts Clinton Kelly and Stacy London rip them apart.

During his appearance at Macy's in Tampa's WestShore Plaza last Saturday, Kelly took volunteers from the audience to stand in front of a figurative 360-degree mirror while he dissected their outfits of the day.

We present two of those brave volunteers, with Kelly's comments and how they reacted afterward.

WHO: Andrea Bigus, 27, Spring Hill, who works at a law firm. She volunteered herself.

KELLY'S OPENING LINE: "Let me tell you what you're doing wrong."

THE TOP: "This color is really just washing you out. It's the color of flesh. . . . However, the shape of the shirt is not bad. It's got the empire waist; it comes away from your body." The length, which hit the middle of her rear end, was perfect. "What you're doing here is what I like to call the 'divide and conquer.' Divide your butt and conquer it." Tops that are too long create more width. Ones that are too short put the focus on the whole bottom. "However, if you divide the rear end in half and what you get is a little 'peep of cheek' on the bottom . . . you get half of it."

THE BOTTOM: Andrea had rolled up the bottoms of her capris so she had cuffs. "I'm not a huge fan of the cuff," Kelly said, "especially because it breaks up the line of the leg. What I want for you is a long, straight line." She then rolled down the cuffs. "Now you look like you're waiting for a flood," Kelly said. "What are you doing?"

KELLY'S SUMMATION: "Like the idea of the top, hate the color. Like the idea of the capri pants."

ANDREA'S RESPONSE: She thought Kelly gave good advice. She recently started her job and wants not only to look professional but also to get the most versatility out of her five basic outfits.

*    *    *

WHO: Betty Trascritti, 37, of Tampa, a music teacher at Tampa's Bryant Elementary. She was volunteered by her daughter Lizzie, 13, who got Kelly's attention by baying "Help herrrrrr" while pointing to her mother. "Are you related to this person?" Kelly asked. Said Lizzie: "I am her daughter. Very shamefully."

KELLY'S OPENING LINE: "You're breaking a lot of rules."

THE TOP: Her baggy T-shirt had thin red, white and blue horizontal stripes. "The horizontal stripe is increasing the horizontality of your look," Kelly said. The shirt, which covered her rear end, also was too long. In an interview before the event, Kelly said, "When you are a plus size, you cannot wear big, baggy clothes. (They) make you look bigger."

THE BOTTOM: Betty was wearing cotton athletic shorts. "The shorts are from hell," Kelly said. Betty said she liked them because they were comfortable. "They're comfortable for the treadmill, okay?" Kelly countered. "They are not what you wear out to the mall. . . . You've got to wear clothing out in public."

KELLY'S SUMMATION: "You need more structure in your life. You've gotta stop doing the horizontal stripes. Try a skirt." Trascritti said she hates skirts. "Well, try a walking short instead of these."

BETTY'S RESPONSE (WITH HELP FROM LIZZIE): "I think it was good advice. I know the rules. Whether I want to choose to follow them or not . . ." Betty paused and laughed. To her, it comes down to comfort vs. style.

"How about comfortable style?" Lizzie interjected.

"It's hard," Betty said. "Usually comfort wins out with me."

" 'Cause you're a wimp," Lizzie replied.

"No, it's because I'm married 14 years," her mother said, laughing again.

Betty said she and Lizzie have talked a lot about her applying for a What Not to Wear makeover. Lizzie, who thinks Kelly gives "supergood advice" but sometimes on the show picks clothes that are too trendy, was ready to go home and nominate her mother.

Sharon Fink can be reached at (727) 893-8525 or fink@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 6, 2007, 09:10:59]