What not to wear

I guess everyone has their shameful TV addiction. Mine is "What Not to Wear" - the reality show where they pluck clueless fashion disasters off the street, throw out and make fun of their entire wardrobes, give the victim a large amount of cash to go shopping for new clothes and voila! complete makeover. I'm not sure that I agree with the premise of these shows- that fashion really can change your life -but when you see how some of the fashion disasters dress before the makeover you wonder how they ever managed to get a job, be promoted, find a mate, find friends, find a place to live etc. We're talking overweight 60 year olds in micro miniskirts, a man who wears stained bright pink suits all the time - you get the picture.

When I lived in the US, I used to watch the American version with Stacey and Clinton, more recently I've watched the UK version with Trinny and Susannah on BBC Prime. And I've just discovered the Italian version "Ma Come Ti Vesti?" with Carla and Enzo. I have to say my favourite version is the original British one. I love Trinny (Susannah is just OK although she's a good straight woman to Trinny).

So what US-UK-Italy cultural differences have a gleaned from my addiction to the various versions of this show? All three shows feature two well-heeled, perfectly groomed hosts who educate the fashion disasters in hem length, heel height and colour. In the Italian and US show it's a (seemingly) gay man paired with a skirt wearing ultra-feminine woman but while the man on the US show generally wears taseful sweater-vests over button down shirts, Enzo on the Italian version wears things like checked Mr Toad suits and cravats so it's a bit hard to take his fashion edicts seriously.

The British show has a strong social class theme, not surprisingly I guess. In some promotions Trinny and Susannah are described as "sloaney" and the majority of their victims seem to be (based on accent and job) decidedly not sloaney and I guess that's part of the dynamic. Mr Higgins takes Eliza and instead of changing her accent gets her a whole new tasteful wardrobe. Although bad taste is definitely not a class thing and they do have a few victims with similar accents to their own. I have noticed that they tend not to force the more upper class victims (who also, as it happens, seem to be older) to strip to their undies in the dreaded 360 degree mirror whereas the other victims are not spared.

I've just discovered the Italian show (Ma Come Ti Vesti?) and it's a lot of fun. I guess in keeping with Italian salaries the fashion disaster victims are given a smaller amount of money than on the US and UK shows. They tend to use less colour and more black and they include sexy, non-practical, non-supportive lingerie as a wardrobe item to be bought. And participants are always clothed in their horrible "before" outfits when looking in the 360 degree mirror. No need for a literal "brutta figura" ie. 360 degrees of sagging, middle aged flesh under TV lights clothed only in droopy underwear.