[PREVIEW] How We Learned To 'Wear Whatever The F [We] Want'

When “What Not To Wear,” a fashion makeover show starring stylists Clinton Kelly and Stacy London, first aired on TLC in 2003, the two of us were in the midst of our high school years — smack dab in the middle of style self-discovery and anxiety. If anyone yearned for clear-cut style guidelines, it was us.Clint and Stacy were funny, beautiful, and cool; two fashion experts in their early 30s. They seemed genuinely invested in helping people dress better, but the show was… of the moment. “What Not To Wear” was a makeover show with a healthy dose of humiliation and fatphobia, baked into each episode’s very structure. The ambush! The 360-mirror! The snarky voiceover! And then there were the stringent rules that stuck with us for decades, like how a woman should never wear horizontal stripes, lest she appear wider than she really is. The aughts were an era of vigilant body policing — taut midriffs good, mom jeans bad — and fashion “rules” were just one way to enforce mass submission. More than twenty years after its premiere, Clint and Stacy are back on our TV screens, with a new makeover show and a different message. The times have changed and so have they, and out of that seismic shift, “Wear Whatever The F You Want” was born. The new show is softer and the clothes are more playful. Each episode is about making fashion dreams come true, no matter what they are. A woman who grew up Amish wants to explore a Dolly Parton-inspired look. A trans man wants to find his authentic style after feeling like he had to let go of more feminine pieces after his transition. Clint and Stacy use their expertise to help each subject refine their personal style in a bespoke way. There aren’t really any rules, just a whole lot of joy. And the final looks absolutely crackle as a result. We started thinking about the ways our own relationships with fashion and style have changed over the years. Like Clint and Stacy, we’ve let go of the rules of our adolescence and instead have found ways to experiment with texture, structure and shape. But how did that happen? What exactly changed? What was the moment that we have ourselves permission to play? And how have we settled into styles that truly feel like us now that we’re far into our 30s? We discuss it all during this episode. Please take a moment to appreciate our personal fashion evolutions below:If you liked reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Patreon!Give us feedback or suggest a topic for the pod • Subscribe • Request a free subscription