Loading ...Clinton Kelly tells crowd what to wear at Macy’s
By Nadine Kam
Nadine Kam photos
Clinton Kelly, of TV’s “What Not to Wear,” received a warm welcome from petites and non-petites alike at Macy’s.
Petite women had a lot of their style questions answered by Clinton Kelly at Macy’s Ala Moana June 7 when the co-host of TLC’s “What Not to Wear” presented a brief fashion show and style workshop.
Poor thing, he’s from New York City where walking 20 to 40 blocks is no big deal and quite pleasurable given all the sights and wonderful places to stop along the way, whether you want to shop or eat. So he thought he could walk from Waikiki to the mall. Well, he didn’t count on Hawaii’s intense sun and lack of shady, inviting sidewalks. So he was hot and exhausted when he got there, but did his showman’s best in entertaining the crowd, just like the show!
Kelly asked for volunteers to be critiqued. So he asked this woman why she would come to see him in athletic shoes, when they so obviously bring her ensemble down. He recommended she try ballet flats instead. He said her skirt also could have been narrower.
Questions from the audience were pretty basic, like “do you have to match a black bag with black shoes.” I believe the last time that was done may have been in the 1940s/50s. Do these women who want advice not notice the explosion of color and pattern featured in every newspaper, magazine and TV show? Kelly said that combining color, pattern, texture and shine is what creates interest in an outfit.
Empire seaming just under boobs and above the natural waistline creates the illusion of length, camouflaging a thick waist, bottom-heavy figure, and making legs appear longer.
Like learning any skill, from swimming to playing poker, dressing well takes paying attention and practice. Kelly reiterated that it takes WORK and trying on A LOT of clothes, and not just whining after trying on one item and complaining manufacturers don’t make anything that fits.
Although it’s not shown on the TV program, one of its secrets is that every person on the show goes through a bra fitting and underneath those clothes are body shapers that lift and shape the right way. (The look to aim for is the hourglass figure. It doesn’t have to be extreme, but most women do want to show they do have a little waist indentation.) He said our boobs should hit midway between shoulder and elbow. Of course the whole room looked down to check. (He said you can’t check that way; you have to look in a mirror.)
I wanted to shoot some video as he helped the winner of a $500 drawing to pick a suitable wardrobe, to share additional insight as to how to make trends work for real women, the before and after. Unfortunately, Macy’s was nice enough to give her the option of press/no press, and she chose anonymity. I thought that was rather selfish of her considering Kelly’s generosity of time and the store’s generosity in giving her the prize. Most corporations would have made agreeing to press coverage a stipulation upon winning.
I was actually hoping one of my friends could have won so he could tell her, “No more hippie tunics for you.” We went shopping afterward and that’s all she wanted to look at. I kept telling her no and she wouldn’t listen. Like a bad dog.
Oh well, even if she only got part of Kelly’s message, it’s great that he was able to visit. There’s nothing like seeing real body camoflauge techniques live to demonstrate that dressing well is possible for every figure type.
Walking shorts for petites should taper and fall at the knee. The length is especially crucial as a counterbalance for the top heavy. Although the model’s top falls at the crotch, Kelly recommends hemming tops closer to the waistline to elongate the legs. Ideally, a cropped pant should fall at the widest part of your calves. Having a seamstress to take in and hem clothes is also the show’s other secret of fit and Kelly said, makes the difference between looking good and looking great.
More elongating empires, and upper-body detailing that give the illusion of shape and height. The ideal female shape is the hourglass, and the right clothes can give the illusion of a nipped in waist.
Great and interesting article.