What Not to Wear

The BBC's style bible, What Not to Wear (WNTW) made a return last week with it's second generation of presenters, soul diva, Mica Paris and model, Lisa Butcher. With our beloved Trinny and Susannah now defunct to ITV, super mates Mica and Lisa have taken over the mantle of anchoring this very popular series. Over the years WNTW has become a magnet for viewers and it's take on the way women and men see their bodies is compulsive viewing. The award winning series turned hard core fashionistas, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine into household names. Their no nonsense advice has resulted into a highly lucrative brand with spin off books and videos. When the duo left last year to host a new show, Trinny and Susannah Undress, on rival station ITV many people wondered who would be able to fill their stilettos. Enter Mica and Lisa, best buddies for years yet they are as different as night and day; Mica is voluptuous and exotic while Lisa is thin and blonde(ish). Mica was pretty big in the 80s and 90s and had a platinum album while Lisa won Elle magazine's Face of 87 competition and went on to become the Face of the 90s. The couple's debut last series brought an interesting dynamic to WNTW, what with Lisa practically having grown up around clothes and Mica's knowledge on image and projection. They must have done something right because the show was quickly recommissioned and is now back for another series.

I didn't really catch all of the last series with Lisa and Mica but I do remember watching one of the shows and sniggering at what Mica was wearing. For those of who don't know Mica comes across as a very vibrant character which is reflected in her dress sense. However due to the lack of decent fashion programmes and out of sheer curiosity I decided to tune into the new series. With compliments from the BBC I watched the first three episodes back to back. The first one was about identical twins who were alike in every way, the second one featured teenagers who dressed like they were middle aged and the third one and most interesting was about sports women. All of these women had very little self esteem where their bodies were concerned and in some cases it went deeper than that. For instance a couple of them had been bullied when they were younger and the experience scarred them. This is where Mica and Lisa are in their element, reassuring the women, cajoling them and laughing with them and making them feel good about themselves. This programme really demonstrates how what you wear can affect how you feel and vice versa.

What Not to Wear is on Thursday at 8.00pm on BBC 1