The Gospel According To "What Not To Wear"

I left a comment related to this post on Brett's blog and realized I wanted to write more about it. So here goes:

Megan and I are living in different places during the week while she finishes one more year at her high school and I have my first year (and hopefully more *fingers crossed*) at the Skagit Valley Herald.

On the weekends I drive down to be with Megan in Renton, I already know what we'll be doing for the evening: Back-to-back episodes of "What Not To Wear."

It might well be the only TLC show we both enjoy. TLC typically incites a rage within me that often takes people off guard. I'm not against home decoration. I am against painting someone's living room black with black trimming just because you want to do something funky. (I'm lookin' at you, "Trading Spaces.")

But "What Not To Wear" strikes a much different chord with me, because it's helping people present themselves to the world in a better way, and connects the participants with a spiritual or psychological part of themselves they've been neglecting.

Allow me to explain: Last night they grabbed a woman who works in criminal justice who pretty much wears running pants, a t-shirt and a hat all of the time. To work, at home, to a museum. Always. But when they showed up she immediately broke into tears and started talking about how she wears the clothes to hide herself.

Maybe it sounds a little trite, but her story is similar to everyone else that appears on the show. Ultimately what they end up wearing magnifies on part of their personality (in this woman's case her mousiness) and hides another authentic part of their selves.

While going through some basic fashion tips, learning how to dress and so forth, it really does take the participant on an almost spiritual journey into how they present themselves and what their clothes communicates.

I'm no fashionista (though I am often jealous of Trent's stylin' duds) but I love seeing people take that important spiritual step of caring for their selves and treating their selves as worth caring for them.

Because to me spiritual health begins with the self. It's great to head out in the world and do great work, help the helpless yadda yadda yadda... but it doesn't really work if you haven't taken care of yourself first.

I hope I don't sound preachy. It's only because I went down that road, majoring in psychology to go out in the world and make everyone happy, only to realize I was miserable and couldn't do it. I think it's why I get such an emotional reaction to the most emotional people on the show.

I don't have a snappy wrap-up to this post. I just like that show.