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Original poster

Do you want style advice from Trinny Woodall?

151 replies

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 21/04/2021 09:04

Genuinely interested - this is a woman who was on the tv in the late 90s, never been more than a size 6 and rarely leaves Kensington.
I’m 35 years old, two kids, my friends and I shop anywhere from Reiss to Pretty Little Thing. Tbh we shop at the same places as my 40+ year old colleague and my older friends teenage children- there are no longer shops per age only budgets.
I’m baffled as to who on bbc breakfast thought she would resonate with the tv audience - it pretty much sums up why place like marks and Spencer’s can’t shift clothes.
Am I wrong, does she still hold gravitas in the style world?

OP posts:
namechangemarch21 · 21/04/2021 13:12

Vogue Williams grew up in an identically privileged way, just in Ireland, and then married someone whose in-laws in-laws are royalty so I'm not sure how she's different, just a) younger and b) with absolutely no fashion training or background.

I'm late 30s and I think I'd listen to Trinny if she was talking about body shapes, I watched her and susannah as a teen in the 90s (I was blown away by the 'contestants' getting 2k to build a capsule wardrobe!) and some of the basic concepts it introduced - having a wardrobe with things that go together, having different looks for different occasions but staying comfortable, knowing what suits you - really were groundbreaking. I'd love an updated version.

Something that makes me sad is how much the instagram/influencer/fashion world is influenced by people with no training or background, who look good because they're skinny and wealthy and know how to dress themselves, as opposed to people with a transferrable professional skillset. Trinny and Susanah had worked in the industry for ages before they got a tv show.

Regularsizedrudy · 21/04/2021 13:12

I don’t mind trinny. I have been tempted to try her makeup line but they way it’s packaged in those little stack pots puts me off as I’m not a makeup on the go type person (and not going anywhere these days thanks to covid).
I think how she dresses works for her but it always seems to involve 500 layers and I can’t be arsed with that.

TollgateDebs · 21/04/2021 13:31

I've always looked at these styling sessions as ways of making me look differently at what I wear and how I wear it. Not saying they always hit the mark, but you can turn the programme or segment off if it is not relevant. I do watch some of Trinny's FB posts and a few have covered some areas of styling / clothing combinations that I bought into and others definitely not for me, but she has her moments. Programmes like The Clothes Show, Trinny & Susanah's, Gok's, helped many to view the presentation and styling side of clothing differently and could often be great fun to watch. Personally I'd like more fashion on TV and loved the BBC programme on the history of make up last night.

tofuschnitzel · 21/04/2021 13:40

@MiddlesexGirl

I used to like watching their What not to wear show but I didn't always agree with their choices. I seem to get Trinny pop up on FB a lot and mostly can't stand her choices there - just way overdressed most of the time .... very much a Kensington vibe .... and can't see why she'd be advertising make up as she looks older than she is imo.
Is there really any need to post your last point? Lots of people look older than their age, does that mean they shouldn't go anywhere near make up? Why do people have to be so vile about the way someone looks.
loveyoudoll · 21/04/2021 13:58

@Regularsizedrudy

I don’t mind trinny. I have been tempted to try her makeup line but they way it’s packaged in those little stack pots puts me off as I’m not a makeup on the go type person (and not going anywhere these days thanks to covid). I think how she dresses works for her but it always seems to involve 500 layers and I can’t be arsed with that.
I've bought a couple of things and I like them. I'm going to get a couple of her eye colours next.
Neptunesgiraffe · 21/04/2021 14:03

I follow Trinny on Instagram and I think her advice is sound. Whilst I don't like all the clothes she wears, I love the "twinning" she does, especially with Chloe where they wear the same Zara clothes but differently. Chloe has a totally different body shape and I'm probably somewhere in between them so it helps me imagine how the outfit might look on me.

GillBungalow · 21/04/2021 14:07

I like Trinny, I don't think she takes herself too seriously. I don't often like what she wears, but I think she styles other people well.

Definitely wouldn't want to watch Myleene Klass or Vogue Williams though, not relatable to me at all.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 21/04/2021 14:09

In TV it has nothing to do with talent. Ots all about who you know.

Hollyhead · 21/04/2021 14:23

I’m 37 and quite like her, I like her enthusiasm and honesty.

Makegoodchoices · 21/04/2021 14:37

I’ve grown to love her over lockdown - watching her stuff on Instagram got me out of my furlough funk and helped me discover a load of outfits in my wardrobe I wouldn’t have thought of alone.

She’s also influenced my late night clothes browsing as I think more about outfits than individual items now.

Her total honesty about her hang ups and the eye-rolling teenage daughter are entertaining too!

LadyTiredWinterBottom2 · 21/04/2021 14:53

Oh hell no.

Tinny and Whiney were bullies back in the day. Bloody awful 'pushing women out of their comfort zone' yeah that's what it's called.

MarisPiper92 · 21/04/2021 15:04

I still refer to some of the WNTW books because their advice about dressing for body shape and how to use colour is spot on. Yes, the outfits themselves are pretty dated now but that was never the point.

Whereas there was a makeover programme on BBC last year with five different stylists - it was all about fashion, without a thought to whether anything actually suited the people they were dressing. It was awful.

Iamthewombat · 21/04/2021 15:05

I often hear Trinny & Susannah described, retrospectively, as ‘bullies’, but I don’t agree with that assessment.

They were honest and direct, and had no patience with the ‘style is innate, whatever you wear’ nonsense peddled by some fashion industry people. Nobody was forced to participate and the show wasn’t about humiliation. People’s friends and family volunteered them and participants always felt, and looked, miles better.

Nor did T&S ever comment negatively on anyone’s body shape or weight. They were aware of their own good and not so good points. They would point out the participants’ best features and give advice about playing them up, with clothes suitable for the life each woman lived.

I found that much more positive than Gok Wan’s frankly cringeworthy “ooh look at those bangers” schtick.

ShurImGrand123 · 21/04/2021 15:15

Yes, I loved Trinny & Susannah. They understood what real women look like and want to look like.

Another OP who wrongly thinks that over 40 means over the hill.

We're here and we're not going anywhere! Grin

Coniferhedge · 21/04/2021 16:27

I like watching Trinny on YouTube. Yes, her ‘closet’ is about the size of my whole house and she buys designer clothes which I can’t afford, but to me that part is pure escapism for me. I can still pick up a few good tips from her.

LesLavandes · 21/04/2021 16:34

Trinny has been a joy for me throughout all these lockdowns . I have learned a lot on style and skincare. I don't dress like her but a lot of what she says makes sense. She has a good eye for colour combos.

Housewife2010 · 21/04/2021 17:38

I find Trinny very hyper but I loved What Not to Wear and she does know her stuff. I really recommend her interview on the Outspoken Beauty Podcast. I heard a different side to her and it was very interesting. aca.st/8d9a11

SingingSands · 21/04/2021 19:05

I actually quite like Trinny. Her advice is sound and she very often makes her own alterations on outfits and explains why - doesn't suit a high neck, doesn't like the length of the skirt etc - and shows what she's changed. Makes me look at my wardrobe items in a new light.

Xztop · 21/04/2021 19:18

I like Trinny. I have a completely different taste in clothing to her but I think she knows her stuff and to me is likeable. I also saw she did an insta video on her hair loss which I thought was a brave thing to do

PawBlimey · 21/04/2021 19:36

I don’t follow ‘style advisors’ so no comment on that, but I think it’s laughable Trinny hawks make-up and skincare when she has a face full of filler and Botox.

huuuuunnnndderrricks · 21/04/2021 19:58

She is more like a 12 , she is tall and although slim she often swears 12 in Zara . She is very relevant and has a massive following on Instagram . Her is still styling women and her skincare and make up range is super successful so yeah she is still relevant .

Gwenhwyfar · 21/04/2021 19:58

"I know that it’s fashionable to poke fun at some of the outfits featured in the Trinny and Susannah books of 15-20 years ago, but the looks were stylish at the time and the messages about proportion, colour and shape were, and remain, bang on. I learned loads from them."

I'm not sure I agree. I have some of the books and have re-watched them on youtube and I don't really agree with their advice.

Gwenhwyfar · 21/04/2021 20:01

"And the featured real women of varying shapes, sizes, heights etc...
I enjoyed that programme too."

Yes, but they were honest about them or at least about each other e.g. 'you've got big thighs'. That kind of thing's not allowed now.

NeverDropYourMoonCup · 21/04/2021 20:02

@Iamthewombat

I often hear Trinny & Susannah described, retrospectively, as ‘bullies’, but I don’t agree with that assessment.

They were honest and direct, and had no patience with the ‘style is innate, whatever you wear’ nonsense peddled by some fashion industry people. Nobody was forced to participate and the show wasn’t about humiliation. People’s friends and family volunteered them and participants always felt, and looked, miles better.

Nor did T&S ever comment negatively on anyone’s body shape or weight. They were aware of their own good and not so good points. They would point out the participants’ best features and give advice about playing them up, with clothes suitable for the life each woman lived.

I found that much more positive than Gok Wan’s frankly cringeworthy “ooh look at those bangers” schtick.

Oh, I don't know, I'd certainly find two women telling me I looked like crap and grabbing my tits without permission for the telly rather humiliating.

Plus, they all seemed to come out at the end of each show looking identical with short plum dyed haircuts, more slap than a drag queen, spiked heels and a new uniform of 'newly divorced and in the club hoping for a validation shag'.

SunshineCake · 21/04/2021 20:04

Definitely not. She wears clothes then takes them back. Loads more reasons I don't like her.

Suzannah mind you, would be lovely to have as a friend.