What does a person wear to an event being hosted by the sassy style maven of TLC’s What Not to Wear? Although thrilled to receive the email confirmation for my admittance to a taping of Fashionably Late with Stacy London, the stipulations for attire sent me into an agonizing fashion frenzy. The email said to dress as if going out for a night on the town, but not to wear black.
As a working single mother, my nights on the town are few and far between, and having reached that ‘certain age,’ the slimming benefits of black are a blessing. To make matters worse, the weather report predicted a humid, possibly rainy bad hair day. What’s a woman to do? The situation called for a little retail therapy.
I spent the night before the taping at the salon, eliminating the grays and having my hair appropriately ironed straight for the pending weather. Then I walked around the mall, trying on various tops and dresses, bemoaning my age and cursing the global warming that was making a concealing sweater or jacket a no-no.
It was not until I got home that I realized the other problem: shoes. All of my dress pants require heels that are not exactly conducive to walking around New York City, but beauty is pain, so I told myself to suck it up and deal with it. Settling on brown pants, a silk top, and stilettos, I was ready.
The next day started out well. It wasn’t raining, and my friend and I got to New York with plenty of time to catch a cab to the studio. When we arrived, we were instructed to wait in line until they started to let in the audience members.
The lobby was not air-conditioned, and as more women crowded in, it got hot. It’s bad enough that I’m usually only one hot flash away from looking like Little Orphan Annie, but by now my hair was starting to curl with the humidity and my feet were starting to hurt after standing there for almost half an hour.
To pass the time, I did a fashion check of the women coming through the door. Most of the women were dressed up, but I felt extremely overdressed in comparison to others who were wearing t-shirts, sandals, and casual attire. I think these women were hoping to be the one audience member picked for a makeover.
Article comments
1 - Sara The Bargain Queen
Sounds like a brilliant show.
Hope we get it in Australia one day... or that someone posts it on YouTube ;)
2 - Ruthie
That was a great write-up, comprehensive, concise and funny. I could relate to a lot of what you wrote, and I almost felt like I was there. And I agree with you about the makeover probably being pre-arranged. Reality TV is a misnomer (in my opinion anyway). I'm looking forward to reading more of your reviews.
3 - Kat
What a great aricticle. I especially loved your comment "I was beginning to feel out of place, like a lowly hobbit in a room full of elves"
4 - Melly
So this is what we missed! I was part of the huge crowd outside - all with CONFIRMED invitations. There was no staff to speak of-- or with! We waited outside nearly two hours before anyone bothered to speak with us. Actually staff only came back out after being advised we were coming up en mass if they didn't. My experience was the opposite of yours - totally unprofessional, totally rude & totally a waste of time.
5 - cindyc
Melli -- What day did you go? I was there on a Thursday taping. Your experience was unfortunate; I would have been totally frustrated if I had taken the day off from work and travelled and not been able to get in. Did you try to send an email back to the person in charge of the tickets?
6 - Esmerelda
Thanks for writing such an indepth article on your experience.
I did a post with a link to signing up for the show on my site.
I've had a few people come back and make comments. Some were very angry at their treatment and others had a great experience.
I wonder why reports vary so widely?
7 - Cindy
Esmerelda,
Your URL link did not work. I'd love to read what you wrote about the event. Can you resend the link?
8 - Nicole
great article. i was at the 10/15 taping. and it was just as you described. we got there early (3:30) and were let out at 10pm!
i can so relate to your article. our guests were rocco dispirito and carolina herrera. they filmed out of sequence at our taping..
9 - LANA
HOW GREAT IS ROCCO.. DID HE COOK... I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ROCCO WITH STACEY!!
10 - Nicole
rocco was even hotter in person. omg he was fine. he cooked a shrimp dish that they gave out to each audience member. and we got his cookbook. my friend and i wanted to shout out 'we love you rocco!' but we didn't. lol.
11 - bridget
I went to a different day of taping and agree that the staff left much to be desired. I do share your outlook on Stacy though - so pretty!
You can read about my experience at my blog - I'm also writing recaps of the shows :)
12 - Brandi
I am trying to get tickets. can you please help?
13 - Elizabeth
Does anyone know anything about the yellow dress Stacy wore in one of the first few episodes? I'd love to know the designer.
14 - Cindyc
Brandi - I got my tickets to the show taping by going to the TLC website. There is a link for applying to be on TLC shows.
Elizabeth -- I don't think Stacy announced who designed that yellow dress. I liked it too!
15 - kat
im trying to find tickets and i went to tlc's website and there was nothing there for fashinably late! maybe you can post the email address you sent you email to or a link to where to apply because i would love to go on the show.
thanks!