Clinton Kelly tells Kathy Butler she needs to wear blouses and not help the Angels advertise across her chest. / Cindy Yamanaka, The Orange County Register
Women let Clinton Kelly criticize their style (and sometimes their sanity) on TLC’s “What Not To Wear.”
Orange resident Kathy Butler, 49, volunteered for the honest appraisal in front of hundreds at the Make Over America runway show at Macy’s earlier this month.
Upon seeing her in the audience, Kelly said, “Oh lord, dear, come with me” and whisked her to the stage.
Apparently, Butler needed a makeover. Kelly told her not to wear Angels shirts if she wasn’t at a game or a public relations representative for the Angels; to wear dark-wash jeans; to wear sneakers only to the gym; and to clean up her eyebrows.
“People came up to me and said, ‘How can you let him do that to you?’ she said later. ” I said, ‘What’s the big deal?’”
Butler, an AT&T service representative, had spent the past four years dieting and exercising her way from 245 pounds to 165. She didn’t know how to dress her new body and had unsuccessfully applied to be part of Make Over America, she said.
“I’m not a very good accessorizer person,” Butler said. “If I don’t see it on a mannequin, I won’t venture out.”
Inspired by the makeovers Kelly did — and by a $50 Macy’s gift card she was given — she spent a few hours after the show updating her look at Macy’s.
With the help of Macy’s stylists, Butler picked up some pants and tops for about $300. The loot included a tunic, with which she had been unfamiliar.
“I never, never thought I would wear something like that,” she said.
Butler’s self-initiated makeover included a stop to the Benefit counter for eyebrow maintenance.
Although she says she wants to “to act a little more my age and try to find a boyfriend,” she said it will be too expensive to continue with her makeover.
Click here for Part 1 of my personal makeover experience and click here for Part 2.
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