"This information cannot leave this room. OK? It would devastate my reputation, as a dude." -- Anthony Michael Hall as "The Geek" in the movie "Sixteen Candles"
I have a confession to make.
I watched the TV show "What Not to Wear."
And I didn't hate it.
In fact, (gulp), I might have liked it.
I know, I know. I'm as surprised as you are.
One day I'm a man-card holder in good standing. The next, I'm breaking down the pattern on some woman's new skirt.
For the uninitiated, "What Not to Wear" is a TV show on TLC. It's one of those makeover shows where they take a frumpy-looking woman and go all "My Fair Lady" on her. The woman gets nominated to be on the show by her friends because she has bad clothes, bad hair and bad make-up.
In doing so, her friends are essentially telling her, "Look girlfriend, you're a mess. Either you get some new clothes and do something about your mop and your grill, or you're not kickin' it with us anymore."
I walked in on Koplien daughters No. 2 and No. 3 watching this show last week. I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity to have some father-daughter bonding time in front of the TV.
They took advantage of the opportunity to introduce me to Stacy and Clinton.
Stacy London and Clinton Kelly are the hosts of "What Not to Wear."
I didn't want to like these people. But I did.
I found them to be smart and funny. Most importantly, they weren't nearly as obnoxious as the people on most of the crap-ola my kids watch.
The first thing Stacy and Clinton do is go through the frumpy-looking woman's whole wardrobe. They literally throw most of her clothes in a garbage can. Then, they hook her up with $5,000 to go shopping for new clothes in New York City. Finally, they send her to the salon for a 'do re-do and some makeup.
When the transformation is complete, they send the woman home for the big reveal in front of her friends. Everybody then hugs and cries because the woman no longer looks like a total troll.
How could I not think this show was horrible?
Was I channeling my inner feminine side?
Have I lived in a house full of females for too long?
Will I be watching "The Real Housewives of Timbuktu" next?
I'm going to watch "What Not to Wear" again to find out if the first time was real or a mirage. I fear that if I find I like it again, there will be some sort of legal injunction issued against me, prohibiting me from watching the Packers and Brewers.
Help me out here. Have I lost all credibility as a dude?
Craig is a meteorologist who was born and raised in Pewaukee. After getting a degree in Meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he worked over 20 years on TV and radio in Milwaukee, Madison, Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri.
Craig spends most of his time trying to keep up with his bride and their three teenage daughters. Any time left over is spent with his other beloveds, the Packers, Brewers and Badgers.
