Or better still, take Jo from the home counties out of her maxi dress and sex her up a bit with a biker outfit?

If it's the biker look you're after then wouldn't the Hairy Bikers be better at achieving this look than Gok?!

Nowt wrong with the boyish look Claudia, different strokes and all that. However, I would imagine that the average bloke likes his Ladies to look like...er ...Ladies. Gok does pander to a certain crowd, so he's bound to pander to the audience that prefers women to be women.

Blimey! Those two pictures - talk about separated at birth.

I wonder who picked the photo of Gok Wan; it gives the impression that the author is modeling herself on Gok Wan. Which is surely not the case.

FabiosGlasses

I would imagine that the average bloke likes his Ladies to look like...er ...Ladies

I'd regard myself as an average bloke, but my perfect woman was always Annie Lennox. Not at all girly but incredibly sexy.

Don't be so bitchy. This guy clearly loves women. He strips a gaggle of 'em half-naked and hoses them down in a swimming pool. That was a very Schindler's list moment.

Should anyone take fashion advice from a man with a spike through his ear?

i'm sorry but i think he's GHASTLY!

(and naff)

x

Doesn't he save all the boyish gear for him? What you're describing as what you want to see is pretty much what he wears. No, he may be many things, but he's a TV 'star' and so isn't going to allow any of the folk on his show to nick his shtick,is he?

The trouble with Gok Wan is that he's a big, charismatic, character, and therefore comes across well on TV. As a stylist, though, he's really not that great from what I've seen, unless he's actually just a huge sellout who avoids anything edgy in order to appeal to the sort of people who buy most of their clothes in the supermarket.

Well said someotherbloke! Lots of blokes like different looks, as do lots of women.
Gok has styled himself on me, quite obviously ;)

Frumpy girls in specs really do it for me, especially if they're bookish, imaginative, funny, a bit feisty, and enjoy their grub. Gok - keep your hands off them! I luv em just they way they are, not togged up like dollies!

Are you referring to the "openly gay" (according to wikipedia) Gok Wan?

I admit to being confused. I'm straight and know nothing about what gay men find sexy (apart from me, sometimes), so I wonder what makes anyone believe this gay man knows what "sexy" women look like, if he's not sexually attracted to them?

Only asking.

@ hermionegingold

You're real fierce, girlfriend.

I quite agree with this article - I'm sick of seeing makeover programmes that use their mother's dressing up box to dress them. I'm far from a hairy biker type, but can't stand the frothy layers of chiffon that more resemble my nan's christmas trifle than an outfit. What's wrong with classic suits a la Annie Lennox? Why the obsession with fuschia pink and sparkly fluffy stuff? We don't all want to look like Vanessa Feltz you know!

Women come in all shapes and sizes yes, but also have very different tastes and styles - Gok needs to spend less time promoting himself and what he thinks makes good telly, and more on helping women reflect their individual personalities. And please Gok, no more fun-bags and bangers - it's a bit boring after three series and you should have got over the excitement of getting your hands on a few pairs by now luvvy.

The GokShow is just a freakshow. Not, primarily of the hapless woman under his paws, but of the Gok itself.
The attraction is not the transformation, but the sighting of an alien being from the planet Gok.
I think it's cruelty to aliens.

I may be completely off base here - but here goes. Gok is a very camp creature - and campness has little to do with the feminine as such - but rather the extremes. A twinkie with his Banana Republic shirt and 501s and an androgenous hair cut is one extreme, while the ultra butch boy in his sleeveless shirt sporting 3 days beard growth is another. Both are camp. I don't want to speak for Gok, but I suspect his wanting women to look like - er' - women has more to do with this than anything else...

I'm bisexual, but tend to like my women to look feminine and men to look masculine...

Although I did go after the most fantastic looking drag queen ever last year, but I definitely preferred him in mufti - as a boy. THAT WAS confusing at the time...

It's a problem that goes all the way back to Trinny and Susanna (remember them?) whose lack of imagination had them taking women from Rotherham Council Estates and dressing them up as Sloanes. In fact, they dressed everybody as Sloanes, even Jeremy Clarkson.

Perhaps femininity needs to wise up on Gok Wan ?

I like some of his efforts with women who would not normally try some of the stuff he picks. However, stripping women as a matter of course is to my mind degrading at times, he just irritates me.

Are you referring to the "openly gay" (according to wikipedia) Gok Wan?

I admit to being confused. I'm straight and know nothing about what gay men find sexy (apart from me, sometimes), so I wonder what makes anyone believe this gay man knows what "sexy" women look like, if he's not sexually attracted to them?

Only asking.

I'm guessing that if he was openly straight, then the women who go on his show would probably feel a bit less comfortable with him fondling their boobs, and making them strip off for photos.

Also, everyone knows that straight men know fuck all about fashion.

It's just a tv program. He's doing good things making women who choose to go on his show feel better about the way they look. I don't like loads of the clothes he chooses for women I just like the smiles and the happiness as the women realise they are actually beautiful.

mikeeverest

6 Jul 2010, 5:22PM

Are you referring to the "openly gay" (according to wikipedia) Gok Wan?

I admit to being confused. I'm straight and know nothing about what gay men find sexy (apart from me, sometimes), so I wonder what makes anyone believe this gay man knows what "sexy" women look like, if he's not sexually attracted to them?

So you like the ladies manly?

Well, what's wrong with the boyish look....nothing, if you want to pull guys who want to shag boys.

I think the great Frank Zappa said it all:
# What's the ugliest
# Part of your body?
# What's the ugliest
# Part of your body?
# Some say your nose
# Some say your toes
# But I think it's YOUR MIND

Replace 'ugliest' with 'sexiest', obviously.

Being feminine doesn't always mean having to wear a skirt and or dress with stockings, panties and heels.

Sometimes you dress for yourself rather than for men and you can be just as effective and feminine through the boyish look. Sometimes it's as sexy and effective as dress wearing without being pestered, leered at and gawped by dirty men - with sex on their mind

In the world of work, a trouser suit gets you taken more seriously than a dress.

These things are about perception.

Who can forget Trinny & Susannah? At least Gok does genuinely seem to love women, I wasn't so sure about them.

I see a lot of boyish women in couples with fem women, so who's to say what we find attractive. Whatever floats your boat.

Whatever floats your boat.

By Claudia

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Precisely....So what is the point of this article

It is somewhat strange that straight women let gay men (who don't actually find women sexually attractive) advise them on how to dress.

I would imagine that the average bloke likes his Ladies to look like...er ...Ladies

People seem to be assuming that being sexually attractive to men is the only thing a woman considers when choosing clothes. Obviously that's a factor (for straight/bi women), but it's not the only one.

As for Trinny and Susannah, I am not keen on them I think they shame some women and embarrass others. Wok however, does take a genuine interest in women's fashion and for a gay man he knows a lot more than some women do in terms of clothes for shape and size and to harness one's best features.

RichAlchemy,

I understand the stereotype that straight men don't get fashion. Personally I think men (real men lol) aren't interested in superficialities like that, but that's just me and me mates. However, the point of the article is about sexiness, and it seems odd to me that anyone would expect a man who isn't sexually attracted to women to know when one is sexy.

num4,

I like everyone unless and until they give me a reason to dislike them, but with regard to sexual attraction, it really is all about personality. But then I'm a grown up and it takes time to discover these things ;)

@Priscilla M,

I agree with you entirely -

Why would anyone take fashion advice from a guy who looks like he's standing in a wind tunnel and his hairpiece is being peeled off his head?

mikeeverest

I wonder what makes anyone believe this gay man knows what "sexy" women look like, if he's not sexually attracted to them?

Only asking.

It's about women dressing to feel confident about themselves, not about getting them out for the lads. There have been a lot of comments from men on here talking about what they find attractive and sexy - kind of misses the point of the whole show - have you ever watched it?

Ewwwwwwwww!

Not sure how he does it but he certainly appears to help those who volounteer for and are picked by his show.

Gabbyco:

Sometimes it's as sexy and effective as dress wearing without being pestered, leered at and gawped by dirty men - with sex on their mind

Dirty men - with sex on their minds! Good lord! Whatever will ma-ma say?

Who are these people? (I pray you wait a moment whilst ma-ma fetches me the smelling salts)

That's better!

Obviously you mean men whom you don't find atttactive and whose attentions are therefore unwelcome to you?

Even men whom you don't find attractive have a right to find you attractive. And even to look at you if they wish. Or even to approach you and make advances to you, if they wish.

Sometimes women whom I find attractive, find me attractive and make advances towards me. (I am a heterosexual male). Sometimes women I don't find attractive do the same.

BOTH of these groups have the right to find me attractive, and to make advances to me if they wish. Gay men have a right to find me attractive and to make advances towards me too, if they wish.

With those whom I have to refuse I am always as gentle and polite as possible - knowing as I do, from hard experience - that sexual rejection is very painful.

And I would never dream of characterizing those whom I reject whether straight or gay - as dirty men or women.

They are just normal human being following their natural impulses. And they have every right to do this.

If you are looking for a world in which only those whom you find attractive will make advances to you - then you will be waiting for a long time.

Hetersexual men have just as much right to pursue their sexual nature as do heterosexual women, gay men, and lesbians.

We don't need permission from you to do this - or from anybody else for that matter!

Women dress to attract men? really? Do straight men even notice what we're wearing?

Almost uniformly woman after 50 seem to adopt the short-haired, tidy look. There seems real pressure (unacknowledged) in the workplace for woman of a certain age to look serious, almost manly. To cut their ties with their youth. It's always nice to see the rare woman with long grey hair; it makes them look more feminine.

@Deke Thornton,

That's a fair point - sorry !

I agree with the article. There's so much pressure to be feminine in a very particular way, and some of us just don't fit that way - physically or mentally. We don't feel comfortable wearing skimpy little tops, high heels, or any of the other paraphernalia that is deemed 'feminine'. It gets tricky when our body shape is traditionally feminine (mine's an hourglass shape).

I could seriously use a Gok, but only on condition that he doesn't shoe-horn me into his rather narrow definition of sexy.

Love is in the air. Gok has worked his magic again.

Speaking for myself, this year at the Toronto pride, the group who stood out the most were the gorgeous and very sexy androgynous dykes running around having a great time and looking utterly fabulous. Sigh. That's what I want to come back as in my next life. The problem with fags (and I am one of them) is that we have all become so boring. We no longer move beyond clones. No surprise, then, that Gok whats-his-name has a very limited repertoire when it comes to style and sensuality.

Contrary to popular belief and, it seems, many women's fashion magazines (though I am not suggesting the goal of women's fashion magazines is to promote the feminine archetype from a male's perspective) the majority of men (I think) tend to prefer women who are feminine and curvy. ie not the bony, waferish, pixie, androgynous, 6 stone, size zero models that tend to dominate said magazines and/or catwalks, but usually those with things like hips and bums and flesh without the bone poking through that perhaps even wobbles a bit. ie traditionally feminine. If the goal of a Gok makeover is, as the author of this article suggests, to make women feel 'sexy', its probably a better idea to cater to a more traditional form of femininity rather than something too innovative and/or 'boyish'. Just a thought. (And yes I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that.)