Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine are two British fashion advisors, presenters and authors. They originally joined to write a weekly style column in The Daily Telegraph which lasted for seven years, but they are best known for presenting the BBC television series What Not to Wear for five series and then Trinny & Susannah Undress... on ITV. They have written several fashion advice books which have become bestsellers in Britain and America, and released their own clothing and underwear ranges. Trinny and Susannah have also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as makeover experts. Over the course of their career, Woodall and Constantine have dressed over 5,000 women.O'Neil, Nicole. "Trinny and Susannah reveal all ". MSN. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
Career
Early years Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine teamed up in 1994 to write Ready to Wear, a weekly style guide for the Daily Telegraph which ran for seven years."Just a couple of swells". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2007. They had previously met at a dinner party hosted by David, Viscount Linley but did not actually like each other at first. They both perceived each other in negative ways: Woodall looked upon Constantine as if she was a stuck-up English aristocrat and Constantine saw Woodall as 'Eurotrash'.
They later became the co-founders of Ready2shop.com, a dot-com fashion advice business which ceased trading after running out of funding in November 2000, losing investors a reputed £10 million."No, seriously . . . does my cheque look big in this?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 March 2007. They later gained their first chance at working on television when Granada Sky Broadcasting signed them up to host a daytime shopping show, also called Ready to Wear. They published their first fashion advice book called Ready 2 Dress but it was an unsuccessful venture and ended in 13,000 copies of the book being destroyed."Fashion 'makeover queens' land £1m book deal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 May 2007. After a makeover slot on Richard & Judy, Jane Root, the controller of BBC Two, signed them up even after their book Ready to Dress and their internet business Ready2shop.com had failed.Just a couple of swells – observer.guardian.co.uk
2001–2005: What Not to Wear era After they were signed to BBC Two, they became the hosts and fashion advisors for five series of the BBC style series What Not to Wear in 2001, where they used their knowledge on fashion and harsh comments to reform the appearances and style of the participants on the show. The duo became instantly renowned for their poking and prodding of the contestants, their straight-talking advice,"They Skewer Your Wardrobe In Public". New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2007. and frequently referring to breasts as tits. The editor of ELLE, Sarah Bailey, has stated "You just don't expect posh girls to grab your tits, call your trousers 'too clitty' and use words like 'pussy pelmet' but they do. You are so shocked by what they are saying that by the time you have recovered and thought of something to say they have whipped you out of your jeans and eased you into a Lycra cat suit." They have stated that their relationship is more like a marriage and that being total opposites, they balance each other out."Interrogation: Trinny & Susannah ". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 September 2007. They cannot imagine working without each other. Woodall and Constantine have been accused of being patronising, but reject these claims.
They gained recognition for their work on the show and won a Royal Television Society Award in 2002 in the category of best factual presenter."Royal Television Society ". Royal Television Society. Retrieved 14 February 2007. They have also given different celebrities makeovers which include Jeremy Clarkson, Lesley Joseph,"BBC One honours the best TV moments from 2002". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 6 March 2007. Jo Brand, Sophie Raworth, and Ingrid Tarrant. Woodall and Constantine became the faces of Nescafé in 2003. After success with the ratings on BBC Two, their programme was promoted to the more mainstream BBC One in 2004."Makeover queens switch to BBC1". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
Together, they have written several successful fashion books, starting with the book What Not to Wear in 2001, which made sales worth £8.7 million. The book which stemmed from their fashion show of the same name, won them a notable British Book Award in 2003 for "The TV & Film Book of the Year""British Book Awards ". British Book Awards. Retrieved 22 February 2007. and outsold Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson when sale figures reached a total of 670,000 copies."Parkinson ". parkinson.tangozebra.com. Retrieved 8 March 2007."What Not To Wear is just what to buy". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2007. The book sold 300,000 copies in just fifteen weeks and was also selling 45,000 copies a week at one point."Nothing succeeds like success". The Times. Retrieved 30 May 2007. They then secured a £1 million book deal to produce three more of their fashion books,"" The Times. Retrieved 22 February 2007. compared to the £10,000 advance they received for What Not to Wear. Their books have since become number one bestsellers in Britain and the United States and have been translated throughout the world,"Trinny and Susannah Undress ". itv.com. Retrieved 26 January 2007. selling over 2.5 million copies."Trinny and Susannah Have Launched the Official TrinnyAndSusannah.com Website". Press Release. Retrieved 11 April 2007. The books have also appeared on The Sunday Times bestseller list"Search results for Trinny and Susannah bestsellers". The Times. Retrieved 30 May 2007. and The New York Times bestseller list."Trinny and Susannah bestsellers". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
Woodall and Constantine appeared frequently as makeover experts on The Oprah Winfrey Show in America where they gave fashion advice and guidelines on how to improve an overall appearance through clothing, often using themselves to illustrate the correct clothing to wear and what not to wear."The Oprah Winfrey Show, What Not to Wear this summer ". oprah.com. Retrieved 13 February 2007. In 2005, Trinny and Susannah were the contemporary social commentators on the live BBC coverage of The Royal Wedding of Charles and Camilla."The Royal Wedding: Charles and Camilla". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 16 February 2007. They also voiced a robot version of themselves in the science fiction series Doctor Who in the episode "Bad Wolf" in 2005, which saw the gynoids Trine-e and Zu-Zana presenting a deadly futuristic version of What Not to Wear. The robots were prepared to give Captain Jack Harkness a particularly gruesome makeover. Woodall and Constantine have appeared on Parkinson a total of three times, as well as numerous other chat shows.
2006: Undress... era Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine both defected from the BBC to ITV and started their new show, Trinny & Susannah Undress..., on 3 October 2006 which was followed by a second series in June 2007. The first two series saw the pair helping couples with marital problems, where they gave them advice and fashion makeovers to try build confidence and ultimately aim to revive the relationships.Kilkelly, Daniel. "Trinny & Susannah prefer to be nice" Digital Spy, 30 September 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2007. Critics questioned Woodall and Constantine's capability of dealing with the serious issues they faced on the programme, but they strongly rejected these claims. Since the transfer to ITV, What Not to Wear on BBC One has been hosted by Lisa Butcher and Mica Paris.
When the internet-shopping company, Littlewoods, saw orders rise by thirty per cent during its sponsorship of Trinny & Susannah Undress..., Woodall and Constantine were made the faces of Littlewoods Direct in 2006. The duo have since provided twelve pages of fashion advice within the Littlewoods catalogue, compiled a booklet called The Golden Rules which was distributed to all Littlewoods customers with fashion advice to suit all body shapes. They also compiled online guidelines where customers are able to type-in their body measurements and get instant advice on which Littlewoods clothing is suitable for their figure, and have been featured in television advertisements for Littlewoods Direct."Littlewoods signs up Trinny and Susannah". The Times. Retrieved 22 February 2007. The television advertisements featured them both trying to rob a Littlewoods designer warehouse, but their mission is ruined when Constantine becomes stuck in between the protective bars, prompting Woodall to utter "You and your curves", before they are taken away by security. The 2007 Christmas series of adverts saw them trying to hijack a motored sleigh carrying Littlewoods designer gifts."Littlewoods Advert". YouTube. Retrieved 31 October 2007. The £12m television and print campaign featuring Woodall and Constantine is one of largest ever seen for a home shopping and internet-based company.The Times. "The reinvention of Littlewoods". The Times, 8 April 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007. Since the advertisements aired, brand awareness has grown by 13 per cent, whilst total sales have escalated by 18 per cent. The number of visitors to the website has also risen by 56 per cent.Gleeson, Bill. "Trinny and Susannah give Littlewoods Direct a festive style makeover". Liverpool Daily Post, 31 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
Also in 2006, they launched their own underwear range; "Trinny and Susannah Magic Knickers" which are made of nylon, designed to flatten the tummy and buttocks and thighs so they appear slimmer and compact."Meg Ryan talks to Parkinson". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 15 February 2007. On 16 October 2006, they appeared on NBC's The Today Show, giving makeovers to three women and promoted their book, Trinny & Susannah Take on America."The Today Show ". MSN Video. Retrieved 4 November 2007. In a poll of 3,000 people conducted by Radio Times, they were ranked as the ninth most terrifying celebrities on television, largely due to their use of direct and frank advice.
2007–2009: Undress the Nation era Their latest book to date, The Body Shape Bible, was published on 18 September 2007. Prior to writing The Body Shape Bible, Trinny and Susannah conducted a survey on women that helped them to identify the twelve most common body shapes which they would then feature in their fashion advice book. They gave the shapes different names that include 'apple', 'brick', 'pencil' and 'lollipop'. The new book is aimed to help women decipher what particular shape they are, and then proceeds to give fashion guidelines according to each individual shape."God's gift to women". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2007. An 'apple' for instance, is classed as a woman who is round but has breasts that are smaller than her stomach as the weight is carried around the middle. They have also donated a few pages to highlight their own fashion faux-pas from the past.
On 20 September 2007, they launched their own exclusive Littlewoods Direct Autumn/Winter women's range which consists of trousers, coats and tops and, like their underwear range, are designed to shrink the buttocks, reduce thighs, flatten tummies or emphasize the waist."Retail therapists". The Times. Retrieved 16 July 2007. Woodall and Constantine designed independently the clothing items, with Littlewoods advising them on pricing and selling."Exclusive Trinny and Susannah Interview.". Female First. Retrieved 20 September 2007. Constantine stated "If you want to create a waist, there's a dress that's going to do that for you too. We've designed it very much around the female body.""Scots Are So Stylish.. And Ewan Mcgregor Looks Fab In A Kilt ". Daily Record. Retrieved 20 September 2007.