Every week we take a look in the RTÉ Guide archive, finding out what made its glossy pages in years gone by. This week, we're heading back to 2006 when the cover stars were the ultimate noughties fashion advisors, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. These days, Y2K culture is having a bit of a moment, from the threatened return of boot cut jeans to Louise O'Neill's novel Whatever Happened to Madeleine Stone, the story of a former noughties child star, currently topping the bestseller charts - to say nothing of The Devil Wears Prada 2, a sequel to the massive 2006 hit set in the fashion world, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
And speaking of noughties fashion, few media personalities defined that era's style more than Trinny and Susannah. Their BBC show What Not To Wear, in which they bluntly dispensed fashion advice, ran from 2001 to 2005, making them household names. But in 2006 they jumped ship to ITV with a new show, Trinny and Susannah Undress... and to celebrate they graced the cover of the RTÉ Guide's 'special style edition', which featured some very of-its-time messages about weight loss.
"Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine have never been afraid to ruffle a few feathers when it comes to fashion makeovers," wrote the RTÉ Guide interviewer. "With a reputation for telling only the harsh and sometimes brutal truth, their advice has often been painful for those on thereceiving end, but it is, nevertheless, usually sound and practical."
This advice was, in general, all about looking slimmer. "If you have love handles, or a round tummy, wear textured fabrics and wrap-around tops," say Trinny and Susannah in the rules quoted by the RTÉ Guide. "If you have a short or wide neck, wear tops that are open at the neck, rather than high or round ones, to lengthen and slim your neck... If you have thick ankles, don't wear delicate, strappy heels, ballerina-style shoes or ankle straps which cut across the ankle. If you have skinny legs, avoid thin, teetering heels or they’ll look like they’re going to snap under the weight of your body. If you are pear-shaped, avoid dainty kitten heels."
Or you could, of course, just ignore all these exhausting "rules" and wear whatever makes you happy. But the world wasn't quite ready for that message back in 2006!
