California Apparel News

Behind the Scenes of “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl”

Where does style begin? Lately, many have been taking cues from the style gurus on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” Following the success of its Emmy Award–winning show, the Bravo network has turned its attention to a new challenge—the straight girl. On January 12, the network will launch “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl,” a weekly one-hour spin-off series featuring style gurus “The Gal Pals.” The new cast, made up of three gay men and one lesbian, transforms the straight girl and helps her achieve her goals by fine-tuning four categories: The Look, The Life, The Locale and The Lady.

Lauren Zalaznick, president of Bravo and sister network TRIO, said “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is a powerful taste-making show because the style guru talks with passion about fashion and how it represents a person’s character. Zalaznick said the new show is different in that the straight girls speak up and truly participate in their transformations. “Every aspect of [women’s] fashion lives has a direct impact on their emotional lives,” she noted.

As Bravo prepared to launch the reality series, California Apparel News Fashion Editor N. Jayne Seward caught up with style guru Robbie Laughlin and wardrobe stylist David Paul to discuss “The Look” of the show.

Styling the Pals: David Paul

What is your role on the show?

I am the wardrobe stylist for our four oncamera hosts. For every episode, each Gal Pal has two outfits. Their main outfit, which is slightly more casual, is worn for the majority of the episode, and a second dressier outfit is worn at the conclusion of the episode, when they all gather to review and critique the progress of the straight girl. In addition, we have many fitness segments and specialty segments in which certain Gal Pals will participate.

I also style The Gal Pals for the “Hip Tip” segments. There are approximately four tips dispersed throughout each show, making for many, many outfits. But these are really fun to do, and since they tend to be more costumey or over-the-top, we have a great time doing them.

Why did they hire you?

I think it was because of my experience in both the fashion industry and costuming for television and film. I received my master’s degree in costume design from the University of California, Los Angeles and have been working as a costumer in film, television and theater for the past 15 years. My reacute;sumeacute; is pretty varied. I’ve done everything from feature films to soap operas to editorial photo shoots with Heidi Klum and Vanessa Paradis, working alongside Andre Leon Talley.

In addition, four years ago, along with co-designer Nick Verreos, we formed Nikolaki, a contemporary women’s clothing line. We design red carpet–worthy silk charmeuse dresses as well as jersey dresses and sharply tailored, sexy suiting. We have shown our line at Smashbox Fashion Week Los Angeles and have been featured in publications such as Nylon, Elle Sweden, Lucky, Ocean Drive and Angeleno magazine.

Did you meet with The Gal Pals before the show to discuss their personalities in order to determine their on-screen appearance?

As you know, things move extremely fast in television. But the first day I met The Gal Pals, we discussed as much about their look as we possibly could, and then through time, things progressed from there. I find it essential to know as much about each person’s likes and dislikes as possible. The reason I think you’ll find that the on-screen talent develop such a strong bond with their costume designer/stylist is because you are forming such a powerful relationship with each person. Clothing really reflects who we are, and The Gal Pals (as well as everyone I have worked with) really trust you to help them express that.

Yes, it is often as simple as what color looks best against a person’s skin or finding a certain style that is most flattering to someone’s figure, but many times those colors and styles are chosen to reflect an aspect of their personality or, in The Gal Pals’ case, to make them relatable and inviting to the straight girl, whose life they are about to change.

Did you have to consult with Laughlin, the fashion guru, for the look of the show?

Robbie has been absolutely fantastic to work with. I feel so fortunate to have somebody that is easygoing, incredibly stylish and who is completely hysterical!

As far as the look of The Gal Pals, all four were very involved in their individual look and style, and it was great to have Robbie to bounce ideas off of.

As far as the fashion for the straight girl, I was there to assist and expedite any details that needed to be accomplished in making Robbie’s fashion makeover for the straight girl complete.

How did you perform your duties on the show? Where did you find the clothes? Did you use more than one designer?

Being that “Queer Eye” has become synonymous with style, class and culture, it was essential to use companies that went along with that aesthetic. I immediately went to work contacting every designer and company that I thought would be right for our show. Since many of the major design houses and their most current samples are located in New York or Europe, we did find some limitations, but this just opened the door and possibilities for using some fantastic Los Angeles– based companies. It was actually a blessing in disguise because it gave our show its own strong Southern California vibe. Since the locale for the straight girl is Los Angeles, I wanted to reflect that in their appearance also. By using such local talent as Rachel Pally, Wairare Boswell, C&C California and Jessica Elliot, you definitely get a West Coast dynamic. In many episodes, all four Gal Pals wore the same designer, while in other episodes we were able to pull from different sources and really create a great mix.

What were the challenges of styling four hosts on one show?

Like I stated before, television works at lightning speed, so to style one host, let alone four hosts, takes a lot of organization, patience and great support. All four Gal Pals were wonderful in helping to achieve our goal of looking as stylish as possible, and the fact that they were all so incredibly attractive did not hurt either! We really wanted to give each Gal Pal his or her own specific look. Robbie was classic; Danny [Teeson] had a European-trendy vibe; Damon [Pease] was all-American; and Honey [Labrador], being our first female, needed to be not only stylish but also approachable and inviting to the straight girl.

On top of it all, it was also very important to know what they were doing in each specific episode. It’s great if you’re looking fantastic, but if your sleeve is dipping into the soup you are cooking, it certainly doesn’t show style, class or culture. They truly are working hard. And it is a delicate balance between outfits that look good but are functional, too.

Tips From Style Guru Robbie Laughlin

What did you do before you became the style guru on “Straight Girl”?

I did guest spots on other design shows and developed fashion and makeover shows.

What is your fashion philosophy in building a wardrobe?

Number one, clothes have to fit. Get pieces to build a foundation. What you don’t wear, give to someone that will. Then you can see what you have. Get pieces that work together and on their own.

What were the biggest challenges in styling the straight girl?

Not meeting or getting to have a fitting with them until seeing them [on the show] for the first time.

Where did you shop for fashions?

Everywhere from Nordstrom to Planet Funk. I really like to mix it up.

What was the biggest fashion faux pas you found while doing the show?

There were a lot of chunky shoes. I hate chunky shoes.