Tan France, More Than Just a Style Expert

You are what you eat? No. You are what you wear.

BY: MALIKA DAYA

Photo via NPR

2020 was a year of chaos and destruction. But, it’s also the year I discovered Queer Eye and well, my personal hero, Tan France. Now I don’t want this to necessarily be a cheesy love letter, but in some ways, it’s truly an ode to everything I’ve learned from him this year. 

Quick note for everyone reading this who may not know who Tan France is (which I think is ludicrous but it’s fine, I’m not judging you). He is the man who made the French Tuck popular again—he’s the candid and exceptionally witty—Pakistani-British-American style expert on Queer Eye. 

Queer Eye is a Netflix series that supports everyday heroes in becoming authentic, confident, and happier versions of themselves.The Fab 5, are five handsome, intelligent, empathetic, and talented gay men that pour their hearts into connecting with each hero. The show includes a culture expert that will always make you cry, Karamo Brown, food and wine specialist—and absolute beauty—Antoni Porowski, our grooming consultant and most heart-warming friend, Jonathan Van Ness, our interior designing magician Bobby Berk, and of course, our fashion designer and favourite stylist, Tan France. 

Photo via The Oprah Magazine

The creators of Queer Eye have developed a show that fosters spaces for dialogue, difference, tolerance, and respect. Their heroes are everyday people with their own sets of values and ideologies. There have been episodes where the Fab 5 develop relationships with Republican Trump supporters, leading to moments of important social commentary. Watching the Fab 5 navigate the tensions of difference brings up personal questions for me, how do we see the other as a complex human being rather than our enemy? How do we create safe spaces for dialogue between people of differing worldviews?

These questions and conversations are alive amidst the wholesome nature of the Fab 5, their laughter, their love, their hard work to impact their heroes' lives, and of course, Antoni’s tears. The Fab 5’s talents and passion bring out the best in humanity. It’s hard not to fall in love with them. 

I’ve always felt a special connection to Tan France. He makes me proud to be a South Asian-Canadian Muslim woman. Tan is a candid and raw representation of what it means to have a hybridized identity as a South Asian-British-American. His voice tells a narrative that is not prominent in mainstream media, he’s honest about what it’s like to be queer and racialized. Something us, children of immigrants, having been craving to see our whole lives. Representation of our stories. 

As 2020 came to an end, I spent a lot of time watching Queer Eye, reading Tan’s book, Naturally Tan, watching his Masterclass, and binging youtube videos of him and the Fab 5. He has blessed all of us with many gifts, sharing parts of his journey, self, and lifestyle wisdom with the world. 

Having struggled with body acceptance my whole life, my relationship with clothing is taxing. The clothes I want to wear that are “in fashion” never suit my body. They weren’t designed for me and for the majority of women who are not sizes 0-4 in the first place. This promotes a narrative that only skinny women deserve to dress beautiful and feel beautiful. It’s toxic. 

I’ve always loved style, with a Pinterest fashion board with over 1000 pins, I enjoy looking at catalogues and pieces of clothing that “feel like me.” It’s also fascinating to see how clothing has the ability to embody who you are in the present. The composition of an outfit is an art that also provides me with an opportunity to discover new versions of myself that I am aspiring to become. 

Before I knew much of Tan France and his philosophy on lifestyle, I had a mindset that drove me to believe that I could only look at pretty clothing, but I wouldn’t be able to wear it. I took comfort, and in many ways still do, in camouflaging in darker colours and athleisure. 

I very vividly remember being in the washroom at my highschool and two girls commenting on my clothing choices, “You give off mom vibes with your hair and clothing. It’s cute.” For a teenage girl, that surely sucker punched my self-esteem. But as always, when people made comments on my weight, skin colour, and style, I brushed it off by resorting to humour. At the same time, I began to believe that I was never meant to look like those pretty girls, that I didn’t have the right to.

I always wanted to embody elegance and simplicity. I wanted being “down-to-earth” and “real” to become my personal brand. But over time, that morphed into “comfortable” and “invisible.” Perhaps I gravitate towards athleisure and muted colours because I hope that they’ll disguise my curves but more importantly allow my personality—not my body—to do the talking. 

It’s very rare that I find myself feeling confident or powerful in my clothing. Or at least that was until Tan became the catalyst I needed to change. 

Photo via Buzzfeed

The connection between your style and the way your style makes you feel about yourself is the key to developing a healthier relationship with yourself. Tan’s role as the style expert echoes that of a fashion psychologist. Fashion psychology studies how clothing affects human behaviour and is in constant conversation with cultural norms. 

During his time with the heroes, he always asks, how do you want to feel? There is an unspoken power in further developing your identity through carefully curating what clothing you want to represent you. When you walk into a room, how do you want to be perceived? How do you want to feel about yourself? And how can your style do some of that work for you? 

Sometimes we fail to notice how the garments we wear also tell a story; they create a concept note that preludes our encounters. The way you style yourself is a part of your personal brand, reflecting who you are now and how you want to be seen. But most importantly, your personal concept note affects your emotional psyche. 

Think about a time you felt confident. What circumstances enabled this feeling to occur? What were you doing? Who were you surrounded by? What were you wearing? 

The layers we wear are often more symbolic than we expect them to be. The blazer, the lab coat, the denim jacket, the plaid, all tell a different story. None better or less than the other, just simply different. These clothing items make us feel a certain way, given who we are and how we feel on a particular day. It’s less about the seasonal Vogue fashion trend and more about your own personal statement. 

Who are you? What makes you happy? 

For a girl that always hides behind oversized sweaters and scarves, Tan taught me how to embody my happiness through developing my own authentic style. And it doesn’t need to be a drastic change, the only person who needs to feel the change is you. 

Photo via UpWorthy

Oftentimes, Tan sets the Queer Eye heroes up with capsule wardrobes, supporting them on their journey of aligning their outward image to match their inspiring personalities. A capsule wardrobe includes simple and classic pieces that you can mix, match, and layer. It’s flexible and makes styling easy, without causing too much confusion. Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can find clothes, shoes, or accessories that make bolder statements.

As 2020 becomes a distant memory in the past, I hope to end with it the days of oversized, baggy clothing. I need to stop wearing clothes like an invisibility cloak. It’s high time I Marie Kondo my closet and get rid of the clothes that don’t elicit positive emotions. Taking Tan’s advice seriously, it’s time I say goodbye to an attitude of apathy towards how I dress and choose to do better. Knowing now, that my style is my spokesperson, entering, engaging, and leaving impressions in a room far before I have a chance to speak. My style is my art, it’s symbolic for me. 

(Thank you Tan, for helping me move past an old, stagnant chapter, to open a new one full of possibility, colour, texture, and personality).