• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, March 26, 2025

Once upon a time, there was a congenial makeover show on TLC called “What Not To Wear.”

Now, the same duo who became famous on that show -- Clinton Kelly and Stacy London -- are back with a new show coming to Amazon Prime next month titled “Wear Whatever the F You Want.”

It made me laugh when I read the title in a press release the other day because it seemed like the antithesis of the old show.

To me, this title says: “We don’t care what the F you wear. If you make a fool of yourself, then it’s your funeral. Just leave us the F alone.”

To be fair, the show itself is not like that at all. Premiering April 29, “Wear Whatever The F You Want” is just as warm-hearted as its previous incarnation, “What Not To Wear,” which aired from 2003 to 2013 on TLC.

The f-word title is meant to position the show as offering freedom of expression when it comes to clothes. Instead of us telling you what not to wear, this time it is up to you. Or something like that.

“The world has changed a lot since the run of ‘What Not To Wear’ and thankfully, so have we,” says a prepared statement positioned as coming out of the mouths of Kelly, 56, and London, 55, in unison.

“These days we have zero interest in telling people what to do based on society’s norms -- because there are no more norms!” the two exclaim.

That all depends on which “norms” you’re talking about. Here’s a norm that was once abnorm, but now is commonplace -- using the f-word in TV show titles.

Alert readers who have made it to this point in this TV Blog have every right to say (to themselves or others): Oh, no. Is this going to be another f-word column?

The answer is yes because like a dog with a bone, it is difficult for a TV blogger to let go of a topic once he has sunk his teeth into it.

Previous TV shows with f-word titles that have been cited here are the Viceland food show called “F*ck, That’s Delicious,” a Gordon Ramsay show on Fox titled “The F-Word With Gordon Ramsay” and the comedy called “Kevin Can F**k Himself” on AMC.

At this point, it feels unnecessary for the TV Blog to rail against this trend anymore, since it is here to stay. So from now on, it’s “I report, you decide.”

Besides, I knew this was a dead issue when I saw my first f-word in The New Yorker a few years back. Yes, The New Yorker.

The “F” in the title of Amazon Prime’s new makeover show does not mean the show itself is an f-word festival. The word itself is not part of the show’s publicity material.

“Style is still an important form of communication and we’re excited to show new clients how to align their personal messaging with their life goals. It’s time to celebrate individual style, not prescribe it,” says the statement prepared for Clinton Kelly and Stacy London to publicize their new “F” show. 

And if using the f-word is a part of a client’s personal messaging, then there is nothing the F wrong with that too.