The Power of Twitter

Stacy London, American fashion consultant (known well for her role as co-host on the reality program What Not To Wear) posts regularly on her Twitter account, @StacyLondonSays, everything from updates on her current projects to giving fashion advice to fans. While London’s busy schedule doesn’t allow her time to reply to every tweet, she says she enjoys interacting with fans via social media. It also allows her to connect with fans all over the world, and make the philosophy of What Not To Wear available to more than just the lucky few participants on the show.

“There’s something about the immediacy of Twitter that really appeals to me,” says London. “My viewers can ask me questions and I can consult with them in a way that is just impossible to do with Facebook or anything else.”

London mentions that she also likes the succinct-ness of Twitter, and how you have to know the single thought you want to get across. “There’s only 140 characters and there’s only so much you can say,” said London. “You can always link to a longer article that you’ve written or that’s about you. You can point to another site or something else that you want to show in longer form.”

London says that people will often send her photos of their outfits for critique – and that she hears from a diverse group of people, ranging from 12-year-old girls to 60-year-old women, and even men.

Not everything is fashion related, though. “I’ve gotten a few marriage proposals, which I have to say is kind of an ego boost,” London says. “I also get guys who ask me to help them with gifts for their girlfriends – I’ve helped pick a couple of engagement rings for guys for their fiancés.”

London says that in the past she’s also gotten more serious messages, and for a while had to step back and change her approach to Twitter.

“I used to find myself getting involved with young women who I think were looking up to me,” says London. “I got very anxious, because I felt like they were looking up to me for the wrong reasons, and sort of beating themselves up, thinking that I’m so confident, or that I have the best job in the world. And [some of these girls] were hurting themselves, whether it was eating disorders, or cutting themselves, and I got very involved to make sure that they got professional help. It started to be kind of all-consuming.”

“Now, I try to have a more positive, supportive attitude but not too involved,” London said.