TV

‘Queer Eye’ Would Be Nothing Without Tan France

Tan is more than just the French tuck guy.

by Chloe Gillespie  1 April 2019
Tan France Queer Eye Season 3

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Each of the Fab Five from Queer Eye are great in their own right. Bobby is the overachieving interior queen of the show, Karamo is a wise angel, Jonathan is Jonathan, and Antoni, well, really understands the power of a graphic t-shirt.

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But the member of the Fab Five that has truly shone in Queer Eye season 3 is the “French tuck” enthusiast Tan France. Tan is a renaissance man who is both the group’s fashion expert and an excellent hula hooper.

Isn’t it obvious that a light needs to be shone on his brilliance?

But in all seriousness, what makes Tan stand apart more than anyone else on TV is that he actually helps people feel like themselves. He does this by teaching people to shop and dress in a way that is sustainable for their lifestyle.

Shopping is daunting for many of us. I’m sure it’s not just me who comes out of a dressing room feeling worse about myself than when I walked in — but that’s why I love Tan.

I appreciate that he helps people through the minefield that is getting dressed, in a thoughtful way. In an age of social media influencers and young people feeling more pressure than ever about how they look — Tan is our light.

Tan not only finds clothes that make people look good, but he also creates a shopping experience that makes the hero feel comfortable. Unlike other members of the team who don’t always prioritise the most practical skills — is spit roasting a pig really a necessary skill for anyone, Antoni? — Tan prepares his makeover subject with skills for the future that suit their lifestyle.

We love Tan.

He Loves Personal Style

Tan creates outfits for the hero that speak to the person they are, and also the person they want to be.

What’s super awesome about Tan is that he never sacrifices the hero’s personal style in their makeover. It’s always them — but with rolled up sleeves and more patterned button ups.

Tan is also great at incorporating the hero’s style icons.

When Skyler from season two said he loved Todrick Hall, Tan filled his closet with sequins, leather and patterns. When Jess said she was inspired by Janelle Monáe in season three, he built her a beautifully androgynous wardrobe with moto vests, hats and leather dresses.

On the opposite end of the sartorial scale in season 3, Tan levelled up Jason’s hippy sensibility by tailoring some of his original clothing to make it fit better.

He Knows That Shopping Can Be SCARY

Having a Queer Eye make over is a pretty overwhelming experience — your hair changes, your living space transforms and you have to open up to five strangers while cameras are rolling.

That’s why it’s so considerate that Tan makes sure the shopping environment is never too overwhelming: whether it’s sourcing clothes to try on in the privacy of the Queer Eye loft or taking the hero to a store they already shop in, Tan is always considerate of the individual’s needs.

In season three, Tan helps Joey — a Summer Camp Program Director — upgrade his wardrobe to match his new promotion. Where better to take him than to a recreational equipment store? A place where he would feel comfortable shopping with Tan or even by himself in the future.

Tan remarkably even supported Joey’s choice to not shower that often, and even gave him some advice on what fabrics to wear to ensure his clothes didn’t get smelly! Um, OK my lazy ass is taking notes.

In season two, the Fab Five assist Skyler — a trans man who has only recently undergone top surgery.

Skyler expressed his discomfort trying on suits in a normal retail environment, so it made sense that Tan took Skyler to the Queer Eye loft instead. He even enlisted the help of a company who specialised in making suits for members of the trans community.

Tan France Understands That People Have Lives 

A key criticism of Queer Eye is that it is not class conscious.

The show infrequently addresses the impact social inequality has had on the lives of the participants. Episodes often focus on surface level issues while ignoring systemic problems that lead to “problems” like messiness, being time-poor and ignoring your appearance.

On top of that, Queer Eye has been criticised for setting its heroes up with a life they can’t afford. Participants are left to deal with the costs associated with a new haircare regimen, expensive house plants and sometimes even a taste for lobster.

While many of these critiques are valid, Tan does an admirable job of compensating for the show’s shortcomings. He makes an effort to take into account the socioeconomic status of his makeover subjects and attempts to teach people to shop and dress in a way that is sustainable for their lifestyle.

In season two, the Fab Five helped Bobby Camp, who worked two jobs to support his six children. Tan understood that Bobby’s financial priority was not clothing, so he dressed him in head to toe Target, making sure he stayed within budget without sacrificing style.

Or, similarly, when helping out Rob Elrod in season 3, a widowed father of two kids under 5, he took them straight to H&M to simplify the shopping experience. Tan also taught Rob how to buy clothes for his kids in the same ‘colour story’ so that getting them ready in the morning would be dramatically simplified.

To assist the Jones sisters, Tan set up a clothing delivery service, because they didn’t have the time to shop. Whether this is a service the sisters continue to use or not, it was a thoughtful idea for two very busy ladies.

When the hero has a busy outdoorsy life, Tan doesn’t try and pick clothes for a lifestyle they don’t have. When helping Jody the self-professed ‘country girl’, he took her to J.Crew and found comfy jeans and boxy t-shirts that looked killer and also made sense for her life. It’s sustainable.

French Tuck Your Soul

When I watch an episode of Queer Eye, I’m always the most invested in the fashion portion of the makeover.

Sure, that might be because I love clothes, but I think it’s also because of how beautiful it is to watch Tan relate to people. For many of the heroes, the first time they smile back at their own appearance is when Tan puts them in an outfit that makes them feel like themselves.

Because at the end of the day the right outfit has the power to change how you feel about yourself, and Queer Eye is all about finding out who you are.

Chloe Gillespie works for Junkee and promises to be kinder to herself when getting dressed, just like Tan France would want. Follow her on Instagram at machloe_culkin, not on Twitter.

Feature image courtesy of Tan France/ Instagram.