I wear what I want .. and sod looking like everyone else
Countryfile’s Anita Rani tells Prudence Wade how a wardrobe clearout made her reassess TV outfits to find her own unique style
WHEN Anita Rani first appeared on telly in the early 2000s, she felt she needed to dress like every other TV presenter.
Now, at age of 42, she is much more confident in her own style.
Anita also admits her approach to fashion has evolved – and that the Covid pandemic has changed her perspective on shopping.
She describes her style as “eclectic”, adding: “I like to have a variety of things, I mix and match.”
But where she shops has changed over the years.
She said: “I’m a big supporter of small businesses who have good values and ethics and think about where products are made.
“I’m happy to spend a little bit more and support somebody who could use my money rather than popping into a high-street shop like I used to do when I was younger.”
Anita believes she is now more “grown-up” in her fashion choices.
She said: “I have made so many errors in the TV industry and I felt like I needed to dress up like a presenter.
“But, more and more, I wear what I like and sod looking like everybody else.
“I still have a tendency to dress like a 16-year-old boy, which I’ve done my whole life – big hoodies, baggy trousers and a pair of trainers. That has been my style since I was a teenager.”
When Anita took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, she was out of her comfort zone but still enthuses about how much she “loved it”. She particularly enjoyed “the moment where you transform from being you into glitter and glam, ready to go and dance”.
Anita added: “That’s all part of the make-believe and fun. When else in life would you ever wear that much make-up or that little clothing?”
Like many people in Britain, she did a wardrobe clear-out in lockdown and to make sure she was doing a good job of it, she got a discerning friend to help. She said: “I needed a second pair of eyes to be ruthless.”
Any item of clothing she thought she should keep because she might wear – even though she hadn’t worn it in years – her friend would put in the donation pile.
Anita said: “It was liberating. I felt every time I opened my wardrobe, my clothes were suffocating me. It felt great to have a big, old clear-out then put everything back in.”
It also caused her to re-evaluate her approach to fashion and think about “how much stuff we have and how much we use and need”.
She said: “In the 90s, I used to buy second-hand, not vintage.
“It was normal for students to be in second-hand shops. You couldn’t afford new outfits and it was cooler to buy a second-hand T- shirt and customise it. We need to get back to that.” However, Anita thinks that during the pandemic, people are turning back to vintage and second-hand clothes as they know they’ll get good value.
● Anita is supporting TK Maxx’s Give Up Clothes For Good, in support of Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People. Visit TKMaxx.com for more information.