Why I’m watching The Apprentice tonight.

I’ve been watching The Apprentice, for the last three years now, and this is the first time it will, should one of the candidates win, and be successful, have an impact on my world.

I love such entrepreneurial shows that have real people making changes . I was constantly glued especially, to Dragon’s den and loved to see if I could predict which one had a product worth investing in and which I would later see on the market shelves.

But I digress…back to The Apprentice. Since I’ve been studying and working like a crazy person, I only got to play catch-up yesterday and I am excited!

Lord Alan Sugar with the finalists Bianca Miller and Mark Wright. Image Source: BBC.com

Bianca Miller, should she win (or as she already won? Because I’m sure it’s not going to be a live show) has the potential to change my world. Mine. Personally.  Her idea, in a nutshell,  is to bring to market various flesh-toned hosiery to the mass market. I cannot tell you how much this is needed.  Every year, especially in summer, I walk into many a high street store and see rows and rows of “nude” tights and “skin-toned” tights all marketed at one type of skin. There’s sun-kissed, dark, etc, and still none of them are my same skin colour. So I always opt for black. 10 denier in the summer and 120 in the winter. always black.

Yes, yes you can get stripy and spotted and lined and green and yellow and some with batman symbols on and knitted ones and fleece lined ones and flourescent green ones if you please, but a pair of tights that match my skin tone – rare. Actually, I was typing this and it suddenly dawned on me, is this a first world problem or not…hmmm. Interesting….hahaha.

Sourced from Glamour.com:

I was so excited this summer when  I walked into Marks and Spencer and they actually had five different flesh-toned tights. At €8 for a pair though, they were a bit pricey. I bought two packs of the cocoa range, the darkest they had which still means a significant amount of women can’t find a shade, but which lucky for me, matched my skin tone perfectly. My first day wearing them, a snagged a nail in one pair and a ladder formed. I was ready to scream. a week, same thing with my second pair. I was ready to cry. I couldn’t really justify buying €8 tights each week, so I went back to the 5 pack for €4 10 denier black tights I buy in Penneys, so that I don’t give a toss if they rip the first hour I wear then.

But I was sad. Between the various shades of flesh tones one can find in Dublin, surely there was a market big enough to warrant cheaper tights that matched our skin tones and were also marked nude, no?
And no, brown tights are sooo not the same thing because not all of us are the same shade of brown. Even a quick internet search for hosiery for black women left me totally bummed. Very little selection and mostly black tights or “coffee” or “cocoa” or “dark brown” without actually seeing them beforehand, i would have no idea if they will match and if I’ll like them. Sigh.

So yes, I am very very excited that Bianca Miller has seen this gap. and if she wins the Apprentice, it’ll be a win for all women. And especially all us women of various shades of skin, to be able to walk into any store and buy a pair of tights that will match your shade of skin.

I’ll be staying glued to my Television at 9pm tonight, fingers and toes crossed for her.