RTE weather girl Jean Byrne has revealed she stopped wearing more conservative outfits on camera – because it made her look bigger.
The Montrose presenter, who joined the station almost 20 years ago, has admitted she ditched jackets in favour of figure-hugging dresses the minute she could.
“Several years ago it was very rigid. You get to a stage when there are only so many collars you can go through, so many shapes,” she said.
“The camera makes you look bigger anyway, it puts on at least 10lbs and jackets make you look even bigger so it became a little bit more relaxed at one point.
Flashy: Jean is known for her eye-catching outfits | VIPIRELAND.COM
“And then I just decided, ‘OK I’m a bit tired of the old jackets, I’ll wear own things’.”
The Kerry native has since gone hell for leather with her fashion choices, favouring bespoke pieces. The RTE star revealed she likes being a fashionista.
“I don’t go out of my way to find new designers but I do go out of my way in my spare time to source things and put them together.
“I don’t paint but in a way that’s my way of expressing my creativity,” she told Irish Country Magazine.
“My main thing is getting what I want and I like things that nobody else is wearing, one-off pieces.
Make it fun: Jean’s clothes are her way of getting creative | VIPIRELAND.COM
“I recently got a collar designed by Ann Rose Mongan, the designer from the show Norah’s Traveller Academy,” she revealed.
“It’s a unique, handmade piece using recycled materials – I plan to wear it on TV.”
Last September, Jean caused a stir on Twitter following her weather forecast on the Six One news with many people comparing her appearance to Xena the Warrior Princess.
The style queen, who adores Lady Gaga’s style, wore a very large statement necklace, worth €800, by her favoured Irish designer Joanne Hynes, teamed with a leather dress.
Warrior: Many thought Jean’s outfit last September made her look like Xena
There’s even a Jean Byrne Appreciation Society that’s been active sine 2011 and boasts 992 Facebook members dedicated to her bold sartorial choices.
But Jean, who has admitted in the past spending a lot of money on designer clothes, said not all her outfits appear on screen.
“I don’t wear everything I have on TV, I like to keep a few things for myself, because they become public property and you find you can’t wear them,” she explained.
