Meeting the 'metrosexual' man

By Jane Standley BBC New York correspondent

The ultimate in American reality shows has just premiered on a cable channel. It brings together Americans' love of reality television and their bug for self-improvement.

New Yorkers are turning to gay men for style inspiration

But the show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is a makeover show with a twist. It features the "Fab Five" - five gay men who transform a drab straight man.

Marketing gurus have coined the term "metrosexual" to describe the kind of man who would give it a try - style conscious and willing to give it a go - and they are using them in focus groups to try to predict coming consumer trends.

Michael Schansinger and Chris Ficcara are young New Yorkers. They're both 29, single and straight - but Chris is a metrosexual. Michael needs some persuading.

That is the motto of America's latest reality show - "improve yourself" into a sleek metrosexual male.

"I'm high maintenance," says Chris. "Mike is fairly low maintenance and I'd just like to say 'trim the beard off and spice it up a little'. He's a good looking guy and he can do a lot with himself."

In the show stylish gay men lead the way - making over drab straight men. It shows how social mores have changed, allowing the metrosexual to emerge. There is no longer any stigma in being a bit flamboyant.

I feel like I am wearing the clothes - but I just don't feel the part physically inside the suit. Michael Schansinger

"A very interesting percentage of men, who are decidedly heterosexual in terms of sexual orientation, like the grooming and the aesthetics of the gay world and are prepared to cop it and borrow it for their own," says Marion Salzman, a leading trends analyst for the Euro RSCG Worldwide marketing group.

Whoever came up with the term metrosexual made a marketing manager's dream come true. In reality it is really just young men with money to spend who need prodding in the right direction.

But many American men are finding their own way already - there has been a three-fold increase in the number going for cosmetic surgery in the last five years alone.

That may be one step too far for Michael and Chris - but sartorial elegance is not.

"I look like I went to the barber maybe three weeks ago and spent eight dollars on my haircut," says Michael. "I feel like I am wearing the clothes - but I just don't feel the part physically inside the suit."

Michael decides on a stylish goatee

Next stop is the fashionable J Sisters salon, for male beauty. New products appealing to masculine vanity appear every week and there is a shopping magazine for men on its way. And even Michael relaxes into the role of metrosexual.

"I think I'm just about over the fence. I'm ready to try this about every six to eight weeks."

And a final bold step. Michael gets a goatee. After a slow start, he has almost qualified as a true metrosexual.