The art of Fabulous-ness

Last week I checked out a book from the library called Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else  written by Clinton Kelly.  You know him, everyone's favorite co-host of  What Not to Wear.  He is fabulous so taking advice from him seemed like a good idea.  I also have this weird love and appreciation of gay men (I spent almost my entire early- to mid-twenties trying to date them but have since learned how to love them without LOVING them if you know what I mean). 

The book was fun to read (I skimmed it while we were watching a movie) and there were a couple of gems ("Every car trip goes faster when you sing" and did you know that woman's sleeves can be any length from three-quarter length to standard and be appropriate?).  The How to Speak section left a little to be desired (I was hoping for suggestions on what to say at a tea party or how to console someone who has just lost a loved one but I got the difference between further and farther) but I was entertained.


But the book got me thinking. The subtitle of the book is "How to dress, speak, behave, eat, drink, entertain, decorate, and generally be better than everyone else." I like all of those things--speaking, eating, drinking etc but the part that gets me is that Clinton is telling us that the way to fabulous-ness is to be better than everyone else.  I think we are often urged in this culture to build our self esteem by comparing ourselves to others.  That seems unhealthy to me (and leads me to compare myself to girls who are next to me at the gym--trying to decipher if their ankles are skinnier than mine).  It seems to me that the way to real fabulous-ness is to not to be better than everyone else but rather to appreciate and learn from the fabulous-ness in others.  

So Clinton Kelly, I will take what I can learn from your book (Dress up a little to go to the dentist) but I will not try to be more fabulous than everyone else--I'm just going to try to be my own fabulous self and try to not compare myself to the girl next to me at the gym with incredibly skinny ankles. 

**Another section that should have been covered in the book is how to respond to comments left on your blog. Do you respond to all of them? What do you say? Until I find a book that does instruct one on what to do I will just tell you that I love your comments.  Thank you for leaving them.  I read them and think about them and the hubbs and I talk about them. Even if I am still waiting for some of you to post your melancholy playlists so I can copy them...ahemmmm Marcey...I'm looking at you.