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Gunn's Golden Rules
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Gunn's Golden Rules (2010) (edit title/settings)

Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work

by Tim Gunn (Author), Ada Calhoun (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Beloved pop culture icon Tim Gunn is best known as co-host of the twelve-time Emmy-nominated reality show Project Runway.  He also hosted two seasons of his own former Bravo makeover series, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style.

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

  • - Tim Gunn weaves tales of his personal life together with his observations of the fashion industry.
  • - Smiling gay man conquers the fashion rule with a suit and a smile. You can too!
  • - Fashionista escapes the wardrobe to dish on careers and relationships.

Summary edit see section history

Now the inimitable Tim Gunn shares his personal secrets for “making it work”—in your career, relationships, and life. Filled with delightfully dishy stories of fashion’s greatest divas, behind-the-scenes glimpses of Runway’s biggest drama queens, and never-before-revealed insights into Tim’s... read more

Now the inimitable Tim Gunn shares his personal secrets for “making it work”—in your career, relationships, and life. Filled with delightfully dishy stories of fashion’s greatest divas, behind-the-scenes glimpses of Runway’s biggest drama queens, and never-before-revealed insights into Tim’s private life, Gunn’s Golden Rules is like no other how-to book you’ve ever read. In the world according to Tim, there are no shortcuts to success. Hard work, creativity, and skill are just the beginning. By following eighteen tried-and-true principles, you can apply Tim’s rules to anything you set your mind to. You’ll learn why Tim frowns on displays of bad behavior, like the vitriolic outburst by Martha Stewart’s daughter about her mother’s name-brand merchandise. You’ll discover the downfalls of divadom as he describes Vogue’s André Leon Talley being hand-fed grapes and Anna Wintour being carried downstairs by her bodyguards. And you’ll get Tim’s view on the backstabbing by one designer on Project Runway and how it brilliantly backfired. Then there are his down-to-earth guidelines for making life better—for yourself and others—in small and large ways, especially in an age that favors comfort over politeness, ease over style. Texting at the dinner table? Wearing shorts to the theater? Not in Tim’s book. Living a well-mannered life of integrity and character is hard work, he admits, but the rewards are many: being a good friend, being glamorous and attractive, and being a success— much like Tim himself! He is never one to mince words. But Tim Gunn is always warm, witty, wise, and wonderfully supportive— just the mentor you need to design a happy, creative, and fulfilling life that will never go out of style.

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Making it work is empowering.”
    Tim Gunn
  • “There’s a big difference between my relationship with my students and my relationship with the Project Runway designers. When my students were in a jam, I could tell them what to do to get out of it. By decree, I cannot tell the Project Runway designers what to do, nor can I assist them in any way other than through words. I learned this the hard way.”
    Tim Gunn
  • “Truth be told, I never dreamed that I would become a career educator. In fact, it’s ironic, because growing up I hated school. And I do mean hated.”
    Tim Gunn
  • “You can be too rich and too thin, but you can never be too well read or too curious about the world.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • You can be too rich and too thin, but you can never be too well read or too curious about the world.
    Highlighted by 68 Kindle customers
  • Living a really good life and making a real mark on society is a marathon, not a sprint.
    Highlighted by 53 Kindle customers
  • “You need to be good to people. You need to take your work seriously. You need to have integrity. You need to work with what you’ve got.”
    Highlighted by 46 Kindle customers
  • Everyone wants to work with people who are low maintenance. You have a huge advantage over the competition if, in addition to being a talent, you are easy to work with.
    Highlighted by 33 Kindle customers
  • “I’ll give you some life advice,” I said. “The first piece is: Listen and listen intently when you’re being spoken to about something. The second: Take the high road. When presented with frustration or anger or discontentment with a situation or a person, don’t reduce yourself to that level. Don’t get into a conflict in that moment. You’ll feel better about yourself for it.”
    Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers
  • Running away from my problems didn’t help. I had to face up to whatever it was that I didn’t want to deal with—my homework, an angry parent, a fight with a friend—rather than just trying to put it off until it went away. Until you address them, I have since learned, such problems never truly vanish.
    Highlighted by 30 Kindle customers
  • My suspicion is that cruelty to those you have power over is insecurity, pure and simple. These bad bosses are afraid if they’re too nice to people, they won’t be taken seriously.
    Highlighted by 29 Kindle customers
  • Context is everything—for clothes, for behavior, and for expectations. Truth telling is good, but you also have to accept the conditions as they are.
    Highlighted by 29 Kindle customers
  • Good manners lead to better relationships, more career success, and less personal stress. Manners are a relief, not a terrible obligation. It’s my belief that etiquette isn’t cold and formal; it’s warm and flexible. I am very concerned with manners, but I am not a robot. Manners are simply about asking yourself, What’s the right thing to do?
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • People send each other messages all the time through their behavior, and the message here was, Fail me. I don’t want to be in school anymore. Instead of admitting that she wanted to get out of fashion, she forced the faculty to make her decision for her. From a faculty member’s point of view, I have this refrain: Why should I want you to succeed more than you do?
    Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers
Show all 14 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

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First Sentence edit see section history

As a little kid, when confronted with a difficult situation, I would run and hide somewhere in our Washington, D.C., house.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Introduction
Rule 1. Make It Work!
Rule 2. The World Owes You...Nothing
Rule 3. Take the High Road
Rule 4. Don't Abuse Your Power--or Surrender It
Rule 5. Get Inspired If It Kills You
Rule 6. Never Underestimate Karma
Rule 7. Niceties are Nice
Rule 8. Physical Comfort Is Overrated
Rule 9. Talk to Me: There's Always Another Side to the Story
Rule 10. Be a Good Guest or Stay Home (I Won't Judge You--I Hate Parties)
Rule 11. Use Technology; Don't Let It Use You
Rule 12. Don't Lose Your Sense of Smell
Rule 13. Know What to Get Off Your Chest and What to Take to the Grave
Rule 14. When in Rome...I Still Wouldn't Eat Monkey Brains
Rule 15. When You Need Help, Get It
Rule 16. Take Risks! Playing It Safe Is Never Really Safe
Rule 17. Give Back (but Know Your Limits)
Rule 18. Carry On!

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Self-Help: Are books written with the stated intention to instruct any readers on a number of personal problems. Self-improvement is a term that is a modernized version of self-help.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Tim Gunn (Author)
  2. Ada Calhoun

Other Contributors:

  1. Ada Calhoun (Contributor)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Gallery Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 9781439176566
Page Count: 272

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: TT507 .G858 2010
  • Dewey: 746.92092

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Tim Gunn
  • Fierce Style
  • Nina Garcia's Look Book
  • Project Runway Designer's Activity Book (Digest)
  • Fashion Inside Out: Daniel V's Guide to How Style Happens from Inspiration to Runway and Beyond

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