A week ago I purchased a copy of Tim Gunn’s book Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work and vowed to plow through it before meeting him on Saturday afternoon. And I did! And I was quite taken-aback… in a good way. I thought the book would be about fashion and what to wear and what not to wear, yada, yada, yada. But I was pleasantly surprised when Tim announced at the very beginning that this book is his manifesto.

“A manifesto for kindness, generosity, and integrity.”

Can I get an “AMEN!”?

In a world an American culture full of young adults with an overblown sense of entitlement and detachment from reality, this is just what the doctor ordered!

Gunn’s Golden Rules is an enjoyable and authentic account of his rise to success and what he learned along the way. It reads like he’s right there with you, by your side; rolling his eyes along with you as you read about his celebrity misbehavior stories (there’s enough in this book to keep the attention of even the most inane pop culture junkies). And if you are familiar with Tim Gunn at all, you’ll hear the sound of his voice in your head as you read.

There are 18 ‘golden rules,’ starting with Make It Work and ending with Carry On. Gunn gives his insights on a range of social niceties – from holding doors to gift giving – including examples of his own social gaffs plus those of others, even well-known fashion icons.

Woven throughout the Golden Rules are intimate stories of Gunn’s personal life, ranging from his young childhood as the son of an important FBI agent with Presidential ties, to a teenage suicide attempt, to even his love life.

Also? There’s this part about Jay Edgar Hoover.

CROSS DRESSING TO LOOK LIKE VIVIAN VANCE!

Of course this is just speculation. But FUN speculation (founded on fairly sturdy groundwork).

Some of my very favorite quotes and stories include:

“If you look at the process of creating a work of art or a design as a journey of one hundred steps, steps one through ninety-five are relatively easy. It’s the last five that are hard. How do you achieve closure? How do you finish it? That’s the hard part.”

“Bad weather is good for parties. You get only those people who really want to be there.”

“You can be too rich and too thin, but you can never be too well read or too curious about the world.”

Martha Stewart’s insane prohibition of Diet Coke in her television studio.

Descriptions of the Vogue offices.

The birth of Project Runway.

A unique juxtaposition of etiquette guide, pet peeves, personal and celebrity gossip, Tim’s book is great and very fun to read.