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78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wildly Entertaining Crash Course on Becoming Fabulous, October 29, 2008
This review is from: Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else (Hardcover)
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Freakin' Fabulous is a book that lives up to its name, as it playfully gives readers a crash course to help make the best possible first impressions when entertaining and socializing. While author Clinton Kelly presumes readers already understand basics such as good personal hygiene, grooming and posture, he fills in the sometimes formidable gaps of good grammar, manners, fashion, and entertaining... and he does it with such a lively sense of humor that even his advice on proper sentence structure and word usage is funny and therefore interesting. ("There's the monkey that ripped your pants.")
I especially love the way Freakin' Fabulous covers some of the essential areas of good public manners that so often get overlooked, such as when and how to write thank you notes and make apologies, what to do with guests who arrive early, what kind of gifts to bring (if any) to a dinner party, how to encourage guests to leave when you could use some new kinds of effective yet tasteful techniques, and how much to tip your hairstylist, coat check girl, and valet parking attendant. Yes, there really is such a thing as arriving so late that it's not fashionable at all... especially when food is involved, and people are kept waiting.
The big surprise for me about Freakin' Fabulous is how many wonderful recipes are included... so when you're done reading this book, you will feel confident knowing four fabulous recipes by heart (Hollandaise, Roasted Chicken, French Omelette, Nice Vinaigrette) and can whip them up in a flash anywhere, any time! Basic wines and mixed drinks will be a snap, and you'll have the most marvelous assortment of hors d'oeuvres for miles around. While more than one third of this book is dedicated to fabulous food and drink, you'll need to take into consideration your guests' special dietary needs, as these days, some people are lactose intolerant, vegetarian, or allergic or unable to eat foods containing pork and/or wheat.
Those who are not already familiar with Clinton Kelly may be in for a bit of a surprise with his more colorful language, since the unsuspecting reader might think that a book on manners would be written in flowery, antique prose. Nothing could be further from the truth! Clinton Kelly writes in a style like your up-and-coming night-life-loving best friend might, complete with informal off-the-cuff remarks that are sometimes shocking, and almost always amusing.
Freakin' Fabulous is the must-have personal transformation book for anyone who wants to radically improve their social skills in almost every situation. This is the book to read so you can literally laugh your way up the social ladder!
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"What to do" and "What not to do", October 23, 2008
This review is from: Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is a very politely and well written book for those who want to be "fabulous."
Being fabulous here means being civilized and appropriate according to the situation. For example, do you pick the right pants for your body? Do you pick the right handbag and look good without looking "weird" and disproportionate? There is a general rule to look at least "proportionate" and appropriate without exposing your flaws excessively. His book tells you how and all that with pictures of contrast.
There are ways to talk properly, which is actually more important than most people think. That's how a lot of people size the others up silently and subjectively at the very first few seconds of meeting. For example, some like to say "Me and her are going shopping together." The correct grammar is "She and I are going shopping together."
There is much more "common sense" provided in his new book, such as how to put different clothing pieces with different patters together, how to pick the right pair of pants, how to dress without exposing a beer belly (for MEN), how to use the right word, such as "fewer v.s. less," "lay v.s. lie," how to whip up some fabulous desert and comfort food, etc.
Lastly, with all the practical information, what makes this a "fabulous book" is also the colorful arrangement from the cover through the last page. There are lots of colorful pictures and graphics arranged in a pretty yet un-overwhelming manner.
After you're done reading this book, you'll find yourself more equipped with "the common sense" of being a feminine, confident, smart, and visually pleasant woman. Leave it at the side table. It'd also be a fun read for most people, such as your guests at home.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Freakin' Amazing!, November 1, 2008
This review is from: Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I love the show "What Not to Wear," and am especially a fan of Clinton's, since I am a fellow Northwestern alum. I loved this book for many reasons, including that we get to know Clinton quite a bit better than we do on the show. His personality, humor, and writing style were superb, combining clear explanations with witty comments. The humor does taper off a little toward the ending sections, but I guess you can't really dole out snappy comments about a roast chicken recipe! The book also has a great layout with drawings, colorful photos, and nice snippets of text.
Above all, of course, is that the book definitely fulfills its purpose of making the reader fabulous! Clinton's main theme is that, to be fabulous, you need to be appropriate and stylish in every situation, something which I believe most people struggle with in today's society. The book is divided into seven sections: Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, and Decorate. He covers a lot of ground in the book, everything from whether you are wearing the right thing to a funeral to age-appropriate clothing to using that vs. which to thank you notes to using your silverware correctly to cooking a French omelet to getting rid of clutter. Also, I should say that this book is not just for women. Clinton covers plenty of material, including clothing and dressing for your body type, that applies to men. I loaned my copy of the book to my mom to read, and my 63-year-old CPA father ended up picking it up and reading, almost cover to cover! (What I'm saying here is that other reviewers have mentioned that this book is just for women; it's not.) They liked it so much that they ordered a copy for themselves. Unlike "What Not to Wear," this will not just revamp your clothing and your body image, it will revamp your life if you embrace it.
That may be quite daunting for some people, but I think there are plenty of bits and pieces that anyone can incorporate into his or her life to add just a little bit of fabulousness! I definitely recommend this book for people who are fans of "What Not to Wear," people who like Clinton Kelly, and people who want to inject some fabulousness into their lives. I am even buying a copy of the book as a Christmas gift for a friend!
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