Shopping on a Budget with Tim Gunn
PAGE 4
For the Nonexistent Budget
One of Gunn's favorite style tips is actually free, although for him it's the result of 12 long childhood years of piano practice: good posture. "We look better, people perceive us more positively and we look as though were completely confident in how we're presenting ourselves to the world," he says. "You can be immaculately dressed, and if you have poor posture, then you're not going to be able to pull it off."
Gunn is constantly keeping his posture in check, but even he experiences the midday slump from spending hours in front of a computer. He's working on his second book (on a subject he may know even more about than fashion: modern manners) and says he pretends the keyboard is a piano to keep himself from slouching. "It just helps," he says. "But, of course, I have the advantage of having played the piano. Does anyone play the piano anymore?"
The bottom line is, blowing your rent money on one outfit isn't dressing to impress. What matters, he says, is how you present yourself. "So many people say to me, 'Oh, I'm not a fashion person,'" Gunn says. "Well, I don't expect you to be a fashion person. What I do expect you to accept responsibility for is how you present yourself to the world. It's the semiotics of clothes: The clothes we wear send a message to the world about how we want to be perceived. So accept responsibility for that."
Gunn's advice for every woman, every size
One of Gunn's favorite style tips is actually free, although for him it's the result of 12 long childhood years of piano practice: good posture. "We look better, people perceive us more positively and we look as though were completely confident in how we're presenting ourselves to the world," he says. "You can be immaculately dressed, and if you have poor posture, then you're not going to be able to pull it off."
Gunn is constantly keeping his posture in check, but even he experiences the midday slump from spending hours in front of a computer. He's working on his second book (on a subject he may know even more about than fashion: modern manners) and says he pretends the keyboard is a piano to keep himself from slouching. "It just helps," he says. "But, of course, I have the advantage of having played the piano. Does anyone play the piano anymore?"
The bottom line is, blowing your rent money on one outfit isn't dressing to impress. What matters, he says, is how you present yourself. "So many people say to me, 'Oh, I'm not a fashion person,'" Gunn says. "Well, I don't expect you to be a fashion person. What I do expect you to accept responsibility for is how you present yourself to the world. It's the semiotics of clothes: The clothes we wear send a message to the world about how we want to be perceived. So accept responsibility for that."
Gunn's advice for every woman, every size
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