Gunn's Golden Rules

G
UNN’S
G
OLDEN
R
ULES

Gallery Books
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Copyright © 2010 by Tim Gunn Productions, Inc.

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First Gallery Books hardcover edition September 2010

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Designed by Joy O’Meara

Manufactured in the United States of America

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gunn, Tim.

Gunn’s golden rules : life’s little lessons for making it work / by Tim Gunn, with Ada Calhoun.

p. cm.

1. Gunn, Tim. Project runway (Television program). 2. Clothing and dress—United States. 3. Life skills—United States. I. Calhoun, Ada.
II. Title.

TT507 .G858 2010 746.9'2092—dc22

2010012417

ISBN 978-1-4391-7656-6
ISBN 978-1-4391-7767-9 (ebook)

CONTENTS

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!

Acknowledgments

G
UNN’S
G
OLDEN
R
ULES

INTRODUCTION

On
Project Runway,
I enter the workroom and offer my thoughts—as a mentor, not a judge—on the designers’ work. The advice I give most often is to “make it work.”