Monday, July 26, 2010

Fashion Guru Throw Down: Tim Gunn versus Simon Doonan

Tim Gunn (Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style (Tim Gunn's Guide to Style)) is nice, but Simon Doonan (Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You) is funny.

Tim Gunn has got to be one of the most pro-active professors in the United States. I can’t think of any other faculty member – outside of sports coaches’ promotion of college football, basketball, and other sports – who has brought his school to national attention with its very own hit TV show.

Parsons School of Design was never really off-the-map. But Gunn’s brainchild, Project Runway, created with model Heidi Klum, created a fun forum to showcase students’ work.

Gunn always has a kind word for hard-pressed students in the pressure cooker of the Project Runway deadlines.

His slogan, “Make it work” has achieve a degree of national fame.

Doonan is mostly unknown to TV audiences. He’s been a guest presenter on America’s Next Top Model.

Doonan can be caustic, but his fashion lessons strike to the heart of the fashionista who deplores following trends.

Doonan’s slogan, “Say no to ‘ho” perfectly captures a lesson I wish more of my female students would take to heart.

The line between Las Vegas showgirl and college girl has grown so perilously thin it barely exists when it comes to campus dress.

I’m also in love with Doonan’s pronouncement that jeans and denim are over. If only it were true. Meanwhile, Gunn, in his Guide to Style, counsels pairing various accoutrements – a good pair of leather boots, a blazer – with jeans for a casual look.

If I were going out for a cafĂ© lunch on a gray day when my spirits needed propping up, I’d choose Tim Gunn as my lunch companion.

The rest of the time I’d pick Simon Doonan. I’d laugh so much my face would hurt. I love that.