Renee's Field Report from Olsson's Bookstore in Washington DC - continued

Jade mentioned that she was a huge PR fan and along with her daughter (for whom she had also bought a book), and they get together to watch the show, especially to watch Tim.

Another woman, Tracy, said she was a big Tim Gunn fan. Asked why, she responded, “He has the ability to cut somebody down in the nicest possible way.” Two friends, Mary and Kay came together. They claim they are PR fanatics. Kay began watching it and then got Mary into it. They came to see Tim because “on so many reality shows, people get mad and he (Tim) is always nice.”

Sean, Christine and Sarah, all Georgetown University students, were seated together. Sean was the one who got them into coming to see Tim. For him, “Tim Gunn makes PR because of all his pithy comments.”

Kathy found out about the book signing through BPR. She admires Tim for his graciousness. As she said, “I admire someone in the modern world who uses big words and then I point him out to my son to show him that SAT words are useful in the real world.” Rob and Lane liked the way that Tim approaches people. Julie’s comment was that Tim is “frank when he tells them things. He is both funny and helpful.”

By 2:45, there were at least 34 people waiting. I met Abrams’ publicist Jason Wells who mentioned that this was the first book signing that Tim and Kate were doing. At 3:00, Tim had not yet arrived. I looked around the room and noticed the diversity of people who had come to see him. It encompassed every age group and demographics. Most of the people were between 20 and 40, but there were a number of us individuals of a certain age. Tim’s fan base definitely has a great variety.

Shortly thereafter, I saw Tim and Kate walk by on the sidewalk and enter the bookstore. Leaving his trench coat and briefcase with Jason Wells, they came to the area where more than 60 people now gathered, applauded their entrance. Wearing his black Banana Republic suit, a blue striped shirt, black tie and black shoes, Tim definitely was style personified. Kate had on a lovely black dress that she later admitted getting online.

Tim talked about writing the book, harking back to the time when he joined Parsons and felt that in the academic world, it was the old “publish or perish” syndrome. Kate had an editor friend at Abrams, and the concept of the book came up. As Tim said, he was “exhilarated and terrified.” He knew that he had to work with Kate since she would help him with his Bravo blogs and they are so “spiritually and intellectually aligned”, i.e. finishing each others’ sentences.

He said that he never “worked so hard for so little” but that he wrote through the love of it. Tim mentioned that each of them developed their own way of working, in his case waking up at 4:30 and writing from 5 a.m. to 8. Kate mentioned her method which included her cat and wine (sounds good to me). Tim mentioned that the manuscript was due Labor Day and they needed to “cross-pollinate and edit” it.

The manuscript went to the editors and then both Tim and Kate got together with them around New Years in order to spend two days with the proofs. They wondered if anyone would respond to the book. After being away from the manuscript for several months and reading it, Tim’s comment was, “This is pretty good.”

Just prior to the question and answer session, Kate mentioned how Tim is so generous of spirit. His response was “Don’t ever leave me.” Then the questions began.

One woman in the front row asked about wearing head-to-toe vintage looks, even though stylists say no to that. Tim’s response to her 1920s-1930s look was “You look smashing.” He also mentioned his disdain for stylists and wished he could see actresses, for example, put themselves together as in the older days. As to the vintage look, he felt that, “if you feel confident, people will respond to it. There are no hard and fast rules. It is important to know who YOU are and how you dress for that person.” Kate added that one should “keep accessories simple to keep it fresh.”

Someone asked Tim about his new position. He said that he would be there as cheerleader to champion the designers to produce an irresistible product. He hopes that by spring 2008 the changes would be seen.

Getting around to PR, one person commented that she/he (sorry, can’t remember) liked it as a reality show because “the public doesn’t vote.” Then the question came up as to the producers’ input and involvement in the decisions that were made. Tim was quick to say that the only time the producers would get involved was if the judges were at a stalemate. Asked about how he felt about some of the votes, Tim mentioned that he had to give his say at times. “I have to. I’m thinking what the audience is thinking.” Then someone mentioned that PR has “the most integrity of any reality show.”

As for Season 4, Tim mentioned that with the individuals who applied, the producers could cast three seasons. He said that so many surpassed in technique and high design. “There is no excuse for it not to be great.”

Several other questions were offered and the time came for the Q&A to end. All the books at the store had been purchased and we lined up to meet Kate and Tim. Luckily, since I was #13, I was up there fairly quickly. On meeting them, I mentioned that I was representing BPR and Tim spoke up that he gets all his information from BPR. He couldn’t have been more gracious. Although Jason the publicist offered to let me speak with Tim some more after the book signing, I unfortunately had to get back to my office. As I was leaving, I asked who had the last number and what it was. The man told me, “63.” Behind him, there were more people waiting. What does that say about Tim’s appeal?

One final personal note, when leafing through the book, I noted some appendices. There is one for “Films of Style.” I wish to quote the paragraph: “We are not recommending these films solely for their wardrobes—even though many of them are exemplary. These are films that give your eyes a workout, either because of their breathtaking cinematography or because there is nothing like watching Cary Grant and Myrna Loy for two hours….” As a rabid Cary Grant fan, I can honestly say that Tim Gunn, who was already very high, in my estimation, has gone even higher. He definitely has quality, taste and style.

Renée

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