Normalcy is overrated

Simon Doonan shows the real Beautiful People

By Alysse Dalessandro
Published: April 9th, 2009 | 11:55am

Everybody has that one special family member that always brings that little extra crazy to holiday gatherings. Simon Doonan has a whole family of these characters. Doonan is known for critiquing and praising the style of others as the Creative Director at Barneys New York and as the author of Eccentric Glamour and Wacky Chicks. For his latest book, Beautiful People: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints, Doonan reflects on his own life and the people in it. Previously published as Nasty in 2004, the more aptly titled re-release of this book comes out again after Beautiful People became a BBC2 Comedy Series in October 2008.

Growing up in Reading, England, Doonan longed to be with the beautiful people. He admired these glamorous folk from the pages of magazines and thought owning a floor pillow was the first step in becoming one of them. Once encountered with this so-called fabulous crowd, he finds them about as entertaining as floor pillows.

The real characters in this memoir are not found in the society pages; this eccentric bunch is made up of Doonan’s family and friends. He begins the chapter “Bleach” about his mother by describing a mini-profile that he wrote about her at age nine. It reads, “My mother is called Betty, but her real name is Martha. She bleaches her hair and she drinks gin.” Doonan stands by every word as he goes on to describes his always perfectly coiffed mother with a penchant for taking in house guests and his father who kept the alcohol streaming by making his own wine. He also describes Narg, his schizophrenic grandmother, his blind Aunt Phyllis, and his best friend and drag queen cabaret performing roommate, Biddie. He shows a real appreciation for the women in his life.

Doonan’s quest to find the beautiful people takes on a witty tone, and he is not exempt from the ridicule. He describes his two alcohol-related arrests and gives full details of his outfits (a Mickey Mouse printed shirt and a Vivienne Westwood skirt) and the police reaction to them. Somewhere in-between chapters called “No Knickers” and “My Willie,” Doonan talks about losing friends in the wake of the AIDS crisis of the ‘80s. He describes it as a “dark and horrid time.”

Although Doonan can often be seen on VH1 talking pop culture with the same tone he brings to his books, many of his comments in Beautiful People are not exactly easily recognizable references. If you weren’t alive in ‘70s England, then you just might be running to Wikipedia to understand just what he is talking about. He also likes to insert random French phrases that go unknown. Even though some of the jokes are lost in these references, there are more than enough eccentric characters to keep you laughing out loud.

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ABOUT THE BOOK
Beautiful People: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints (Simon and Schuster)
By: Simon Doonan
304 pages, $15.00