"Freakin' Fabulous"

Last week I searched high and low, visiting all campus bookstores, for the highly popular Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. To my dismay, none of the stores had it in-stock. With little options left, I headed over to Borders. As I was walking to the Reference section, I got distracted by this hot pink cover graced by none other than the fabulous Clinton Kelly. (Kelly co-hosts TLC's What Not To Wear with Stacy London)

It may seem that Clinton Kelly is just another reality TV star who, although is considered a fashion genius, may not be widely perceived as a smart guy. But, his credentials say he deserves way more credit. Kelly received a B.A. in Communications from Boston College and a master's degree from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. He has also been editor/deputy editor of major fashion magazines, such as Marie Claire, Mademoiselle and DNR, before becoming the nation's go-to guy in fashion crises.

Although the title of Kelly's new book--Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, And Generally Be Better Than Everyone Else--made me cringe, my mild obsession with Kelly drew me in.

Naturally, as a journalism student, I turned to the chapter on how to speak. I was expecting to be bored with a laundry lists of do's and don't's and new, hip slang, with the occasional side of pretty pictures, but Kelly proved me wrong. Kelly was teaching grammar. He wrote about the differences between lie and lay; fewer and less. Yeah, he used silly examples, like "I lay my gin on the table," but at least he's getting the point across.

Kelly, like all journalists and writers, stresses the importance of proper grammar. A little punctuation mark in the correct place goes a long way. As journalists, our credibility rides on our ability to understand and apply the proper rules of grammar.

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