After years of stargazing with a critical eye, and lampooning more than a few star personas in the process, fashion bloggers Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez offer a step-by-step guide on celebrity swag in their literary debut, Everyone Wants to Be Me or Do Me. The book hit shelves Feb. 4.
Since the 2006 launch of their original blog, "Project Rungay," they've done it all: profiling Hollywood royalty for magazines and even sitting front row to dish the dirt from New York Fashion Week. Now, TomandLorenzo.com has become a tour de force, earning the duo widespread praise for consistently serving up candid commentary on everything from red carpet looks to television catastrophes.
Windy City Times spoke by phone with the Philadelphia-based couple about the book, their love of celebrity culture and lessons to be learned from the stars. And, in their trademark style, they didn't hold back.
Windy City Times: What got you both addicted to watching and writing about Project Runway?
Tom: It was a combination of fashion and television. At the time, we absolutely hated reality television. But Project Runway stood out of the pack as a show that rewarded creativity and sought out powerful, interesting people to participate in the show, not just vapid camera whores... and it was just natural that we were going to watch and have something to say about it.
WCT: When watching Project Runway, what are those conversations like between the two of you?
Lorenzo: We have this way of watching TV that, when we watch anything, we make jokes about everything going on ... and that's how we write the blog posts.
Tom: We speak in the shorthand of a couple of 17 years. It's not that we finish each other's sentences but we don't need to state full sentences at each other. All we need to do is throw terms at each other or even one word and the other one gets it.
WCT: It's no secret that your brand of wit drives your large following. But where does all the snark come from?
Tom: We're both very bitchy. It's true. We own it. We do try to temper it in a way so that it's not nasty or playing into stereotypes of how gay men sound, but we're just a couple of opinionated gay men.
There's such a broad range of what's called snarky on the Internet, that sometimes I feel like I don't want to be lumped in with certain types of writing that are much, much nastier than our own. But I have to own it. We always call ourselves bitchy and opinionated. That's who we are.
WCT: The book is titled Everybody Wants to Do Me or Be Me. What's the story behind it?
Lorenzo: We got an email from a reader asking for style advice. The way she described herself in the email, and we could tell from the way it was written... this gal did not need style advice as much as she needed a boost for her self-esteem.
So, after we gave her a few basic suggestions, we said, "It sounds like what you really need is a shot of self-confidence and what you really should do is not look to the stars to compare your physical self. Look to the stars to find ways to copy their amazingly nuclear level of self-confidence." We told her, "Stand in front of a mirror everyday before you leave the house every single day and say these words: Everyone wants to be me or do me."
Our readers really loved it and we heard for several years that they were using that affirmation in all seriousness. So, the entire book came from that original concept.
WCT: How can people look to the stars for examples of self-confidence and apply that to everyday life?
Tom: I wouldn't [advise] anyone to go through life being delusional about themselves, but there's nothing wrong with applying a little bit of crazy self-confidence to get through the hard times. We live in a celebrity-centered culture and there's no way of avoiding it ... but don't let it influence your nutritional needs or how to manage your finances or raise your children. These aren't things to look to celebrities for because their track record on it is so bad; but in terms of selling an image and projecting a level of self-confidence. That's what we can look at them for.
WCT: Are there plans to do a book tour?
Lorenzo: Yes, we are. We'll have an announcement soon on our book site and we're definitely coming to Chicago. We've been to Chicago a couple times and we love it.
Also—and this is not pandering—we love Boystown. We went to the Pride Parade about 10 years ago, and we were shocked at how integrated the parade was into city life. So, I remember being really impressed with how Chicago had embraced its gay community, even 10 years ago when it wasn't so hot.
WCT: Any tips for how people can stay fashion-forward during cold, snowy weather?
Lorenzo: Okay, snow is just a whole 'nother thing. If you've got 15 inches of snow on the ground, only an asshole would judge you for your style. And we're not assholes. We look like crap in snowy weather too.
But in terms of cold weather, there's no better advice than to invest in a coat that you love and that looks really good on you. Don't get some crazy color that's trendy this year because it won't be trendy next year.
Tom: If you want to be a little trendy with your color choices, that's when you get new scarves, gloves and hats every Christmas, which is pretty much what the two of us do. Find the colors that are on trend that season... and buy your easily replaceable accessories in those colors or patterns.
For more information on Everyone Wants to Be Me or Do Me, including online ordering and their book signing schedule, visit www.tomandlorenzobook.com .
