Fabulous, Dahling

Walking through Hayes Valley after a belt-busting Italian dinner with Audi and Mark a few weeks back, we passed by a bar that hosted a long-running drag show. It was dark inside, but laughter and music and the sounds of clinking barware floated out to greet us. And then as we walked toward Audi's car, we saw two queens - dressed to the NINES, mind you - attempting to extract themselves from their tiny parked car. Clearly, they were bound for the bar. The one who got out first had on a gorgeous wig and seriously enviable 50s frock complete with petticoat and heels. She sauntered in our direction and when she was a few feet away, sang out, "Hello, kids!"

And I squealed out an enthusastic, "Hiyeeee!"

Because, you see, I think drag queens are fabulous. I think drag queens know how to be fabulous in a way that many other humans do not. And I am not talking about regular, run-of-the-mill fabulous - as in "That tomato soup was fabulous, " or, "Wouldn't it be fabulous if this scratch-off lotto ticket won me $15?" or, "What a fabulous home-buying seminar this has been." I am talking about FAAAAAHHHHBULOUS, DAHLING.

But what the hell does that mean?

I hadn't given it much thought until recently. It was just something I knew and accepted, but left undefined. Yet that tiny little exchange with the gorgeous queen in Hayes Valley made me wonder ... what IS fabulous? Why do drag queens have it? Who else has it? And how can I get me some more of it?

I'm pretty sure that fabulous is equal parts cheese, bravery, confidence, and sequins. That drag queens have hit upon that magical equation, pulling in elements of outrageous fashion, outright brashness, and goofy fun to create a genre of dressing unparalleled in fabulosity. In mulling this over, I realized that many glam rockers are clued in as well, and pull off super-theatrical, flashy-crazy looks with enviable abandon. And while there's loads of fabulous to be had on the runways each season, the models seem to take much of it for granted ... whereas the queens and rockers of the world own it, nurture it, and have FUN with it.


But what can we non-queens and non-glam-rockers do to inject a little fabulousness into our lives and our stylings?

1. Wear shiny stuff: Sequins, rhinestones, satin, metallics, studs, latex ... even glitter nail polish, high-shine lip gloss, and shimmery eye shadow. If it shines, it's GOOD.

2. Watch your posture: Queens walk tall and it broadcasts their confidence. You do the same!

3. Exaggerate: As in exaggerate your proportions by cinching in your tiny waist, exaggerate your peepers by drawing on a cat-eye, exaggerate your gorgeous hair by teasing it up into a quasi-beehive, exaggerate your cleavage by dusting a bit of glitter between the girls.

4. SMILE: 'Nuff said. (OK, OK, glam rockers may scowl ... but I maintain that the easiest way to broadcast confidence and inner-awesomeness is with a toothy grin.)

5. Go bright: Black, white and grey are chic and classic, BUT THEY ARE THE COLORS OF ANTI-FABULOUSNESS. Show us your scarlets and canaries, teals and magentas, break out the violets, emeralds, persimmons, and rich, deep ceruleans.

6. Go bold: Choose hefty accessories, wild prints, statement shoes. Chunky, funky, and fantastic. And give not a moment's thought to whether or not you can pull it off - believe that you can, and you can.

7. Walk sassy: This will mean something different to every single one of you, and that's what makes it so awesome. Throw those shoulders back, or swing those hips, or simply tilt your chin skyward. Add a little sass to your stride and you'll feel fab in no time.

Only one of these things at a time needs be employed to tap into the world of fabulousity. Simple awareness of the cheese-bravery-confidence-sequin formula will allow it to permeate your entire look. The trick is to add a dash of theatricality to your look without going all wigs-and-tap-shoes-and-stage-directions. In my humble opinion, you can feel theatrical without acting theatrical, glitter subtly without painting a lightning bolt across your face, tap the fabulosity without going nuts about it.

And even if drag queen-level sparkle and shine or glam-rocker panache and bravado aren't things we want to emulate on a daily basis, I think that figuring out your own link to fabulousness is a great way to unleash inner stores of confidence, and a truly fun way to push your own sense of style.

What does fabulous mean to YOU? What behaviors and styles, pieces of clothing and types of accessories scream fabulosity to you? How often do you trot out the funky-theatrical side of your own style?

Beautiful queen image courtesy Simonse. Bowie image courtesy Exclaim News.