Queer Eye for the Straight Guy : The Fab 5's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better

by Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia

Imagine Five eminently stylish and hilariously witty gay men -- authoritative experts in food and wine, grooming, decorating, fashion, and culture -- invade your life, assess your strengths and weaknesses, and, in the course of a day, make you better dressed, better groomed, better mannered, and a better cook, living in a better home. All of this is painless (unless you have a really egregious body-hair situation), liberating, and downright fun.

This is what Queer Eye for the Straight Guy does each week on one of the hottest TV shows in memory, as the Fab 5 -- Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley, and Jai Rodriguez -- turn an everyman frog into an every-girl's-dream prince. And this is what the book the essential "make better" advice from each of the Fab 5. Just like the show, the book focuses on easy but lasting lifestyle transformation -- the tasks, the projects, the modest purchases, and, most important, the new attitudes that immediately make a noticeable difference.

From Kyan's instructions on how often to wash your hair to Carson's explanation of why shirts are the new ties, from Ted's strategies for ordering wine and Thom's suggestions on a better bathroom to Jai's hints on shaking hands, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is filled with clear, direct advice on the issues that confront every man. But Queer Eye doesn't try to make you dress like Carson or dance like Jai; it's about teaching you how to refine your own personal style, without throwing away your entire closet and buying a whole new everything. It's about helping you realize the best expression of yourself -- the real you.

Queer Eye introduces men to the rewards that women -- and a lot of gay men -- have long reaped by thinking about the day-to-day details that make them look better, feel better, and get more out of life. Many straight men have long felt that these subjects are not for them. Nothing could be sillier. In this book, the Fab 5 sets them straight (so to speak).

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Reference, Self Help, LGBT, How To, Humor

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 10, 2004

About the author

Edward Allen is an American author and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the Bravo network's television program Queer Eye, and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series Chopped since its launch in 2009, as well as Chopped Junior, which began in mid-2015.

Reviews

[da AL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this 2004 book another star if it were updated. As a woman, it still has good practical advice, such as using color blocking and creating a focal point when decorating -- and just all over having fun with life!

[Shayna Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

While certainly dated (2004), if you have ever enjoyed the original Fab Five, want a brisk walk in life 15 years ago, and still get a few good solid tips about being a straight man seeking a straight woman, this is a book for you.

[Bethina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The culture section did not age well. But the rest of it was timeless advice that still works 15 years or so later.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I heard this on audio CD and I must say- it's quite a hoot! haha I loved it. I wanted to read up a little about how men behave (or rather, how they should behave according to the cultured Fab 5) so I picked it up. Not only did I pick up tips myself on cooking and wine, but I also have plenty of tips to spare for my 2 brothers and boyfriend. Ladies, you'll get a nice peak into how to help the boys around you act and dress appropriately for whatever occasion. Fun and entertaining! Plus, it's read by the Fab 5, has great sound effects with electronica mixed in and exclusive interviews with each of the Fab 5 members. :)

[alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I'm not a straight guy (nor a gay guy, for that matter), I did read this book cover to cover and kind of loved it. It made me want to re-stock my bar, buy a few good suits, and make sure to anchor each room in my dwelling. I love books that teach people to be gracious and polite! I wish my husband was fluent enough in English to read it. Alas!

[Lenny Husen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute, not a whole lot of useful information, but some tips that were great even for a straight bird. Some laugh out loud quotes. You gotta love Carson.
Lots of glossy pretty photos of clothes, wine, and decor.
Even if it were just for the addition of "Trajikistan" to my vocabulary, this would have been worth the read.

[Chad Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so this was a fad. But I did enjoy the T.V. show and was trying to be a little hipper with my dress and apartment decorations so I could attract the ladies. This book was interesting and helpful in that department. Now I think guys can still clean themselves up but just need to be guys. Not quasi- or full metrosexuals.

[Therese Gilardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

gotta love the guys. i bought this book for my husband, but of course i was the one who devoured it. all of the sassy flavor of the old show, with a lot of great ideas thrown in, especially with regard to skin care and food.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this show! This book was great! This is the copy I own:)

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know this book covers all the specialties of the Queer Eye guys, but I really got this book for Ted Allen's recipes. I've made a few of the recipes and they've all turned out awesomely delicious.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, has a lot of good ideas.

[Noah Sturdevant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this just as an exercise in broadening my horizons, but there were some good tips. I'm afraid it was too advanced for me in some ways, so I must really be out of touch.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been more useful to me if I had read it when it was first published, at which time I was closer to the age of the target audience, rather than now, when I’m old enough to have had to figure a lot of these things out on my own. Most likely, it is really intended for people in their mid-to-late-twenties, so it would have come a bit late even then. Although not that much of it is dated (except for the page or two about cell phones), I suspect that most young men of that age-range have no memory of the TV program it comes from, so they will probably be better served by something more recent.

A couple of good things did come out of reading this for me, perhaps most significantly a recipe for cooking a perfect steak. One major complaint is the emphasis on style over usefulness in the design, which leads to most pages lacking page numbers, rendering the index useless in helping to locate specific topics. I hope they paid their indexer well before destroying his/her hard work.

[Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a woman, but this book had some great advice on how to curate your style that wasn't just "go buy expensive things". I loved the little "exercises" the guys had for the reader to try - those were GREAT for helping me learn things about my style. The way the guys explained things just made sense and made me think about my fashion and interior design in a way I hadn't before. I love how each of the men explained their area of expertise with the graphics.

As a woman reading it, I feel like I gained some insight on men, too. I was able to learn some stuff about male fashion (definitely going to experiment on my boyfriend lol). Obviously, this book being released in like 2003 means it has sliiiiightly outdated information- but I don't think it's a bad resource for modern men. I think people can still learn a lot from this!

[Mar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this at the charity shop and instantly bought it.
I like the fashion and grooming sections the best though goddamn this book is so 2004 it makes me weep.
Deifnelty gonna watch the show once exams are over

[Laura Brose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the hard cover edition of this book. It is not a great work of western literature by any means, but it is a reasonably decent tie-in for the former TV show, which I thought was a scream!

[Arthur Ryman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read. Contains some useful tips for design, drinks, food, etc.

[Noran Miss Pumkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the CD set I got for $.99 off Ebay--They all talk and are really fun and even Carlon The fashionon crazed guru is sane and wonderful on his CD--eevn women can learn from this set. I sdore Jai and missed that he got little screen time--yet he got a CD to himself and really covered some clever oints for a party shy wall flower like myself.
The design and groom guys had to share a CD--they are the FAB - so i was expecting 5 CD's-I felt the designed guy got cheated! I do not if i will hunt down a written version on the book, as I often due with Cd's==I only get them if they are cheaper then the book.
They all were witty/sane and fun. I learned things from them all and I am a straight girl! Glad that Carson can be sane and smart--he knows his fashion history--so cool! I recommend it--it was fun to listen to! :)

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, and enjoyable. Not sure I agree with all of the stuff about grooming. The section on decorating is abstract to the point of being hard to apply. Unsure how useful the stuff on fashion would be if you don't already know what you're doing in that arena. The cooking/eating section was very usefuli.

[Pody Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

The important book for women (especially for you who need someone give u much intention!). This is the secret of men. What they like, what kind of food or beverage they prefere. All about them!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even my hubby read it.

[Tyler Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, useful and more fun than I expected.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative. Liked it enough to try watching the show. . .if I wasn't too busy with Family, school, and work to watch TV.

[Ashley Thompson]

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy : The Fab 5's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better by Ted Allen (2004)

[Paul Groinus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book actually has a lot of good tips. It's a fun read too!

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute book but I don't need advice telling me how to dress, comb my hair, cook or tips on being cultivated; I'm light years ahead of these guys but just haven't got their cash.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though it's directed at guys, I found it interesting and funny.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for the tip on how to cook a steak!

[Zac Sigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long overdue. I met Kyan at Outwrite Atlanta in 2006(?) at his book signing. I was hoping that Carson's fashion section might address what looks good on men of differing sizes.

[Bill]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13667140