Kimora Lee Simmons is the poster girl for fabulosity, and she’s got the Style Network show to prove it. Season Four of her “Life in the Fab Lane” airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on Style, and this year, she’s got her adorable toddler son, Kenzo, along for the ride.
Returning to the show this season, of course, is her family: Eight-year-old Aoki, 11-year-old Ming and what-a-man Djimon Hounsou. Expect the usual Kimora-esque hijinks and fun that we’ve gotten used to in the last three seasons.
If watching Lee’s “Life” isn’t getting your personal fab game up enough, we have five hot tips for you to embrace more fabulousness in your own life.
GET YOUR GEAR UP
It’s certainly not the only way, but getting a style upgrade is one of the ways you can feel good about you – and fabulousness starts with feeling good. Read the blogs and celebrity magazines, and see what stars have your body type and what they look good in. If you’re athletic and cut, check out Ciara or Kelly Rowland; if you’re curvy, take a look at what Beyonce is wearing; if you’re petite, Jada Pinkett; if you’re full-figured, see what Mo’Nique, “Glee” star Amber Riley or Queen Latifah are wearing these days. For the good and grown, you have Halle Berry, Garcelle Beauvais, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Michelle Obama as inspirations.
Look at cut, color, consider your age and lifestyle, and then look at the top fashion magazines for what’s hot in the stores. With all of that info, you can craft a look and make it yours.
Budget’s no object these days – Kohl’s, Target and J.C. Penney have hot designer lines at reasonable prices. If you’ve got a little more to spend, Banana Republic, Talbots and Ann Taylor have great stuff and extended sizes online. If you can, splurge on shoes and bags, the two things worth spending good money on.
GET YOUR FITNESS GAME UP
If you are spending a grip on weekly mani/pedis, and your weave is laid, but you’re more than 50 pounds overweight, for shame, sister! That money would best be spent making sure you’re healthy and fit – and looking good in the much expanded clothing options available in smaller sizes. You can’t truly be fab when you’re huffing and puffing up one flight of subway stairs or too winded to walk a block.
If you are in the weekly mani/pedi group, then you already have enough money for a gym membership. Planet Fitness nationwide has affordable memberships, as do most Y’s, and for some of you, health insurance can cut gym membership costs.
No excuses, ladies. Time to put down the Popeye’s, learn more about healthy eating and get into the gym. Or take African dance, or get some workout DVDs – ladies, they even have workout sites and info online. Make this the year that you get truly fabulous – by being healthy.
GET YOUR HOME DÉCOR TOGETHER
Does your house look like it could be on “Hoarders?” Then it’s time for a makeover, and it doesn’t have to be an extreme one either. Start by getting the kids and the whole family in on it, and tackle a room every weekend. If your clutter is overwhelming, then start with the room you spend the most time in and the things that you KNOW you can throw out. Be ruthless. If you haven’t used it in a year or it hasn’t been in style since the Hustle was hot, get rid of it. Then you can see where you are and where you want to go.
AFFIRM YOUR INNER FAB CHICK
Even if you don’t feel good about yourself, you can do one thing every day – affirm your fabulousness. It’s a simple as repeating the words to yourself every morning while looking in the mirror or leaving yourself a note on the mirror (If your husband asks what’s up, tell him, “Baby, you’re fabulous, and I wanted you to know it.”). The key is to start thinking of yourself as fabulous, regardless of what’s going on in your life. If you feel overweight, overwhelmed and overscheduled, just keep saying to yourself, “I’m fab-u-lous.”
Put it in your phone. Put it on a Post-It and have it visible in your cubicle. When those inner voices of doubt overwhelm you, have your inner fab chick tell them to STHU. The point is you have to feel fabulous in order to be fabulous.
CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE
Kimora Lee Simmons gets away with a lot of things because she’s a celebrity, but even she has a limit, and most of the time, she’s pretty upbeat and positive. True fabulousness is not about diva-dom, nasty attitudes or making folks wait on you (Well, maybe Kimora could work on that one.). When you make other people feel good, when you’re friendly and nice, it’s amazing how the attitudes of those around you improve.
Smile, be courteous, and be respectful of yourself and others. That’s how to truly live life in the fab lane.
