3 Things Kelly Cutrone Taught Me

Kelly Cutrone has made a name for herself as one of the most sought after publicists in New York. After my supervisor recommended one of her books to me, I can see why and how this happened. Kelly Cutrone was led by her intuition and it was as if by destiny she happened upon publicity. She learned to navigate the world by seeing herself as a brand and building a reputation for herself. Now that we’re on the subject, that’s one of the lessons she teaches in If You Have To Cry, Go Outside:

Branding Yourself

In chapter 7 of her book, Kelly Cutrone describes how to stand out as an individual once you’ve worked on your inner self. As you can already tell, I won’t be going in order because there is so much to take from this book that I’ll just have to go with what immediately pops into my head. A few excerpts from this chapter read:

“Personal branding is about figuring out who you are and what turns you on and then monetizing on it.” She gives examples of people who didn’t blend into their fields, one of which was the late Harper’s Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis who was famous for having a heart, which was rare for editors-in-chief of major fashion magazines. Cutrone says, “I believe these people became successful because what they were selling was authentic.”

Making Your Worry Work For You

In chapter 5, actually titled “Worrier to Warrior,” she says “If you’re always thinking, Life sucks, and I suck, you’re definitely going to see a lot of dismal shit out here. […] Fighting the tyranny of your mind and freeing yourself to enjoy the journey , stumbles and all, is a lifelong process.” What she recommends is watching your fears like movies until you are desensitized to them She says to imagine the worst possible outcome and realizing that even if you turned out penniless and alone, you would be fine because everything you need to survive is inside of you.

High Priestess of Your Own Religion

In chapter 4, Cutrone gets spiritual and teaches you the power of your higher power. She recommends reading up and educating yourself on all of the religions and finding what you like best. She describes her spirituality as:

“My religion is not about worshipping the divine at noon and Sundays, nor is my God locked away in a church to be visited once a week. My religion is about manifesting the Divine in myself and in everything I do.”

She offers 12 steps used to create your own religion, but not in a way that it’s meant to begin your own cult or something insane like that, but in a way in which to respect the higher powers and yourself as a high power. She advises, “Incorporate conscious contact with the Divine into your daily life.”

All in all, I learned a lot from Kelly Cutrone in this book and I hope to take these lessons with me throughout my lifetime. This book would make a great holiday gift for anyone who is looking to move to NY, already in NY, into fashion, looking to become a publicist, actually…..it’s a great self-help book too. It embodies so many aspects of our inner selves that it’s no wonder why it was a New York Times Bestseller. Who would I be if I didn’t recommend it to all you Bombshells out there?