Bella Figura: These words translate from the Italian as “beautiful figure.” When I was supposedly old enough to understand this, my father explained it as a national attitude: cut a good figure. This is a hard-times stratagem in which, no matter how close to the edge you are, you must present yourself well.
An analogous saying: “Dress up a stick and people will think it’s a prince!” When I was growing up in Queens, people used to say, “Fake it till you make it,” and “If you can’t dazzle ’em with brilliance, baffle ’em with BS!” That was a neighborhood of hustlers.
At best, maxims of this sort point to a posture of optimism and pluck; at worst, they recommend grift.
Of course, the purists and austere religionists among us will say, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” and/or “Appearances are deceiving.” Why, then, do so many people walk around with “luxury” brand logos plastered all over their clothing? Here’s another one that usually gets people angry: “Beauty is as beauty does!” Ain’t philosophy wonderful?
There is one drawback to this approach. Let’s say you get yourself hired purely on the basis of presentation, and then you completely fail to deliver. This is not good. I have, at times, inveigled myself into jobs purely because of my spiel—and then, well…
I must testify to the fact that whenever I see people in public wearing fuzzy pajama bottoms, I get offended. I think the worst of these folks. Does this make me superficial?
A well-known New York columnist would occasionally flounce around Soho wearing a frilly pink nightgown, which made me take him a lot less seriously.
As the kids would say, “6/7!” It never hurts to be clean and neat, but you also have to know your stuff. “They” also say, “Everything in moderation.” I hate moderation.