‘Skinnygirl’ signs books for Naperville fans
Jennifer Evers of Naperville says her life is like a reality show.
So Tuesday — when she not only met TV personality Bethenny Frankel but won a trip to the filming of Frankel’s talk show “bethenny” next month in New York City — was just one of those days.
Evers, the lifestyle blogger behind memyselfandjen.com had an orange sticker inside her copy of Frankel’s new book, “Skinnygirl Solutions” that advanced her to the front of the line during a book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop and served as her ticket to the Big Apple.
“I’m in tears right now,” Evers said, although she tried not to cry in front of Frankel.
Evers was one of 200 Frankel fans, mainly women and many in bright sundresses and sandals, crowding the downtown Naperville shop for the chance to get their copy of “Skinnygirl Solutions” autographed in purple pen.
The “Skinnygirl” brand creator whose TV resume includes “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart,” “The Real Housewives of New York City,” “Bethenny Getting Married?” and “Bethenny Ever After,” appeared in teal skinny jeans with a magenta blouse, briefly stepping out of her tall, tan heels to stand atop a chair and announce her presence.
“Hi, Naperville! Thanks for coming,” Frankel began. “This book, ‘Skinnygirl Solutions’ is about health, home, nutrition, sex — definitely sex — and your business, your career. I wrote this for you.”
The book contains Frankel’s answers to questions fans commonly ask about how to manage relationships, careers and family while “living naturally thin,” as well as a long list of life rules or “mantras” the author read to the crowd:
This is not a dress rehearsal; just do it; just enjoy it; use it or lose it; never pay retail; tell the truth; sleep; have integrity — even when no one’s looking; don’t let good enough be good enough; play your own game.
“It may not apply to everyone, but it’s real,” Naperville resident Sherril Niemann said about Frankel’s advice. “She’s a girl and she knows what girls go through.”
Fans in Naperville called Frankel “funny,” “smart” and “honest,” and she returned compliments to her crowd, calling her supporters “cute and colorful.”
In coral shorts, Christopher Nedbeck of Chicago fit the colorful description as he awaited Frankel’s autograph on Tuesday, his 27th birthday. While he had met Frankel three times before, Naperville fans like Alisa Guthrie had their brush with Frankel’s fame for the first time.
Even before the book signing line began moving, Frankel had fans smiling and cheering. She dialed one of New York trip winner Evers’ friends on speakerphone, alerting the woman that she, too, would be getting an autographed copy of “Skinnygirl Solutions” and a trip to see “bethenny” filmed before the show debuts Sept. 9.
Frankel also was set to appear Tuesday at a party in Chicago, giving away more of her Skinnygirl brand cocktails, beauty and health products and gathering five more of “her girls” to attend a filming in New York City.
“I think she’s real and she’s not afraid to be with real people,” Niemann said.