On my way to the AIPAD Photography Show yesterday I stopped in my tracks on seeing Barneys latest window. The glass is ringed with whorehouse pink butterflies in stilettos and emblazoned with quotes about Simon Doonan, Barneys' legendary creative director.

Why? Tomorrow, from 2 to 5 pm, Doonan will be signing his new book, Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You. If you have even the slightest worry that your fashion groove has slipped, pencil this in.

Photos by Peggy Roalf

The book includes comic essays with must-read titles such as "Dressing Down is a Crime Against Humanity, or Don't hide your eccentric glamour under a bushel;" "What the Hookers are Wearing, or The meaning of snakeskin coulottes;" and "Freud's Handbag, or Nobody wants an old clutch." You get the idea.

But this is definitely not a how-to book. It's an irreverent mixture of cultural and fashion commentary, offering dictatorial, provocative and reckless style advice. Doonan's secret is to understand what is unique and indiosyncratic about yourself and to magnify it.

Interspersed with the essays are answers to Doonan's Eccentric Glamour Questionaire by some of the most eccentric glamorpusses of our time. Respondents include Tilda Swinton, Iman, Lynn Yaeger, Mickey Boardman, Lucy Liu, and Malcolm Gladwell to name a few. Wonderfully cheesy, grainey, black-and-white photographs by nightlife photographer Roxanne Lowit bring these style icons face forward. Following is a sample to snack on until you grab your own signed copy out of Simon's own hands.

Simon Doonan: Have you ever been mocked for any of your glamorous eccentricities?
Beth Rudin DeWoody: No, but they've been used as evidence in someone else's divorce case.

SD: What are you wearing?
Mr. Mickey Boardman: Dries van Noten leopard-print track jacket over a hot pink ladies' sparkle top from eBay. Chocolate brown Marni trousers, Missoni socks, and sparkle flats from Forever 21, which were a gift from a friend.

SD: Who is your inspiration icon of glamorous eccentricity?
Malcolm Gladwell: No contest. Brian Eno. I met him once and was speechless the entire evening. All I remember is that he spoke in perfectly formed paragraphs. You could have transcribed his dinner table conversation and published it verbatim. No there's a true glamorous eccentric!"

In case you missed this: Simon Doonan will be at Barneys New York, Madison Avenue at 61^st Street tomorrow, Saturday, April 12 from 2 to 5 pm on the 9^th floor, that's Chelsea Passage. If you're geographically challenged, check Doonan's website for book tour dates that include San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, and Shelter Island.