Of all the writers who have ever graced GQ’s pages, few could turn a phrase like Glenn O’Brien, the magazine's longtime Style Guy. For over 15 years, his column dispensed immaculate style advice and unmatchable wit. If you needed to know which shoes to wear with that suit, how to navigate a cocktail party, or what it was like to work for Andy Warhol, Glenn was your man. O’Brien passed away in 2017, but his tremendous influence survives in an entire generation of readers that hung on his hard-won wisdom. (As the below shows, Glenn was basically tweeting long before the invention of Twitter.)

This week, the new publisher ZE Books releases a survey of O’Brien’s work from a range of publications on a range of subjects, from the legacy of Kurt Cobain to the fashion of political campaigns. Below is an excerpt that collects some signature O’Brien aphorisms. Originally published in Paper Magazine in 1998, the advice therein, like his life and his voice, is wholly O’Brien’s. Enjoy these tips from the Style Guy, from drinking tap water to practicing gratitude.

Glenn O'Brien, 1980 Bobby Grossman, GQ, 2011

"Better Living? Here’s How to Do It."

I don’t need no Martha Stewart nor Deepak Chopra to tell me how to live my life, but then again I can semi-dig where they’re coming from, because living is an art, and sometimes you need a guru to point you toward Mecca or Nirvana or Mount Olympus or Sherry Lehman. I’ve had my share of gurus in the art of living (Frank Sinatra, Robert Benchley, Miles Davis, Fred Hughes, Keith Sonnier, eg.) but by now I have attained perfect mastery myself, and so I’m passing along a few tips for your consideration.

It’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed for an occasion. It will appear that you are going somewhere better later.

Drink champagne. If you have only one thing in the refrigerator it should be champagne. (And then butter.) You’ll be ready to celebrate or seduce at all times. And if you don’t drink anything else you’ll never get a hangover. And if it’s too expensive then you’re probably drinking too much anyway. Cut down and make it bubbles.

Vinyl. Collect 33 ⅓ records. They sound good the sleeves look great lying around the pad. Take that Cohiba label off the cigar. Unless, of course, you’re going to stick it up your ass.