Good Life Icon: Julia Sugarbaker

"That's just the point... If you have class, you have it. It doesn't matter where you are or who you're with."  
-- Julia Sugarbaker, Designing Women

At Project Good Life, we try to find inspiration and icons everywhere, including in sitcoms from the 1980s and 90s.  Enter: Julia Sugarbaker (played by the late, great Dixie Carter) of Designing Women who, from the time Project Good Life can remember, has provided inspiration to aspiring sassy, intellectual, independent, Southern women such has herself.  (If you are a younger PGL reader or someone from above the Mason-Dixon who may not have had occasion to have been raised on Designing Women, please stop now, and go watch a few episodes).

Project Good Life is so in awe of  this Good Life Icon that she resolves almost once a week to have what her friends now call "A Julia Sugarbaker moment..." when, heaven help those around her, she finds that she must give someone a piece of her mind.  (In these moments, The Husband generally earns his keep by at least attempting to talk PGL down).  It is impossible to recount here all of the moments or attributes that make Julia Sugarbaker worthy of being a Good Life Icon.  But, here are a few Icon-worthy attributes and ones to which all PGL followers may relate.

Julia is independent: She owns her own business (along with her girlfriends) and understands that women must earn their own way.

Julia stands up for her loved ones: In the clip below, Julia takes down a beauty patent contestant who had the audacity to trash-talk her sister.  In other episodes, Julia stands up for her friends, for people with AIDs, and for those less fortunate.



Julia has strong convictions: Julia has strong convictions and was not afraid to show them.  In one of PGL's favorite episodes, Julia runs for elected office.  During one part of the debate, she goes off her talking points and gives her opponent (conservative, Mr. Brickett, who accused her of being an offense to family values) a piece of her mind.  A Sugarbaker gem, that is ever more fitting today as it was in the 80s: "And the last time I checked, God was neither a Democratic nor a Republican! And just for your information, yes I am a liberal, but I am also a Christian. And I get down on my knees and pray everyday - on my own turf - on my own time. One of the things that I pray for, Mr. Brickett is that people with power will get good sense, and that people with good sense will get power... and that the rest of us will be blessed with the patience and strength to survive the people like you in the meantime." Go Get them Julia.   

Julia speaks her mind and lacks patience: Julia speaks her mind, an attribute that we at PGL love.  She also lacks patience (and while some may consider patience at virtue, we believe, as Julia did, that patience is a bit overrated).  In the clip below, which is the Poet's favorite, Julia "fires" a client because and gives her a piece of her mind.  Classic.

For other Julia Sugarbaker moments, visit this nice tribute to Dixie Carter on PopWatch. http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/11/dixie-carter-ripdesigning-women/.  PGL encourages its followers to take a moment and channel their inner Julia Sugarbaker -- because, as Julia would most certainly attest, life is simply too short to have it any other way.