Fashion Fun

When I was living in London, my editor was constantly introducing me to people and things she deemed truly "cool." A posh, boho beauty fanatic, this editor is not what you'd call hip, but she is what you'd call in-the-know. Meaning, she had the right friends who introduced her to all that was hip, letting her be who she was -- a peasant skirt-wearing bleached blond -- without missing out on the next big thing.

One "cool" item this lovely lady passed on to me was Cheap Date -- an anti-establishment fashion magazine that featured thrift store style and cool girls like Chloe Sevigny and Karen Elson. Unlike slick urban culture mags, Cheap Date was irreverent and fun.

Now, the women behind the mag have published a book: The Cheap Date Guide to Style. Unlike most fashion-fixer manuals, this guide doesn't scold you for liking things a little off kilter. Instead, it helps you to embrace your style quirks without looking like a mad woman.

Hopefully, more women will read Cheap Date's guide and stop watching the American version of What Not to Wear. I swear, tuning into to that program lowers your Style IQ within the half-hour.