That's not thunder, that's a drum roll

...and it's for my favourite all time fashion book, The Cheap Date Guide To Style (Transworld Publishers, 2007, Kira Jolliffe and Bay Garnett).   You may remember Cheap Date, a clever, anti-fashion magazine that closed down a few years ago.   Cheap Date was (in my opinion) the precursor of the current raft of style-it-yourself manuals and guides, and one of the earliest magazines to feature vintage clothes styles with more expensive new pieces. 

This book is a joy - a great big dressing up trunk full of ideas and suggestions. It's not about buying ten key pieces or a whole raft of new garments in a specific palette.  There's no rules and no strict themes. You'll find a variety of women (Princess Anne, Marianne Faithful, Beth Ditto, Jane Russell, Patty Smith Tracey Emin and  Sophie Dahl to give you an idea) a variety of interviews and a wide cross section of ideas presented in a very low key way. It's like hunting around a flea market, looking for the bits that suit you best. I browse this book often and always close the covers feeling stasified. 


Surprise: Amelia Earhart had great style (I want jodhpurs)
Verdict: Intelligent fashion writing by two intelligent fashion writers. My pick of the bunch. Its out of print but there are lots of copies on Amazon. You won't regret it.  

So that's what I think. 


Tomorrow is a national public holiday which I intend to celebrate by sleeping in, mooching, packing for my upcoming holiday and possibly by taking a late afternoon swim, depending on the weather and my motivation. 


And my blue dress. You should really become acquainted with my blue dress.