Recently read: Sherrie Mathieson’s Forever Cool

I’m a sucker for books on fashion, beauty, fitness and appearance in general. I am particularly obsessed with books dealing with, as the French say (only, of course, they would say it in French, not English) “women of a certain age.” This book is supposed to instruct Baby Boomers, both men and women, on how to fling off their old clothes and update their looks so that they never look frumpy again. I was looking for information on such things as how to decide what trend-of-the-moment to purchase and some tips on dressing to flatter middle-aged bodies. Instead, the book is a series of photos of people in ghastly clothes from the 1980s (there haven’t been any in my closet since 1992) on one page, and on the facing page is a photo of the same person smiling and wearing a “cool” outfit. The text says things like, “Never Cool: the wrong bag” and “Forever Cool: great accessories make the outfit.” To me, the handbags look about the same size and shape and I haven’t a clue what makes one never cool and the other forever cool. Basically, Mathieson’s advice seems to be to get rid of old clothes and buy new ones. I already do that. How does “forever” fit in? After reading the book, I’m still clueless as to what would make something forever cool—that phrase apparently is synonymous with “newly purchased.”