Shop til' you drop

After purchasing my text books at my college's bookstore, I was given a coupon for a free subscription to Seventeen, YM, Soap Opera Digest, or Lucky. I picked Lucky because I was growing out of the teen magazines and didn't watch soap operas. I figured it was like Cosmo or Marie Claire.

However, Lucky is completely about shopping. It even says on the cover: "Lucky, the magazine about shopping." The magazine certainly lives up to its name.

Lucky has the largest amount of fashion spreads I have ever seen. They show pictures of the latest fashion trends for women's skirt's, pants, blouses, shoes, and hand bags. There are detailed descriptions of every item, down to fabric and pattern.

The prices of clothing shown actually surprised me. Anyone that reads Seventeen knows that every fashion spread contains clothes in the $200-500 range. One would suspect Lucky would do the same. However, the magazine advertises clothing within a modest price range. I did see some shoes for $200, but for the most part the average price is between $50-100, which is not bad for designer clothes.

Almost the entire magazine is dedicated to descriptions of clothing, what type of shoes go with what length of skirts, and so on. There is an advice section where women ask if it is alright to wear black shoes with jeans or layer certain patterns. The advice is encouraging and thoughtful, offering solutions and fashion "no" "no"s.

Most interesting is the section devoted to new shops. Every issue has new, trendy stores that have opened recently, which will wow anyone that lives hundreds of miles away from the boutiques in New York City or Beverly Hills.

Even though I am a tight wad, and don't consider it necessary to be trendy, I highly recommend this magazine to women between the ages of 17-24. It is extremely informative and up-to-date. Some of the fashions actually look wearable, whereas in other fashion magazines outfits often look ridiculous. Also, the magazine encourages bargain and vintage clothing shoppers.