Q&A: Lucky Magazine's Guide to Style

EACH MONTH, more than a million women thumb through Lucky magazine, eyeballing cool new leather jackets and gotta-get-'em shoes. The well-dressed forces behind this fashion packed bible: editor in chief Kim France and creative director Andrea Linett, who just penned their second book, "The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style" ($30, Gotham).

» EXPRESS: The book describes 10 looks, from beachy California Casual to drop-dead sexy Bombshell. Do you think women know which style they are?
» FRANCE: I think some people have a sense early on of what their style is. Others need help.

» EXPRESS: What's the hardest thing about figuring out which style you are?
» LINETT: The biggest challenge is knowing yourself and your body, what you can and can't get away with.
» KF: It's about letting yourself enjoy style. If you can choose one or two styles, you'll anchor your look.
» AL: Yeah, it's not about waking up and saying, "How am I going to be Mod today?"

» EXPRESS: Which of these categories do you fall into?
» AL: Kim is Euro Chic and Arty Slick. And she says that I'm in the middle of Rock 'n' Roll and Bohemian. I like punky and Victorian stuff.
» KF: Andrea is very rock-chick. Like today she's wearing platform boots and tons of jewelry.

» EXPRESS: Can you mingle too many styles in one outfit?
» KF: Well, anybody old enough to have lived through the preppy craze of the 1970s knew people went overboard on that. You know you're mixing too much if you start feeling like you're wearing a costume.
» AL: There was a girl I went to high school with who did that. She liked fashion. Every day she was a different character: a tennis pro, a 1940s girl.

» EXPRESS: Is there a single iconic item that any woman can wear, no matter what her style?
» AL: Every nationality has its dumpling, and I think all of these looks have their boots or ballet flats.
» KF: And everyone needs jeans.

» EXPRESS: D.C. women, particularly those in politics, have a rep for being frumpy. How can we get over this?
» KF: You can go for one of our looks, American Classic, which ramps it up a bit but is still appropriate. Think Lauren Hutton or Katharine Hepburn.

» EXPRESS: What's the biggest style mistake women make?
» KF: Overdoing stuff, or wearing something with a really bad fit. That doesn't always mean you're wearing something that is too tight. You have to look at other things, like where the shoulders of a jacket hit.
» AL: Trying to look too young or having a trendy haircut.

» EXPRESS: What's the key to adapting your fashion style as you get older?
» KF: Be realistic. There's some stuff you have to let the kids have now. I don't understand why women lie about their ages. If you are 42, why not be an amazing 42? Why dress young when you can dress sophisticated? You have to acknowledge that your body is changing. If you've still got a nice body, don't push it.
» AL: Yeah, don't wear hot pants if your knees are raining. You don't want to look like an aging Rockette.

» EXPRESS: What else is inappropriate for a gal over 35 to wear?
» AL: You don't have to have what the kids have. Don't try to look like Britney Spears. Like, don't wear a jean jacket if you're 60 years old. You'll look like mutton dressed as lamb.
» KF: But if you want to wear a short skirt, wear it, but don't do it in the summer. Put it with black flats and tights in cooler weather.

» EXPRESS: How do you suggest people get style inspiration?
» AL: Just go to a hip neighborhood and people-watch. Sit in a cafe, and check out the people who go by.

» EXPRESS: Aren't celebrities good fashion icons for the common chick?
» KF: I don’t personally find the red carpet very inspiring.
» AL: Yeah, they're mostly styled by stylists.

» EXPRESS: OK, you have to go to Paris and can pack only one outfit. What is it?
» KF: A dress, maybe something Grecian and adaptable that I could layer a T-shirt underneath, flat boots and a cashmere cardigan.
» AL: Mine would be skinny jeans, a cool boot that I could walk in, plus some kind of asymmetrical T-shirt and cardigan.

Photo by Michael Waring