Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Preface: The Logic of Libertine Thrift
PART I ClothesOne When the Fur Flies: Surviving the Savage Sample Sale
Two Love in a Secondhand Dress: On Becoming a Vintage Vixen
Three The Art of Wearing Other People’s Clothes: Owning the Look, Finding Your Best Era
Four Why Edith Piaf Wore Black
Five Cheap Thrills and False Economies: Building the Chiconomy Wardrobe
Six Never Wear Stripes in Paris: Faking It in the Snobbiest Cities on Earth
One Life’s a Rental: Look Out for Brick-wall Vistas
Two Confessions of a Deliciously Destitute Décor: House Paint, Doorknobs, and Swagger
Three Queen of the Fleas: How to Buy Beautiful Old Things
Four Penniless Pleasures: Sweet Simple Touches for Every Room in the House
Five Clean Sheets, Chopin, and Black Tea in a White China Cup: Five-Star Boudoir Basics
Six Art without Artists: Make Your Own Masterpiece
One Broke, Not Broken: High Spirits, Empty Pockets
Two Budgeting the Budget: Cutting the Fat When You’re Down to the Bone
Three Living for What You Love: Why Vocations Matter
Four I Was a Coat Check Girl to the Stars: The Little “Nothing” Jobs that Change Your Life
Five First Impressions, Money, and Destiny: Power Dressing for Peasants
Six Good Taste Stripped Bare: The New Ecology of Shopping
One Famine and Feast: Feeding Friends, Body, and Soul
Two Miserly Meal Planning: Seven Nights of Ten-dollar Dinners
Three Making Bread and Baking Muffins: Some Short Meditations on Soul Food, Snobbery, and Seduction
Four Whole Food Is Not a Luxury: Eating Naturally for Less
One Hammock, Sleeping Bag, Futon, Floor: My One-Star Travel Secrets
Two Other Journeys, Other Roads: Alternative Travel for the Skinflint Vagabond
Three No Such Thing As a Bad Trip: Making the Most of the Wild Blue Yonder
Four This Bargainista’s Guide to Economy-Class Bliss
Five When Everyone Else Is in the Hamptons: How to Summer in a City You Can’t Escape
One Meet Me in the Morning: The Genius of Breakfast
Two Give It Away Now: Sweet Offerings on a Shoestring
Three Going Dutch, but Feeling French: Romance for Nickels
Four Amusing Oneself: From the Penthouse to the Pavement
Five Hitched on a White Satin Shoestring: Budget Brides Take the Cake
Epilogue The Practical, the Precious, and the Utterly Disposable
