Claudia:
"And the way she dresses makes her look even more stunning.

At that meeting, for example, she was wearing these sharply creased, pastel-green, cuffed shorts; a wild Hawaiian shirt tied at her waist, with vibrant colors that perfectly picked up the green; and sandals with crisscrossing ankle straps to her knees. Her hair was swept to one side and held in place with a long, fake-flowered barrette that looked like a Hawaiian lei."

Claudia Fashion. including her bedroom,Nancy Drew DVD and her Dappled Mini Dachshund,Hershey. She loves him Except when he chews on her flip flops!


"Sure enough, the kids who lined up were . . . well, definitely not jocks.

Take Claudia. She was wearing electric-pink track shorts with a turquoise racing stripe, a matching top with cut-off sleeves, brand-new high top track shoes with no socks, and floral-print suspenders! Her hair was pulled up on top of her head and held in place with a silver barrette in the shape of the Olympic symbol. If it had been an athletic-wear fashion show, she would have won."


"You're not going to wear those, are you?" Kristy asked as I slipped into my new brown suede cloth pants.

"Why not?" I asked. I thought they were the best thing I owned.

"I don't know," said Kristy. "They just don't seem right for a first date."

I was not about to take fashion advice from Kristy, of all people. (Good point.) "I like them," I insisted, zipping them up.

"I don't believe you're telling her what to wear, Kristy," Mary Anne giggled.

"I know what you should wear. Those bead earrings," said Stacey.

"They didn't make a big impression on Brian," I reminded her.

"Well, this guy sounds different. And wear lots of silver jewelry. Your bangles would be perfect. And put your good silver hairclip in."

I trust Stacey's fashion sense, so I took her advice. I finished the outfit with a simple yellow button down shirt and a brown and yellow brocade vest. "Perfect!" Stacey announced. "All you need is a little lipstick and mascara."

By the time I was done, even Kristy admitted I looked nice.