About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
Read More
July 9, 2008
It’s called dressing for the job you want. We’ve all heard that maxim, I think, but it’s easier said than done.
I’ve recently taken steps to be more formal than jeans-casual (which is perfectly acceptable here), but I can always use more polish to take the rough off my fashion edges.
Some of the advice is standard and classic, tailored to four different professions as your suits should be tailored to your body, but mentions of running around in Louboutins all day, with Oscar de la Renta flats in between are just a little too much brand naming for me. And, um, a nude G-string? Ewwww…. I’m definitely not cut out for the model lifestyle or workstyle.
Real Estate Agent
FORMALITY FACTOR:(8.5/10) “There are no casual Fridays, even on a construction site.”
THE GOAL: “If you’re showing people beautiful properties all day, aesthetics are obviously important. Your clothes signal to clients that they can trust your taste. That said, real-estate development is so male-dominated that women have to work harder to be taken seriously. Dress in a way that’s distracting and you become easy to dismiss.”
THE MUST-HAVES: “A charcoal, black, or navy suit with a single pop of color — it’s classic, with a twist. I’m an urban nomad, chasing taxis and navigating construction sites, so my shoes have to hold up. I live in these black Louboutins because they’re not too high. And as I work 12-plus-hour days, I always slip on the Oscar de la Renta flats between appointments.”
Financier on Wall Street
FORMALITY FACTOR:(10/10) “Nothing less than impeccable is what flies on Wall Street. If your lipstick’s a mess or your skirt is too trendy, it instantly devalues you. Wall Street may be 95 percent men, but don’t dress like one — but don’t dress like a girly-girl either.”
THE GOAL:”Like their male colleagues, women need great-looking go-to suits and several pairs of killer classic shoes.”
THE MUST-HAVES: “Three good suits — black, gray, and brown — off the rack that a tailor can make into great suits. Pay special attention to fit, fabric, and sleeve-cuff length: When your arm is straight down, the cuff should stop between your wrist bone and the top of your hand. And a quality watch — nothing too flashy.”
Gallerista
FORMALITY FACTOR: (5/10) “This is a creative environment; you can do skinny jeans and vests. A button-down shirt or a suit would be too boring.”
THE GOAL: “When we’re trying to recruit important or upcoming artists, it’s crucial to represent the gallery. Of course, no one shows up in an avant-garde tutu — it’s still a job, not a fashion show.”
DRESS FOR SUCCESS: “I have hundreds of dresses and tons of shoes, and every day I look forward to putting together my outfit. I play around with different colors and textures just like a painter does. If you have fun getting dressed, it will show in your outfit.”
Model
FORMALITY FACTOR: (1/10) “For go-sees with potential clients, less is more: Wear a fitted T-shirt or tank with skinny jeans or shorts.”
THE GOAL: “You have to look confident at all costs. The nature of modeling is to be judged on your looks; you can’t take it personally.”
DRESS FOR SUCCESS: “Since you have to be prepared to try on all types of clothes — even bathing suits — always wear a Calvin Klein nude G-string, the industry staple given to the models at most major fashion shows.”
My cable rate was up to $40/month for the past 6 months. When averaged against the other 12 months of the 18 month contract, it wasn’t a terrible price but then again, 18 months ago, I envisioned that I would be in a very different financial position.
Knowing that, I decided to cancel the cable service as soon as it was up. It’s not like I even know how to work our television anymore, anyway, so no great loss to me. On the phone with Dish Network, the CSR started asking me a couple of questions about why I was canceling and I took a minute to explain that I don’t spend that much time watching tv (er, none?) and that I wasn’t very pleased with the service quality.
He offered me a service with about ten channels for $10/month, and I was about to thank him and decline when he said, “for free for six months. Try it, and if you like it, it’ll only be ten dollars a month after that.”
Uh…. six months? Free?
Yes. Yes, six months free with some of my favorite channels (Food Network, History Channel, Discovery Channel) and he’s waiving the $5 local channels fee that I was protesting many moons ago. For life. He waived the local channel fee for life. Hum.
So, free cable for six months. Ok, why not?
Since we’re only a few days into the current billing cycle, he’ll apply it to this one, which means I can cross a $40 bill off my list of bills for the month.
And I might want to figure out how to work the durned tv.
July 8, 2008
I was vaguely enjoying this article about people who look at buying designer jeans, on their quest to find the “perfect jeans,” as an investment, or as a perfectly justifiable expense. Some price tags almost make the already unfathomable $200-300 jeans seem less ridiculous:
Roberto Cavalli’s bejeweled jeans, a celeb favorite: They’ll dent your wallet by $1,445.
And that’s nothing compared with a pair from Dolce & Gabbana. Those could run you $3,950. And if you really want to shoot the moon, a pair of Escada Couture jeans encrusted with Swarovski crystals cost $10,000. By the way, Swarovski more or less equates to Baccarat; both are Madison Avenue names.
The most expensive jeans on record are a pair of vintage Levi’s that sold for $60,000 on eBay on June 15, 2005, according to Guinness World Records.
Honestly, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already heard and dismissed as run-of-the-mill spending insanity before. After all, I’m the girl who snagged one of her three working pairs of jeans (by “working” I mean there are no holes and none are threatening) for $12. (They fit wonderfully, even though they are a little long.) I think $60 is too much to pay, so really, any more than that is just someone’s eccentricity; I’m not your average jeans consumer. I know girls who own more jeans than I do t-shirts, and that scares me. Seriously, can you imagine the laundry? Actually, having more than three pairs of jeans would probably make separating out a jeans load a heck of a lot easier….
Anyway, when I got to the end of the article, my jaw dropped:
Here’s the ultimate: Pregnant women are a key market for denim designers. Of 20 mothers and mothers-to-be I surveyed, 65% said they had bought designer maternity jeans — to be worn for just a few months.
Only seven women didn’t.
“They were too expensive for too short of a usage period. My maternal practicality set in,” said Katharine Eaton, a human resources specialist from Glen Mills, Pa. “In retrospect, I wish I had and would do so if I was going through it again.”
I have never heard of such a thing!! Not that I think a 20 person survey is worth diddly in terms of a representative sample, but the fact that they could find enough people who like the idea of maternity designer jeans? For a few months of pregnancy? *faint*
My preference for Rite-Aid rebates, despite rarely going there since I don’t live near one, was always because I could easily submit the rebates online. Now we can submit our Walgreens rebates online as well!
Thanks to Kacie:
I just tried it out, and it was pretty easy. Go to Walgreens.com, click the EasySaver catalog button and click “claim rebates.” You’ll have to register for an account, but it doesn’t take much time.
You’ll enter a unique code from your receipt to show that you’ve purchased an item that generates a rebate.
I was tricked. No, it was really my fault. I intended to pick up a slab of Pork Country Ribs that were on sale for 99 cents/lb on Sunday. I was in a hurry, so I picked up one of the slabs in the rack right next to the big red sign proclaiming: Pork Shoulder Ribs: 99 cents/lb!
Unfortunately ….. it wasn’t really the right package. Even though there were no other packages of ribs right next to the sign, I failed to do more than wonder why the package was $10.31, assumed that it was ten pounds (it was only 4.4 pounds), and paid more than twice the price I intended to pay. Had I not been in a rush and preoccupied trying to figure out if I was going to meet with BF for dinner, I’m certain I would have double-checked that price and realized something was wrong before I got to the checkout stand.
My distraction pretty much derailed my budgeted grocery list, and I didn’t get nearly enough for my money. As I look at the ad again, it’s not specific about what brand of pork was on sale, either, so I’ll call later and find out if it’s possible that it wasn’t just a mistake on my part.
Either way, I’m a bit irked at myself. I’m usually so careful, and I just messed up. Phooey.
July 7, 2008
The sales waiting game, that is. Meritline has the iPhone earphone/headphone set with microphone for $10.99.
Combined with a 60% off coupon code [SHEAI60POFF] and free shipping, my replacement headset will cost $4.76. And I’ll get 1% Fatcash, and another 2% back from my CC rewards.
Perfect! It’s a shade below my previous price point, so I’m happy.
July 6, 2008
Whew, I made it. The past two days have been positively crammed full of activities and obligations, so much so that I wasn’t getting to bed until after 1 am. Am I getting too old to hang? 🙂 It’s actually been so busy that it wasn’t until after I checked the fluids in my car and cleaned house for a while that I realized I haven’t posted anything for two days!
Friday was fantastic fun. Hung out with best friend’s entire extended family for most of the day, networked with one of the relatives and may have a project lined up for several months from now. The cool thing is that I’m slowly putting some feelers out, very carefully, to certain acquaintances and friends to explore freelancing opportunities. I don’t plan to go freelance full-time, I definitely plan to keep my day job because I need my health insurance but this is another way of maintaining my sanity for right now.
Also, we went to Sonic Burger. Have you seen their silly shake commercials? I’ve seen a few, but the only thing that actually sticks with me is that they have tator tots. I love tator tots. Handily, I actually had cash on me to reimburse the person who put the meal on his credit card because I keep forgetting to make a bank run ($7).
Saturday was crammed with visiting: with friends for French Toast brunch in the morning ($1.50 for a dozen eggs), had a baby shower in the afternoon ($20 for baby-related gifts), and dinner with the cousins in the evening. I was literally running from one event to the next, and trying not to sweat too much. Ew. Spent the late night hours watching SNL, and gossiping with the kids. I guess I can’t call them “kids” really, anymore, as I was giving college and driving advice …. me? I’m experienced enough to give advice about college? Yeah, I guess so. Welcome to the almost real-world!
Finally hit the sack after 1 this morning, and luxuriated in my well-earned rest.
Today? I meant to work on my car’s lock but my car friend never showed up. Just checked my fluids and loaded the cargo net and emergency kit back in the trunk. All’s well there.
It was good to spend time with people I hadn’t seen in forever. Notably, family friends, friends from out of town, friends who are so busy working that I never see them, friends from former places of employ. There might have been a touch of stress from all the travel and shuttling about, but ’twas nothing a little cleaning workout today couldn’t work off.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
