Belle’s Weekly Reading: April 18, 2014

Apr 18, 2014

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1) Yale University threatened to suspend a student for having a BMI their health office considers too low.  Some are questioning how “unhealthy” is calculated, and whether suspension is an appropriate response to a potential eating disorder.

2) My must-have spring nail color?  Coral.  My favorite shade? butterLONDON Trout Pout.  Need a drugstore dupe?  Try Sally Hansen Coral Reef.

3) In the 1980s, the Walkman was the must.have.gift (until the Discman came out).  But how would today’s kids, who have access to iPhones, iPads and Androids, react to how their parents listened to music?  (h/t Kottke)

4) Banana Republic has some lovely jewelry for sale right now.  This crystal collar necklace would be the perfect thing for a simple cocktail dress.  This grey, multi-strand necklace would look great with anything in your closet.  I adore this pave bar bracelet, also in silver.  And don’t miss these blue cluster earrings to add some color to your spring attire.

5) The Levo League asks, “Do women undermine themselves with punctuation?!?!?!?”

6) I’m moving into a bigger place, which means more space to furnish.  I don’t want to go nuts with the new decor, but there are two pieces I’ve been eyeing at CB2.  I adore this oversized mirror (for Instagram outfit-selfies) and this charcoal-colored bar.  I might also grab this indoor/outdoor pouf from the sale section.

7) This recipe for Spicy Pineapple Chicken Stir-fry is really good.

8) Have a rare shoe size?  Nordstrom has kicks for under size 5 feet and over size 10 feet.   They also carry some styles in wide and narrow widths.

9) Frozen fever has hit the elementary school set.  Some parents are spending as much as $1,200 to get the sold out Elsa costume on eBay, while others are simply griping on Disney’s Facebook page about the lack of availability.  Is this what it means to raise a child in a post-Beanie Baby, post-Tickle Me Elmo world?

10) Why, J.Crew, why?

11) Should you sign the back of your credit card?  Since you’re “required” to sign the back of the card in order to use it, I do.  But I also add “see ID” in Sharpie, I’m still almost never asked for my ID.

12) I’m thinking about buying a white clutch.  I don’t usually fall for the magazine trends, but this Vince Camuto clutch with a detailed clasp is awesome.  This Milly clutch is also to die for.  Need something under-$100?  Try this BCBG envelope clutch or this Natasha Couture Box Clutch ($38).

Ask The Edit, Workday Reading

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  1. Anna says:

    I just busted out my coral polish this week! Sadly, it’s time to get some polish thinner cuz it was awfully gloopy after sitting unused this long winter.

  2. Andrea says:

    Re: J.Crew + Birkenstocks:

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    No. NO.

  3. GoGoGo says:

    Related to the question of punctuation in office communications: might some employees’ writing be read and interpreted differently based on the identity of the writer, even when they write using identical styles?

    I thought this was interesting. A study of 60 senior attorneys showed that they found more typos in a memo if they were told it was written by an African-American summer associate than if they were told it was written by a Caucasian summer associate. Specifically, they found about twice as many spelling mistakes. (Put another way, they missed twice as many spelling mistakes when reading the white associate’s memo.)

    https://shenegotiates.com/blog/2014/4/16/oops-your-implicit-bias-is-showing

    https://www.nextions.com/wp-content/files_mf/13972237592014040114WritteninBlackandWhiteYPS.pdf

  4. Lauren says:

    that milly clutch…yes.

  5. That punctuation thing, oh God yes. I never do some of the more egregious things I’ve seen, but occasionally I notice that I overuse exclamation points. That’s usually when I question all my life decisions. Ugh.

  6. dancinglonghorn says:

    I only write “see ID” on my cards – no signature – and I always get asked for an ID. Usually they look at the back of cards to compare the signature on the receipt to either the card or the ID. If there is a signature on the back (even if it also says “See ID”), its not necessary to ask for an ID. They ask for an ID to see a signature on the ID. So I’m not surprised that you don’t get asked for your ID often. If you really want to get asked for ID, just write “See ID” and no signature.

    • CandaceG says:

      I use “Ask for ID” (no signature) on all of my credit cards – a little less abrupt than the “Demand ID” idea below. Generally, anyone who takes the time to check the signature, asks for the ID. Occasionally, the person will apologize for asking, and I will let them know I appreciate them asking.

  7. Joules says:

    Agreed on the Birks. Ugh.

    I’m also feeling BR’s jewelry this spring. Just ordered a few pieces this week.

    Style by Joules

  8. KC says:

    I agree with the punctuation, I think it makes things more casual and makes the author feel friendlier. I change how I punctuate emails for my audience. If I’m sending an email to a group of male attorneys, I make sure to not use any unnecessary punctuation and to not be apologetic (It is amazing how frequently I catch myself saying “Sorry to bother you,” “Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner,” “Sorry I missed your call,” “Sorry we had this misunderstanding,” etc.) If I’m writing an email to my female secretary, I’ll use more exclamation points and smiley faces.

    • LaReesa says:

      Yes! I’m always catching myself being apologetic and needlessly wordy. “Hey do you think you could do this for me?” instead of “Please do this.” I constantly have to edit my emails for that.

  9. JW says:

    I love the posts but am having a problem with the embedded affiliate links (when you hover over it’s usually “shopstyle” and the link starts with “emjcd”) — I can’t ever, ever see them (using IE 9) and it’s gotten to the point that where I see shopstyle I just don’t bother clicking even though I’d really like to. If there’s anything I should be doing on my end to fix a known issue, let me know, but I just wanted to give you a heads up so you knew about the issue, in case others were having it.

  10. s says:

    i think it’s completely inappropriate for schools to kick you out based on your BMI. there is a school of thought that the BMI isn’t really all that useful anyway because it doesn’t take into account body build/frame and is too simplistic to be used to assess overall health.

    and the birkenstocks…just…no. :/ :/

    • Anna says:

      Agreed, but on the usefulness of BMI, I think that’s usually with people with high muscle mass who end up with BMIs in the obese range when they’re obviously in good shape. I don’t think a very low BMI is attributed to anything but an unhealthy weight. Definitely don’t think someone should get kicked out because of their BMI though. Eating disorders are a disease. It’s like kicking out an alcoholic and thinking that’s going to make them stop drinking (though obviously in that case, they do harm to more than just themselves, so there’s a public safety argument).

    • SC says:

      Could not agree more about the BMI article. I have constantly been underweight my entire life (and had been called out by academic counselors to seek help), but my weight is what it is. When my academic counselor pulled me aside to suggest that I seek help (and called my parents), I was beyond mortified and offended. Trust me, I don’t LIKE being built with no boobs or butt…. especially during my teenage years when all my friends were developing them. To call someone anorexic when they are clearly not is offensive beyond belief. And even worse, this school really believes that this student is anorexic and is aggressively punishing her. Do they do this with their overweight students???? Lose weight or you will be suspended?

  11. Jessica says:

    The Frozen article made me laugh – I got a text from my aunt last week with pictures of the Elsa costume and wondering if I would be able to sew up 3 little outfits for my cousin and two of her friends. “Money is no object.” Oh, don’t I know…

  12. Prague says:

    Put “demand photo ID” and you’ll get asked more often (although some find it rude – that’s why it works). Also, the post office is the only place that ever required a signature in my experience, which is nullified by using a debit card with pin.

  13. THb says:

    JCrew plus birkenstocks = shamefull. JCrew we want our feet to be cute, fashionable and comfortable. NOT look like elephant feet no matter what the size!

  14. Anna says:

    How about the word “just” or superlatives? I’m sure this is more of a woman problem too.

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