Belle’s Weekly Reading: November 21, 2014
Nov 21, 2014
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1) Wills & Kate are headed stateside for a two-day trip to New York and D.C.. The press corps is understandably atwitter, but Buckingham Palace felt the need to remind poorly dressed reporters that they better suit up.
2) I usually post under-$50 bags, but this $85 Kenneth Cole bag is sweet. I love the green, but the basic black and the orange are also good choices.
3) The New York Times has a longer follow-up piece on the N.F.L’s domestic abuse scandal. The article discusses how the player’s wives and girlfriends were ostracized for reporting allegations.
4) I love Deborah Lippmann polishes, and for $55, Sephora has a set 10 of Lippmann’s best shades. The set contains several of my favorites including Good Girl, Gone Bad, Whatever Lola Wants, and It’s Raining Men.
5) The Glossarie has a review of First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Liquid Recovery. I need a sample.
6) Gilt is really on this week. I spent too much time window shopping the Susanna Monaco and Cynthia Rowley sales. But the must-have item I spotted, these black DvF wedges. They’re 3″ high and perfect for wearing under trousers or with skirts.
7) Nikolay Lamm made headlines this year when he created “Normal Barbie,” a doll with the proportions of the average American 19-year-old. Now, he’s selling a sticker kit that allows his doll to have tattoos, acne, stretch marks, etc.
8) I’m so in love with this Trina Turk Popover dress; I can barely stand it.
9) Nordstrom is ending their half-yearly sales. Their new sale schedule will follow holidays like Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
10) Now that H&M has an online store, I find so many unique, inexpensive pieces that I want. This ribbed jersey dress is the perfect bridge between casual Saturday and dinner Friday night. They’re channeling Olivia Pope with this white, wide-collar coat. And this pale pink biker jacket is not to be missed.
11) Looking for Turkey Day recipes? This crispy sweet potato roast from Smitten Kitchen looks amazing.
12) I’ve been scoping out new rings to add to my collection. This mixed-metal barrel ring from Michael Kors has a great mix of sparkle and texture. Madewell also has some great, inexpensive rings. I love this wide glider ring, and this helix ring. Also, these stack rings in a mix of black enamel with a hint of shine, awesome.
Hi Belle, just a friendly reminder to carefully proofread your blog for their/there/they’re errors. #10 has “Their channeling…” when it should be “They are (they’re) channeling…”
in the same spirit, “nattily” (used in #1) means “in a strikingly neat and trim manner,” – so I think you mean something like “sloppily”?
Yeah, another reader mentioned that. I think I read it somewhere it was misused. Now, I know.
Really? We’re grammar policing?
That’s not “grammar policing”. It’s a helpful comment from a reader.
Thank you Jamie. I have told Belle this before–I’m a teacher and it’s important for me to point it out, not to make anyone feel bad, but so they know what’s correct. Belle is in law school and is a professional, and will be held to professional writing standards. Unfair or not, people judge others by their spelling and grammar. It’s the equivalent of having a stain on your beautiful shirt in terms of making an impression.
Hi Belle. I really enjoy reading your blog. In the same vein, someone who is “nattily” dressed would be well-dressed; it means smartly or neatly dressed. (One of those weird words whose meaning is basically its onomatopoetic opposite.)
Oh, I totally misunderstood that. Thanks for clearing it up.
This isn’t the grammar police. Bad spelling and grammar make the blog look bad. It is sitting out there for all to see and it is important. And yes, “natty” means smart.
Thanks. I wrote this kind of late and didn’t proof it. I’ll change it.
Also, I don’t mind if people point out grammar errors when they do it respectfully. I write a lot, and sometimes I miss things. If you see something, mention it so I can fix it.
Fellow word confuser here. It doesn’t help that “nattily” sounds like “rattily” (sloppy, raggedy). Also in British slang there is also “naff” (or “naffly”), which usually refers to someone appearing tacky. Bottom line is that these are really easily mixed up words.
(A British ex of mine used to compliment people by saying they were “nattily dressed,” and many of them thought he was being a jerk by insulting them) 😉
No!!!! I can’t believe Nordstrom is ending their half-yearly sales. I loved it. I think it’s a bad idea!!!
Another grammar/word nerd and frequent reader chiming in. “Nattily” actually means the opposite of what it sounds like. These reporters aren’t natty dressers, and that’s the problem, according to Buckingham Palace.
I love to make and eat popovers, so I got really excited about that dress. But it’s not like an edible popover at all. Sadface. It is beautiful, though.
Love H&M is now online, and that they have plus sizes! Some times even curvy girls need a fast fashion fix.
That royals article was a good read. It really puts into perspective just how weird the whole concept of having a royal family is anymore when you read the rules about things like whether or not you can photograph when they’re eating. The whole thing feels like an anachronism.
Hi Belle! Have you had to return anything to H&M? I’ve read that they don’t accept returns in-store, and was wondering how easy or difficult they make the process. Thanks!
I’ve mailed back returns with no problem. I’ve never returned something I bought online to the store.
The fact that they don’t accept returns in-store and apparently charge a $5.95 return fee (on their customer service page) is why I don’t think I’ll be shopping online at HM for now…
On the other hand, I’m seeing some really great selections online and I don’t want to be digging through the mess at the local mall HM.
belle! thank you so much for the link love – let me know if you give the FAB a try