February 2009

Tuesday’s TPS Report: NOAH Love Birds Shoulder Bag

by C February 10, 2009 Fashion

Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. We begin the week in splurge mode, with our most expensive suggestions, and wind our way to Friday, where a less expensive item of clothing might be just what you need to make it to the weekend.

This great navy canvas tote caught our eye at Piperlime — the birds are so delicate and springlike and . . . cheeky, in a way! . . . without being over-the-top cute. We like the sharpness of the laser cutouts and the huge size of the bag — you can definitely carry your work papers to and fro with this baby. The price isn’t too painful either: $185, with the usual free shipping from Piperlime. Women’s handbags: NOAH Love Birds Shoulder Bag – Navy

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Shopping for Boys

by C February 9, 2009 Lifestyle

Long hours at the office, plus no energy when you’re NOT at the office… these are not the great markers of a lively social life. If you’re not already attached to someone, it can be a nightmare for a young professional woman to try to meet someone intelligent — which means that online dating, a.k.a. shopping for boys, is the default plan for many. There are a variety of sites out there that pander to intelligent women, so, with Valentine’s Day breathing down our necks, we thought we’d review a few… Admittedly, it’s been a few years since we’ve been out there, so if you have any new sites to recommend please write in!

Right Stuff Dating. If you’re a bit of an elitist (hey, nothing wrong with that), then this site may be great for you — its members must prove that they are graduates (or faculty members) at a select group of “excellent schools.” Most medical schools and law schools are included, as well as the usual Ivies and near-Ivies. While the site is a bit from the Cro-Magnum era, any man who signs up for this site is definitely looking for a smart woman.

If you’re too busy to even figure out what kind of guy (or girl) you like, Chemistry.com may be for you. Anthropologist Helen Fisher and her team of scientists have designed an extensive “personality profile” for you to fill out; it matches your personality and needs with other people who have filled out a similarly complex profile. The pros: you know the guy is serious about finding a long-term relationship. The cons: set aside 45 minutes or so for the introductory profile section. DC readers: note that they seem to have a special section just for dating in Washington, D.C. (Note that this is similar to the eHarmony matching process, but without the Christian bent. (Chemistry.com is having a special, too: Three months for the price of one on Chemistry.com! You save more than 50%!

We never had good technical experiences with these sites, but you may want to check them out as well:

We’ve never tried these either, but they also have a targeted audience:

the personals section of The New York Review of Books
Intellect Connect

Similarly, another classic dating venue for intelligent folks that we’ve never tried (although plenty of our friends have): It’s Just Lunch.

Real life venues (whaaat)?:

- the “under 40″ clubs for local museums, charities, and even libraries — the membership may cost $75 to $1000, but you and a select group of other young folks can attend seminars, dinners, and even balls. For example, in New York, check out the Young Lions of the New York Public Library, or the Junior Council of the American Natural History Museum.

- gallery openings and other artistic fare. If you’re in New York, Chicago, Miami, or L.A., check out GenArt — with packages as cheap as $75, it’s a great way to get out and about.

- trivia quiz nights at bars — try Googling “trivia nights” and your city and you’ll come upon plenty of bars; NYCers check this posting on Yelp or this About.com post

Further Reading:
- In the New Dating Scene, The Attraction is a Beautiful Mind [WaPo]
- No Ordinary Love [Atlantic Monthly]

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Splurge Monday’s TPS Report: Loro Piana Cashmere Printed Stole

by C February 9, 2009 Fashion

As we approach spring (finally!) layering becomes more and more important, and one turns to the classic pieces such as wraps and stoles. These versatile pieces can be worn over a suit jacket, a sweater, or a sleeveless dress; the best ones are exceedingly soft to the touch and cut in a way that helps you avoids that “draped in a blanket” look. The beautiful wrap to the right is exclusive to Bergdorf Goodman online: a cashmere stole from Loro Piana. At $2,695 it is definitely an investment piece, but once you’ve touched Loro Piana cashmere, one you’ll know is worth it. Cashmere Printed Stole

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Weekly Roundup

by C February 6, 2009 Beauty

Liking these posts? Follow Corporette on Twitter — this is the edited version of what we’re reading! (We also Tweet if we hear about a good sale.)

- Great article/slideshow on Glamour about the Dos and Don’ts of Wearing Vintage. [Glamour] For our $.02: We think vintage dresses like the one at left are fine to be worn to the office (although the pastel is iffy) so long as you accessorize with things that a) cover your arms and b) show you’re all about business.

- Meanwhile, the WSJ’s Christina Binkley wonders if old-school power dressing has returned. [WSJ]

- The Bank of England is advising all of its female employees to wear some kind of makeup every day. Awesome (we said, sarcastically). [Jezebel]

- MarieClaire has some advice on how to deal with that annoying coworker: send them an anonymous e-mail using NiceCritic. [MarieClaire]

- For those of you who love decorating and interior design, bad news: the magazine Domino has folded. Interesting coverage in the NYT about how it was one of the only good sources of information for the non-Trumps and non-50+ readership. [NYT]

- We thought this column was a hilarious, well-written description of something we (hopefully) never have to go through ourselves: being pulled over by the BigLaw fashion police. [NY Lawer] (Free reg. req’d)

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Bargain Friday’s TPS Report: Naturalizer Purple Suede Daybreak Shoe

by C February 6, 2009 Fashion

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: a purple pump is surprisingly versatile. They’re a great counterpart to a navy suit (although black shoes are appropriate also); they’re also a fun way to jazz up black or gray. Purple suede, in particular, works well — it absorbs the light and won’t put everyone in your office on notice of your purple shoes (unlike, say, patent leather). We like that these Naturalizer pumps (which come in black and brown, as well) are a manageable height without being stodgy. We also like the price: $39.99 (previously $79.99). Naturalizer Purple Suede Daybreak Shoe

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Emergency Mailbag: Should she “Friend” her boss on Facebook?

by C February 5, 2009 Business Etiquette

We just got this request in from a reader, and we thought we’d post it for the group to weigh in:

new problem:
an 8th year i.e. someone very much the boss of me (isn’t everyone?) just found me on facebook and wants to be added. i took a look at his profile and he’s friends with most of the senior associates and about half of the partners in our group. we are friendly and he’s a nice guy, but we are not actually friends.

i don’t know what to do. i like to keep facebook for just friends, so i don’t even add people that i am acquainted with, or people i used to know (like people from high school that i haven’t seen in years). but i don’t think that rejecting the invitation is a good idea considering that i am supposed to be trying to integrate myself into the group. and wouldn’t limited profile be obvious, like what am i trying to hide?

is this the end of my facebook? there’s nothing bad on there, but it is my personal space.

help!

Eeesh. We hate these decisions. We would probably accept him as a friend, but then our Facebook friends list has become overrun by former classmates from our Midwestern hometown who just discovered Facebook. (And boy, do they love to update their status.) In other words, we’re not really too picky about it — unlike LinkedIn, where we only link with people we could happily recommend to someone else. On the other hand, you could ignore him — if he asks about it later you could lie and say oh, I haven’t checked that e-mail account in ages, or “Oh, you know I saw that and then totally forgot about it” and let it go. We’d probably do the latter if we had an active dislike for this guy.

Readers, weigh in: what would you do? (Also, if anyone is so inclined, become a fan of Corporette on Facebook!)

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