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Archive for the ‘Accessories’ Category

Day dates are a great chance to get to know someone in a low pressure environment. It also opens you up to more options on how to spend your time together (no need for just dinner or drinks). And since day dates are more casual, you can choose something from your wardrobe that is day-time appropriate. Just remember to keep your makeup natural since you will probably be outdoors, select footwear that is comfortable since you may be out for a bit, and have fun!

Here are a few outfit ideas on what to wear for your next day date:

Sight Seeing:

This adorable spring outfit combines all the best things about good weather: bright bold colors, white skirts, and trendy straw hats. Top it all off with beautiful organic stone bracelet, and antiqued silver earrings, and are ready to venture out in to town. {Shop the rest of the outfit on Polyvore}

Outdoor Concert:

Since day dates are casual trying dressing it down with your favorite hue of colored denim to create an outfit like the one above. Throw on a simple white top (no need to make it complicated), and you can pair the look with a stylish three strand chain necklace, some gold dangle earrings, and a hamsa hand bracelet. {Shop the rest of the outfit on Polyvore}

Picnicking:

This lovely sundress will be comfortable and light for any outing, especially if it involves a picnic. Keep your hair back with this yellow headband to show off your new tiger eye earrings and add a gold cuff bracelet to finish the outfit. Remember you want to be comfortable, so stick with these beautiful brown leather sandals.  {Shop the rest of the outfit on Polyvore}

The post Cute Outfit Ideas on What to Wear on a Day Date appeared first on blog.outfitadditions.com.

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There are just a few hours left in NaPoWriMo 2013 — that is, National Poetry Writing Month, which asks participants to write a poem every day in April — and hundreds of resident WordPress poets are pressing “Publish” on their final stanzas and sighing with relief and satisfaction.

We’ve loved reading all the verse that floated across our Readers this month, whether from brand-new bloggers committed to the 30-day challenge, long-time poets, or non-poet bloggers who were inspired to try something new. We learned about new-to-us poetic forms, we were moved, we looked at familiar topics in a new light.

Here are five of our favorite sites, from WordPress poets new and old:

Tychogirl

Tychogirl isn’t just a poet, she’s an astropoet. We’re intrigued by her astronomy-focused work, and by her “redacted poems” — poems created by taking an existing page of text and blacking out all but the words she chooses to focus on:

“We Separate,” by Tychogirl.

Using astronomy texts and data for her redacted poems gives them additional depth and places her work in a historical context. We were excited to see her participating in NaPoWriMo, and continue looking forward to her daily doses of interplanetary free verse.

Everyday Poetry

Poets are often depicted as as lone scribblers, sitting in solitude, reaching for the perfect metaphor as the candle burns down and drips wax onto a half-empty sheet of paper. Everyday Poetry turned that archetype on its head — its five contributors banded together to support one another through the NaPoWriMo challenge. We loved getting five new poems each day with a single click, as well as the subtle way they invited our participation both with their blog, NaPoWriMo, and poetry generally:

And remember, every comment is just a tiny poem,

waiting to grace the pages of the internet.

Rooktopia

While we rejoiced in the proliferation of poetry-focused blogs, we also enjoyed watching non-poetry blogs explore new forms of expression. Rooktopia covers everything from comic books to pop culture to sports with a bit of poetry in the mix, but was fully dedicated to the NaPoWriMo challenge. Looking for a long-form poems on love, poem made entirely of cheese puns, or inspirational post on the craft and process of writing poetry? They’re all in here. we relished the way this part-time poet dove into NaPoWriMo and explored different topics and forms.

A Poem and a Drawing a Day

Since mid-2012, blogger Dawn Whitehead has been doing exactly what her title promises: publishing an original poem and original piece of artwork, every day.

Original pastel on handmade paper, Day Two Hundred and Eighty.

It was fascinating tuning in each day to see one new idea explored in both text and image. Her sharp digital drawings and moody pastels are perfectly paired with her poems, each adding new dimensions to the other.

My Brain is the Cliff

Another WordPress.com newcomer for NaPoWriMo, we appreciated this no-frills focus on the poetry. A simple theme, minimal information about the blogger, and basic titles help the poems themselves command all the attention — and they’re worth it.

Listen, kid. Your own reflection
scared you, your nose drifting
into your eye in the plastic mirror
they make for babies who can’t handle
THE REAL THING.

Your monsters eat cereal and sing
songs that rhyme; mine don’t.

There are thousands of other poetry blogs; we wish we could highlight more! If you have a favorite site for poetry or found a great new NaPoWriMo blog this month, please share. You can also browse all registered NaPoWriMo participants’ sites on the NaPoWriMo site, and find great pieces every day under the Reader’s “Poetry” topic.

Congrats to all the bloggers who took up the NaPoWriMo gauntlet! We hope it helped kickstart your creative juices, and look forward to a lot more beautiful verse.

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Imagine this: you have access to the diaries of your mother or father: Windows into your family’s past. Snapshots of moments of history.

What would this process be like? To sift through documents, to piece together a life — and, ultimately, your own family history? Susan Morrison, the blogger and author at Home Front Girl Diary, has this very story to tell.

The book Home Front Girl brings her mother’s diaries — penned as a teenager from 1937 to 1943 — to life. Her website and blog, created to complement her mother’s book, weaves personal, family, and world history and allows Susan to interact with her mother (now passed away) in an intimate, creative way.

We chatted with Susan about her project, how she uses her WordPress.com site to promote her book, and her blogging and research advice to writers, historians, and memoirists.

Tell us about the interesting story behind your site.

Home Front Girl Diary provides information and personal stories related to my mom’s diary. Joan Wehlen Morrison, who was born in 1922, became an oral historian, published two books of oral history, and taught at the New School in New York City. After her death in 2010, I found her diaries she had written as a teenager from 1937 to 1943, starting when she was 14 years old.

Susan Morrison

The diaries have been published as Home Front Girl: A Diary of Love, Literature, and Growing Up in Wartime America. I edited those journals. My contract with Chicago Review Press included a stipulation that I create a website for the book, and I’d never done that before. As a medievalist in my “real life,” technology beyond a piece of vellum and a quill pen is a bit daunting, but I wanted to make the site appealing and, most of all, useful for students of World War II and my mom’s diaries.

What was it like reading and transcribing your mother’s diaries?

Joan and Susan Morrison

Well, it was very emotional. She and I were best friends; she and my dad had been married almost 67 years, and he died two months after her death. So, I was in a very low place.

Her diaries were such a gift. They gave me access to her voice — the strong, young voice of the woman I so love. And her humor she had as a mature woman was already there in her teenage persona. Not many people get to know their moms as teenagers — I did, and it has been a remarkable blessing and journey for me. Reading the journals helped me emotionally and transcribing them helped heal my sadness.

You sifted through a lot of material for Home Front Girl. How did you tackle the process?

I read the journals twice through. Three journals exist out of what seem to have been six original ones. Missing are the first and last, plus one from September 1939 to November 1940. Fortunately, I found her poetry and creative writing journals, as well as her college notebooks filled with personal writing.

After reading the journals, I used Post-its to mark the pages to transcribe. The material I was most interested in included references to World War II and politics; romance (before she met my dad!); nature; the meaning of life, God, and philosophy; and her own hopes of becoming a writer. I used the web to confirm dates — for example, she may have noted “Friday, April 17, 1941″ when she meant the 18th. I corrected tiny errors like that.

While I’ve published two scholarly books on the Middle Ages, and a number of articles, I originally planned this to be a self-published family project. But I realized it was too important historically, so sought out — and found — a publisher. Chicago Review Press has a line of young adult history books, so it was the perfect match. They even included my mom’s doodles she’d drawn in the margins of her journal!

Tell us about the notable pages on your site.

The resources and blog tabs are the most important.

In the resources section, I link sections of my mom’s diary to educational and scholarly sources. I want students of any age to be able to see  “historical” documents alongside my mom’s interpretation of events. For example, she describes hearing about the Hindenburg catching fire in 1937; I quote her passage and link to the actual radio report. Or, she’d written about a newsreel she saw, and I found it. So you can read her passage and then see the newsreel.

You’ll also find other resources: a PDF with questions for book clubs and a curriculum guide for teachers, both free for download.

The blog is an ongoing project. Here, I tie contemporary events and news stories to my mom’s diary. For example, when the meteor struck over Siberia in February 2013, I remembered how my grandfather, Werner Wehlen — Joan’s dad — had seen the asteroid that struck Siberia in 1908. I tied these together in a post, along with Joan’s commentary in January 1939 on the coincidence of personal, political, and environmental calamity: the death of her best friend’s father, the end of the Spanish Civil War, the ongoing war between China and Japan, and the Chilean earthquake that killed thousands.

Tell us how you customized the Liquorice theme to make your site your own.

I chose WordPress.com since friends had said it was ideal for a neophyte like me. Also, since my mom’s diaries were written in the late 1930s and early 1940s, I wanted the site to look vintage or retro, and Liquorice was the perfect match. (The sidebar on the left notes how Susan customizes Liquorice.)

I also belong to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and two wonderful women, Kirsten Cappy and Samantha Clark, helped me streamline my site. Samantha suggested not having too many items on my custom menu and recommended one clean line across the home page.

Your work weaves history, research, memoir, and personal history — what have you learned from this project that you’d like to pass on to other writers?

I’ve met so many people with similar projects. They may have a group of letters a parent or grandparent wrote, or a journal, or even a cookbook from the early part of the 20th century a grandparent wrote out by hand. You can transcribe these items and self-publish, seek out a publisher, or make them available on the internet for your family — and the world. I recommend transcribing family documents; you can have a hard copy, then make copies for your family. Or, you can make a site for your family’s history, and contextualize primary documents historically through links and include family photos.

I’ve been asked: what if a family document has “unpleasant” material in it? You have to be cautious: you don’t want cause a ruckus in your family — or even get sued. Keep materials safe — in a safety deposit box, for example — for future generations to deal with once the parties of concern have passed away. And keep papers in a dry, environmentally secure place — not too hot or cold — and free from paper-eating pests!

Finally, the story of a document is at least two-fold: One, it’s the story of the original writer of the document. Two, it’s also the story of the person putting the project together. So, be sure to include your story in your project.

What’s one piece of advice for authors using WordPress.com as their online home?

WordPress.com allows you to “build a draft” of a site, so try out different themes. I showed the themes I was toying with to my kids for feedback — after all, the project was a young adult history book, so I wanted it to appeal to their age group. The book has also gotten attention from older folks who lived through World War II, or whose parents have. Ultimately, I wanted the design to be clean, easy and logical to follow, with a “vintage” look. I hope I’ve succeeded!

Thanks so much, Susan, for chatting with us!

Poke around Susan’s site, Home Front Girl Diary, for more.

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Parisian Style Fashion Pink Hammered Necklace

What is Parisian Style?

While Paris is certainly the fashion capital of the world, Parisian style fashion is not a cliche. In the book Paris Street Style: A Guide to Effortless Chic, French journalist and personal stylist Isabelle Thomas and photographer Frédérique Veysset say “Fashion is indeed at the core of French culture, but we don’t always go out on the streets wearing a beret or a pair of cigarette pants like a Saint Laurent model.”

Parisian style is hard to define. It is defined somewhat by what it isn’t. Its about avoiding dressing head to toe in designer clothes and wearing too much make up with gaudy jewelry. Instead, Parisian Style is about being beautiful by being yourself.

Parisian style is:

1. au naturel
2. simple
3. timeless

Au Naturel

As much as the Italians are flamboyant in their fashion choices, the French are down to earth. They don’t want to be seen as trying too hard. Casual elegance, understated beauty and most importantly, being au naturel are some of the keywords to unlocking the Parisian street style. Here, our French student model Marion is wearing a simple black blazer and white shirt that is accentuated by the Coral tribal spike necklace. Light makeup, no fuss hair, simple earrings complement the natural look, where less is more without being boring.

Parisian Style Fashion Spiked Coral Necklace

Simple

Isabelle Thomas says, “People shouldn’t be looking for a disguise through fashion.” Simple is harder to put together than extravagant or flamboyant. Nonchalant chic takes work because its about a true sense of who you are, rather than who you are pretending to be, like a Halloween costume. Below, my other French student model friend Zoe is wearing a simple black tank top, but accentuated with two pieces that show she didn’t just roll out of bed. The coral bracelet paired with the bohemian brass pendant necklace took a lot of thought, but is still understated and elegant. Its not boring, but doesn’t scream at you either.

Parisian Style Fashion Bohemian Necklace

Timeless

Timeless pieces are what defines the Parisian style: the little black dress, a trench coat, V-neck cashmere sweaters, the short leather jacket. But the French express their individuality through the accessories. In Parisian Chic Style Guide, runway model Ines de la Fressange swears by mixing affordable timeless basics with high-fashion touches, especially with tasteful accessories. Here, Marion is again pairing her timeless black and white outfit with a splash of spring green with the green and gold chandelier earrings. Its sophisticated because its timeless, yet memorable.

Parisian Style Fashion Chandelier Earrings

The post Parisian Style Fashion and Accessories appeared first on blog.outfitadditions.com.

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Easy Entry / Simple Rules:

• Enter via the rafflecopter form below.
• Contest ends on Friday, May 10th at 11:59pm.
• Winner announced via email on Mothers Day, May 12th.
• Open to US Residents incl. HI/AK. Must be 18+ to enter.
• View our current collection at outfitadditions.com. Look out for the summer line coming soon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Mothers Day Giveaway! Win a $100 Gift Certificate to Outfit Additions appeared first on blog.outfitadditions.com.

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There are a lot of necessary steps when preparing for a job interview: researching the company, looking up the profiles of the people you will be meeting with, and picking the appropriate outfit. But if you’re a woman, you’re probably also stressing about your attire. Instead of spending hours stressing about what to wear to an interview, use these helpful tips to select your perfect interview outfit:

1. Dress Code: If you aren’t sure what to wear to the interview ask the HR manager or recruiter what the dress code is like at the office and dress accordingly. If the job is as at a skateboarding company, a suit probably won’t go over well. If you know the office wears business attire, you can be sure to avoid mistakes like open toed shoes. When in doubt, err on the side of conservative.
2. Minimal: Job interviews are not the place to show off your impressive collection of neon bracelets, instead aim for minimalist fashion statements that won’t distract the interviewer. Of course if you are being interview to be a fashion designer, this may not apply, but you get the picture.
3. Comfortable for Sitting: Remember that the majority of the interview will probably be done with you in a chair, so consider the length of your skirt, how your pants feel after sitting in them for an hour, and how your top or jacket looks when bent at the waist. The last thing you want to do is focus on how uncomfortable you are instead of the interview questions.
4. Prepared: It is always important to be prepared! Have an extra copy of your resume in a folder, and if you have an iPad keep your portfolio queued up to illustrate the type of work that you can do.

Here are a few outfit ideas to inspire your next interview outfit:

Modern Suit:

Try a modern spin on the traditional suit with this grey dress, it is an appropriate length, and you can add a little pop color with this cute pink iPad case.  Don’t forget to accessorize with some simple jewelry such as this silver twig bracelet, a long silver necklace, and some dangly silver earrings. {Shop the rest of the look on Polyvore}

The Suit:

Not every job interview requires you to show up in a suit, but when it does, make sure you do it right. Pair a classic black suit with a nude or pastel top and a nice understated pair of gold disc earrings and tri-gold necklace. They will be the perfect accessories to this more formal look. {Shop the rest of the look on Polyvore}

Business Casual:

When dressing for a business casual interview you are treading into a fashion landmine! On the one hand you don’t need a suit, but you can’t wear jeans right? Instead opt for a pair of dress pants and a nice top that isn’t a button down. Don’t go all out on the jewelry, stick with simple yet fashionable pieces like these gold and black teardrop earrings and hammered gold pendant. {Shop the rest of the look on Polyvore}

Have specific questions or have other ideas?

The post What to Wear to an Interview – Four Essential Style Tips for Women appeared first on blog.outfitadditions.com.

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The days are getting longer, and the temperatures are rising, which means swimsuit season is upon us! Luckily for us there are many cute swimsuit trends to choose from this season. Whether you are vibing a retro high waisted suit, neon colors, or a cute one piece, there is something for everyone no matter where you live.

Check out the outfits below for some summer inspiration and dare to bare!

The Beach:

This darling green bikini is perfect for a day at the beach, just lather on the sunblock and lay out for a day of perfect sun. Pair the look with some gold earrings and a simple gold bracelet and some funky flip flops and the outfit is complete. {Shop the rest of the outfit on Polyvore}

Around Town:

Wearing a swimsuit doesn’t mean you have to be standing near a body of water in order to look appropriate. Bare midriffs are in this summer, so pair your cute retro bikini top with a maxi skirt and some matching red earrings and gold bracelets and you will be the toast of the town. {Shop the rest of the outfit on Polyvore}

Pool Party:

Adult pool parties are more synonymous with cocktails then swimming, so go for a more sophisticated one piece and cover up combo. Add some dangly green and gold earrings and a green and gold cuff and voilà, you are party ready. {Shop the rest of the outfit on Polyvore}

The post Cute Swimsuit Trends and How to Accessorize them this Season appeared first on blog.outfitadditions.com.

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Last month Cheri took a look at longform writing on WordPress.com, and how tagging your over–1000-word posts WPLongform can help fellow bloggers, readers, and the editors of Freshly Pressed to discover longer, more in-depth material in the WordPress.com Reader. Since then you’ve shared a huge variety of work under the WPLongform tag, and in today’s post, I’d like to take a quick look at a small sample of the work you’ve published.

Reflections in a fjord

Our first piece is a great example of a narrative-driven memoir. In Reflections in a fjord, author Bryan Hemming makes beautiful use of longer form prose to create an evocative, poetic reflection on memory, life, and the things that change and stay the same. Rooted in a family reunion, as much of place as people, he gently layers evocative imagery line by line, paragraph by paragraph, to bring us into a deeply subjective, transformative moment, and its echo many years later in time.

The cabin’s boards resound with laughter. Bjørg giggling so much the words hardly come out as tears of laughter brim. I try to reconcile this old-age-pensioner with the skirt-clad thighs haunting my mind. It is almost impossible. The treacly tones cracked by nicotine and alcohol; the Norse lilt twittering and creaking with age.

With a narrative arc that gently comes full circle, Hemming’s post is grounded in a Proustian moment that serves as the spoke around which his recollections gather. It’s a moving, poetic, gentle piece of writing, perfect for the more leisurely reading experience that longform enables.

Past Meets Present: Shan Shui Environmental Art

In Past Meets Present: Shan Shui Environmental Art, Issac Yuen takes a different approach to longform, exploring and critiquing the paintings-as-advertising of Yong Liang Yang in a more direct, discursive style of writing. Here the longform approach gives Yuen the space to examine the cultural backdrop of the paintings — which reference and play upon the traditional Shan Shui style of landscape painting — before exploring the ramifications, and to some extent, shortcomings of the project in terms of their environmental impact.

Man-made objects have supplanted the natural world. Skyscrapers take the place of mountains. Construction cranes, a common sight in modern Chinese cities like Shanghai, populate the landscape in excess. The ethereal and purifying mists, a common element of Shan Shui paintings, is in reality a miasma of suffocating smog.

Given the space for his prose to breathe, Yuen is able to introduce us to the cultural backdrop of this imaginative play on traditional art, repurposed to contemporary ends, while also reflecting on the bigger picture. This means that his post serves as both a fascinating introduction to the subject, and painter, for the newcomer, but also gives those already familiar with the paintings an engaging exploration into their impact and effect.

Consuming Geeks: Subculture and the Marketing of Doctor Who

The last of our three brief glimpses into WPLongform is a wonderful example of how the socio-economic, political, or academic think-piece can still prove accessible and engaging to a broader audience. Consuming Geeks: Subculture and the Marketing of Doctor Who explores the commodification and mainstreaming of “geek” subculture through the lens of Doctor Who fandom, and its recent popularity in mainstream circles.

…television is littered with a variety of series that openly invoke science fiction and celebrate geeks; anime and manga aesthetics pervade popular culture; and role playing games have become a massive industry whose impression can be seen all over popular culture. Once embracing something esoteric and disinteresting to the masses, geeks now have effected a complete reversal that witnesses them as the leading edge of style: rather than being disparaged as outcasts, geeks have become an energizing fringe fueling mass culture.

WPLongform: your take

Of course, with the sheer range and scope of the work you’ve shared since WPLongform launched, there was no way we could hope to share anything like a representative sample of what’s out there, but hopefully this gives you a brief look at three very different approaches to longform writing that manage to engage readers not in spite of their length, but arguably, because of it.

But our selection is always going to be limited, and subjective. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to check out WPLongform in your own Reader, and if so, we’d love to hear about your personal favorites and discoveries in the comments.

If you’ve decided to try longer form writing on your blog yourself — or write longer posts as a matter of course — consider adding the WPLongform tag to bring in new readers. We look forward to reading them.

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Greetings and Salutations!

Another Thursday has arrived and you know what that means … more themes! The theme machine here at WordPress.com has been cranking out few fresh, new designs that I am happy to present to you.

Flora & Fauna

Flora & Fauna is a colorful, illustrated premium theme designed by Aline Yamada. It’s perfect for your crafty DIY blog, tumblelog, or personal site. Among the theme’s features are support for several post formats, links to popular social networks, and three optional footer widget areas.

Read more about Flora & Fauna in the Theme Showcase, or test drive it for yourself by going to Appearance → Themes in your Dashboard.

TheStyle

TheStyle is a beautiful, grid-based premium theme created by the fine folks at Elegant Themes. The design’s simple structure and photo-driven visualization of posts makes your website fun and easy to browse. TheStyle is a great theme for bloggers or news publications that want to showcase their most recent articles within a stylish design.

Read more about TheStyle in the Theme Showcase, or test drive it for yourself by going to Appearance → Themes in your Dashboard.

Fanwood Light

Fanwood Light is an attention grabbing theme featuring multiple post formats, widget areas, and a responsive layout that looks great on devices both large and small.

Read more about Fanwood Light in the Theme Showcase, or test drive it for yourself by going to Appearance → Themes in your Dashboard.

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If you’re a WordPress aficionado you’ll know why one of the most eagerly awaited announcements each year is the arrival of a new default theme. Wait no longer, friends. I’m thrilled to introduce the newest addition, Twenty Thirteen. This gorgeous theme is colorful, opinionated, and ready to give your blog a warm, welcoming vibe.

An important goal of the yearly default theme is to be different than before, pushing visual boundaries and finding new ways to display your handcrafted content. Twenty Thirteen does just that, taking us back to the blog by featuring a full range of post formats, each displayed beautifully in their own unique way.

Delight and engage your visitors with this vibrant design, from the color scheme and matching header images to excellent typography and beautiful icons. All within a flexible, wide layout that looks great on large screens yet remains readable on any device, big or small.

Colorful to the max, Twenty Thirteen showcases your lovingly crafted content with bold and unapologetic colors. Large, alternating swaths of color are intended to encourage posting a variety of formats—writing all kinds of different content on your blog: images, videos, quotes, links, and more. The result is a lush and attractive layout.

Twenty Thirteen is chock full of other fun design details to make you smile. See it for yourself on the demo blog—things like the off-size post navigation circles and the funky 404 page. The typography is beautiful and readable with Source Sans Pro for body text, Bitter for headings, and a symbol-font called Genericons for seamlessly scaling icons.

And there’s more… learn about everything in Twenty Thirteen on the Theme Showcase.

Designed by Joen Asmussen and built by a cadre of enthusiasts in the WordPress community, Twenty Thirteen is now available in your WordPress.com dashboard at Appearance → Themes. Self-hosted WordPress.org users will have access to the bundled theme with the official 3.6 software release, coming soon.

I hope you get a thrill out of this new theme in all its colorful glory.

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