Winter is here. Which means parkas, toques, scarves, mittens and, of course, winter boots. Dressing for winter can be a challenge as it seems that this is the one season where functionality and fashion are not mutually exclusive. Like any gal, I like to look fashionable, but as the years have passed, I will admit that if I have to make a choice, I’d rather be warm than fashionable when it’s -20c outside.
There are many articles right now on how to stay warm and look fashionable when the temperature plummets. These articles talk about wearing layers, cute sweaters and scarves. That’s great and all, but I live in CANADA where winter weather can be unforgiving, with high wind-chills, heavy snowfalls, blizzards, freezing rain and extremely cold temperatures. And it can last for almost six months depending on where you live!
So let’s talk about what you are going to wear on your feet with that cute outfit when there is 15+ cm of snow on the ground and the windchill puts the temperature at about about -35c. As every Canadian knows, a thick pair of socks can only take you so far… Then you need to invest in a good pair of winter boots.
As someone with a healthy shoe obsession, you might be surprised to hear that I only have five pairs of winter boots. (I don’t count those is my 65+ pairs of footwear.) Some are for pure function, like my Merrell hiking-style winter boots that I use for walking my dogs. Others are for warmth for long stretches of outside activity where I want to look a little more ‘stylish’, like my glorious Joan of Arctic Sorrels (which I tend to pair with an Under Armour thermal base, skinny jeans, a winter leather jacket and a crocheted hat).
But when traveling to work, or meeting up with friends for indoor stuff, these babies are not going to cut it. Sorrels are very warm and perfect for being outside, but not that functional in a restaurant! That’s when I break out my high-heeled rubber soled faux-fur lined boots that are a bit more stylish.
I picked these babies up at a shoe sample expo. No idea who makes them. If you know, let me know.
Remember last year when everyone thought the world was gonna end? What really happened was that the 2012 Winter Solstice coincided with the end of the Mayan calendar.
Now you are probably wondering how is this related to winter boots? Isn’t it obvious? Life is short but it can feel like the end of the world with cold feet.
Company Christmas Party Etiquette
Ahhh the company Christmas party. Once upon a time, the company Christmas party was an office party with staff in Santa hats and Christmas sweaters guzzling spiked eggnog and behaving inappropriately in the photocopy room.
While most of us know the obvious things NOT to do at a company Christmas party, like lip-locking with our coworkers and photocopy our butts to give out as ‘presents’, the very nature of the company Christmas party has changed. Contrary to popular belief, your company Christmas party is NOT the time to let loose and party with your coworkers.
Here’s the thing. No matter how festive the occasion, a company Christmas party is still about business. And if you make an ass out of yourself, you could easily ruin your hard-earned professional reputation.
I don’t mean to sound like a Grinch here, you can still eat drink, be merry and all that jazz, just in moderation. (Save the cutting loose for the after-party.) While it might seem like a good idea to saddle up to the bar a few times, you don’t want to say or do anything stupid that you’ll need to apologize for later.
Seems pretty obvious, yes?
For women, the eternal question of what to wear is more important than ever. Here’s a solid piece of advice from most career experts: A company Christmas party is NOT the place to strut your stuff. Do yourself a favour and leave anything short, tight, sexy and/or revealing in your closet. Ho Ho Ho! Don’t dress like a ho! Keep ‘the girls’ under wraps. Not saying that you have to dress like a nun, but think about what your wardrobe choice is saying. You’ve worked hard to create a professional image, and revealing clothes can alter your coworkers’ and manager’s perception of you as a competent professional.
So now you are dressed festively, but professionally. You had one cocktail and are ready to… MINGLE. Even though it’s a party, it’s a company party, so work the room. Chat with people you don’t typically interact with daily. Making conversation is the key to shining like a Christmas star at the office party. In fact, this is a great time to introduce yourself to the CEO and/or VPs. How often do you get the opportunity to chat with these people? You may be surprised to learn how much you have in common.
It should also go without saying to make sure to thank the people who organized the party. Not only is saying thank you the nice thing to do, but it also makes you stand out from the many employees who don’t. And finally, don’t leave without saying “goodbye”. It’s not only polite but necessary.
I leave you with a survey about company Christmas parties:
Picture Perfect Tuesday: Abstract
Many (too many!) years ago in college we had a photography assignment with one word for instruction: Abstract.
I was excited as ‘abstract’ could be anything I wanted it to be. A close-up on a wall, a blurry reflection in water or a smattering of colourful elements – wherever my imagination took me.
The great thing about abstract art is that it doesn’t reflect any form of conventional reality, all you see are shapes, colors, lines, patterns, and so on. Sometimes it just looks pretty. Sometimes it doesn’t. Regardless, when you see a piece of abstract art, the first response is to ask the creator what it is in order to create context for what you are looking at. However, with abstract art, there is usually a lot more than what initially meets the eye.
Abstract art is about energy; the energy that makes a piece ‘speak to you’. So really it’s not about asking what the piece is, but about acknowledging what the piece is to you… (is your mind blown?)
So for this week’s Picture Perfect Tuesday, I give you an abstract.
Fashion Fun Friday: Ugly Holiday Sweaters
Have you noticed the increasing trend in Ugly Sweater themed parties? How did all this craziness start? I blame Bill Cosby with his crazy patterned sweaters for making these sweaters mainstream in the 80s. The revival among younger people throwing ugly Christmas sweater parties, according to Time Magazine, started as a way for young adults to mock their parents’ love of festive looks and thought the sweaters were (gasp) cute.
However the history of the first ugly sweater party can be traced back to 2002 in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) where two friends, Jordan Birch and Chris Boyd, decided to host one at their house. Now celebrating their 12th event, this once small house party is now the official The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party(TM) – an annual fundraiser for the Children’s Wish Foundation. Their motto: Be Ugly. Do Good. Connect. Give. Reconnect & Be Kind.
Despite the popularity of these parties, it’s surprisingly hard to find a good ugly sweater these days. While it can be argued that one person’s perception of ugly is another person’s beautiful, when it comes to finding an ugly holiday sweater it seems that we all are seeking the same thing. That tacky sweater that you perhaps once owned in the 80s because you got it as a gift and your mom wouldn’t let you throw it out. In fact she may have even been the one who bought it for you. Although it is pretty safe to assume that these ugly sweaters were designed with the original intention of being attractive. So begs the question: Which came first, the sweater or the ugly?
Determined to be successful this year, I set out once again in search of the perfect ugly sweater at the usual places: thrift shops such as Value Village, the Salivation Army and the like. Nada. Zip. Zero. The problem with searching “the usual places” is that this is where everyone else is looking too. So either everyone has already cleaned them out long ago or there are just no ugly holiday sweaters to be found. Have we actually run out of tacky leftovers from the 80s??? Where does one find an ugly holiday sweater these days??
Turns out there are now entire stores dedicated to the ugly sweater. In fact when I went online to see where I could find one of these tacky gems, I only had to type the word ‘ugly’ for Google to immediately return the suggestion of “ugly Christmas sweater”! Here’s what I found:
TheSweaterStore.com has a slew of ugly sweaters ripe for the picking. They promote themselves as having “The World’s Largest Selection of Ugly Christmas Sweaters.” Like this one:
Not to be outdone, MyUglyChristmasSweater.com boasts having a large selection of tacky 80s sweaters. They do. Check out this beauty:
And then there is Canadian retailer HolidayRejects.ca who not only offers a selection of ugly Christmas sweaters, but LED light kits to add some extra ‘pizzazz’ to one you may already have.
And then there is TipsyElves.com. This site has some cheeky tacky sweaters with reindeer in compromising positions and gingerbread men fearing for their lives…
Now when you find yourself with an invitation to an ugly sweater party, you’ll be set! Be Ugly. Do Good. Connect. Give. Reconnect & Be Kind. Happy Holidays.
Picture Perfect Tuesday: Hoar Frost
Do you know what Hoar Frost is? I hadn’t heard of Hoar Frost until this weekend. Also called White Frost, according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, Hoar Frost is the white ice crystals that form from frozen dew. It typically forms on cold clear nights when heat is lost into the open sky causing objects to become colder than the surrounding air.
For this week’s Picture Perfect Tuesday, I present Hoar Frost:
Picture Perfect Tuesday: Stratford
I snapped this picture immediately upon arriving in Stratford, Ontario this past summer. I love everything about this gentlemen. He is the perfect embodiment of how I found Stratford to be: quiet, rural, charming and dignified.
You Crack Me Up!
I was reading recently that despite having finally admitting to smoking crack, buying drugs while in office, being regularly “in a drunken stupor” in pubic, and addressing sexual harassment allegations by commenting that he “gets enough to eat at home”, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s approval rating is back on the rise since his confession. Holding steady at 42%, (!!!), one-third of Toronto voters said they would vote for him again. Which begs the re-examination of the age-old question, is any PR good PR?
How much bad press can one person get before it’s unrecoverable? History tells us that a President can mess around with an intern, lie about it, then come clean about it and still be beloved. We’ve seen heroes fall and celebrities humbled; only to bounce back with even more success. Think Robert Downey Junior, Martha Stewart, Tiger Woods.
Is it the act of ‘coming clean’ that allows us to forgive? Or is it the personal scandal itself that endears these people as it shows that they are not so different from the average person. They screwed up so they appear more human to us. In fact, one Toronto constituent was quoted in the media as saying just that about Rob Ford!
With Ford being plastered in the news, it’s easy to forget that only a year ago Gérald Tremblay resigned as Montreal mayor, following months of besieged with allegations of corruption. Sadly for Torontonians, and all Canadians, it seems that Rob Ford will not be bowing out gracefully – which will no doubt lead to more dirty laundry being aired, more SNL skits, and more jokes for late-night talk shows.
However, his rising approval rating suggests that Ford may very well recover from this scandal. But between Ford and the ongoing Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau Senate spending scandal, our country’s international reputation is getting caught in the crossfire. These individuals may recover, but Canada is getting a bad rap.
Fashion Fun Friday: Whoooo?
I like things with owls on them. I’ve liked them for years. It started when a previous co-worker asked me why I didn’t have any personal nick-knacks on my desk at work. So I hit the Dollar Store and bought some weird owl figures that I thought were hilarious. When it was time to get a new case for my iPhone, I grabbed the owl one because it was cute. And then came the owl socks… And the owl ring… It may seem like I have a problem here, but folks I was just ahead of my time! Owls are in. In a big way.
Here’s an interesting fact about owls: Their eyes are pretty much fixed in their sockets, which means they must turn their entire head to see in a different direction. Contrary to popular myth, an owl cannot turn its head completely backwards. But it can turn its head 135 degrees in either direction; it can thus look behind its own shoulders, with a total 270-degree field of view!
Here’s some head-turning owl items that are worth fixing your sights on:
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- Knitted Jumper: H&M.com
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- Owl Shift Tunic Dress: Apricot.co.uk
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- Owl of My Eye Dress: thisnext.com
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- Owl Sweater: madewell.com
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- Owl Pocket Watch Necklace: StyleHive.com
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- Leather and Crystal Owl Cuff Bracelet: Amazon.com
Data for #MentalHealth
Last night at Girl Geek Dinners Ottawa (#GGDottawa), I had the privilege to hear strategic consultant Shelley McKay discuss a pilot project she is leading that will use social media, analytics and predictive models using keywords and phrases associated with known risk factors, to identify youth suicidal behaviours/ideations at the earliest possible point. Shelley launched this project after her daughter tried to take her own life and subsequently experienced first hand how fractured our health care system is when it comes to youth mental health. 
Suicide, I learned, is the second leading cause of death among Canadian youth; and is influenced by social media as well as social and environmental factors. If you have any social awareness you already know the names of teenagers Jamie Hubley and Rehtaeh Parsons. We should not know the names of these kids. They should still be alive and living their teenage lives.
What Shelley is proposing with her pilot project is to utilize an existing government software that is used to monitor social media channels for our national safety against terrorist threats and focus it on at-risk youth. (Yes, that’s right! Big Brother IS watching.) The program, she explain can process 85,000 word a minute. A minute!! And it is able to place context to the key words being processed. Meaning the program knows the difference between someone saying they are going to “bomb a city’ and a comment such as “that show was the bomb”. In the context of monitoring our youth, the program can analyze their mood, track mood trends and language patterns so parents, schools and hospital can take a proactive care approach rather than a reactive one. This is the first goal of the project. The second, Shelley explains, is to reduce the pressure on our region’s emergency rooms by proactively identifying youth in crisis and directing them to appropriate treatment.
Now as a marketer, you might be asking how it is possible to monitor people with our current privacy laws. That is one of the hurdles that Shelley is currently taking on. Partnered with SAS, a leading company is big data, Shelley and her team are working with our government, schools, hospitals, such as The Royal, and health officials to make this project concept a reality.
Big Data for the advancement of Mental Health. If you’d like to learn more about Shelley’s project, give her a tweet: @McKayShelley.
Picture Perfect Tuesday: Irony
Proof that people today treat their dogs like children.
The Publicist Diaries 