Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Style

I want to look good. No, really good. (Or: personal shopper?)

tellumo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:33:48 -0800

A few years ago, I had a girlfriend who (gently) took me to task about my wardrobe and made a few suggestions as to how I could look better. I could see the difference after I'd tried a few new outfits, but I'm not very good at coming up with them myself, and I'm not very good at knowing what looks good and what has to change. It recently popped into my head that I could hire someone to help me out with this, but I know absolutely nothing about how to do so--although I hope MeFi harbors someone who does. Can you help me? I understand that the usual job title is "personal shopper," but I understand they mostly work for high-end stores, and I want to be able to 1) have a wider range of options and 2) get a pair of jeans for less than $300. "Style consultant" also came to mind, but that makes me think of calling Deloitte and asking for the menswear department.

Essentially, I'm looking for someone who can work with me on how to deal with my appearance (hair, glasses, clothes, shoes, accessories, any other aspects I may have forgotten) in all situations, work and leisure. I'm mostly interested in buying new clothes because I think I can pick out a few real clunkers from my wardrobe and replace them, but ideally I'd like to have an expert opinion on what to keep and what to chuck, as well as what to buy.

Like I said, I'm worse than clueless here, so my questions will be many and fundamental:

What is this called? A "personal shopper," a "style consultant," a "wardrobe consultant," something else? What's the phrase to type into the search engines? (For clarity and brevity, I'll use "personal shopper" in the following.)

How do you qualify a personal shopper? What do you look for to determine whether a personal shopper is good at their job and will work well with you?

What's the going rate? I understand the in-store ones generally work on commission, but I'd prefer to hire someone independent. I'm in San Francisco.

How should I set this up? Should I plan on an initial consultation followed by a shopping trip, or some other structure?

What should I ask a personal shopper? What sort of things should I keep in mind when working with one?

If you've worked with a personal shopper, what was it like? Any tips?

If you are a personal shopper, is there any advice you'd have for me on how to work most effectively with you or one of your colleagues?

If you're in the Bay Area and know a personal shopper, would you care to recommend him or her?

Bonus Question: While I appreciate good design, I think I have a bit of a tin eye for my own stuff, and for almost anything involving dress. Is it possible for me to get better at this, and if so, how?

I've seen this question, but there were only a few responses relating to independent personal shoppers, I'm not in NYC, and my questions are a little broader.

Thanks!

Sir / Ma'am / ???

Zarkonnen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:18:14 -0800

What's the gender-neutral equivalent to "Sir" and "Ma'am"? I'm writing a story (well, a game, really) that contains a character, neither male nor female, whose male/female counterparts of the same rank (captain) are addressed as "Sir" and "Ma'am" respectively.

What mode of address do I use for this character? I imagine that there is no official answer, so I'd like your help in making up a good one. It needs to not stick out, and ideally have some kind of underlying rationale.

How can a guy dress more sexy?

oxit — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:19:46 -0800

How can a guy dress more sexy? Being a guy I have a good understanding how women can dress more sexy, but for myself I have little clue. How do I dress more sexy for the opposite gender?

I have a decent wardrobe of things that I bought specifically for their looks and I do actively combine them so that they fit together and I supposedly look good. Still I wouldn't say it or I ever look sexy or hot.

If this is a stupid question, because (1) I already do look sexy, or (2) I have to behave sexy instead or (3) ... feel free to let me know, also.

[Background: Central Europe, 30-ish, average sporty, fashionable, and outgoing, healthy BMI]

you'd look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two

Juliet Banana — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:57:32 -0800

My boyfriend and I really want to win Most Stylish Couple at The Sadie Hawkins Style Ride in one week. Any suggestions? (previously) There is no way on earth we are winning Fastest Couple; normally I wouldn’t even participate in a ride since I’m the speed-racing equivalent of a child riding on the sidewalk or a pedicab, but it’s a short ride (~3 miles), you can skip checkpoints and hop to the bar if you’re not concerned with winning Fastest Couple, the money goes to a good cause, there’s beer at the end, and I really want that pair of Seagull Bags.

I have a teal&orange little boy’s bike from the late sixties or early seventies; it’s a Schwinn Stingray knockoff. My boyfriend has a yellow Schwinn Varsity.

So, how do we dress? I’m a girl with most of my somewhat eccentric wardrobe obsessively cataloged online, if you know where to look for it. My boyfriend’s most distinctive features are a blonde handlebar mustache and a collection of brightly colored skinny jeans. We’re riding at night in Chicago’s November, so all-black clothing is probably not genius, and moderate warmth is a must (it’s not snowing or anything and I generally heat up on my bike, but it’s definitely tights&hoodie weather).

The best idea I’ve had is my boyfriend dressing like an olde timey admiral with a captain’s hat and me dressing like a pirate with a pirate’s hat,with my eyepatched sock monkey riding in my jolly-roger-outfitted bike basket. This really isn’t that costumey for us (I’ve worn both those hats to shows and he wears that captain’s hat everyday to work) but given the timing I worry it’ll look like we just reused our Halloween costumes.

I have access to two bright and colorful wardrobes, a million accessories including a backpack shaped like an owl and a sombrero, and pretty much every store in Chicago proper including craft stores and a bunch of resale shops in Boy’s Town. So, what other themes could we go for to look like a super-stylish matched cycling couple?

I'm right, but lack visual evidence of my rightness

B-squared — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:45:07 -0800

Help me find images of handsome, manly men in white sweaters. I'm trying to convince my husband that a white sweater is as versatile as his dour browns, blacks and grays. If they are layered with shirts under or jackets over, all the better. Thank you!

Help me learn to typeset equations like it was my job. (Why? Because it is.)

nebulawindphone — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:56:56 -0800

I am looking for a math typesetting style guide. By this I don't mean the kind of stylesheet for journal submissions that says "Be sure to use the blah-blah-blah LaTeX package and the XYZ equation environment, and our army of editorial assistants will tie up the loose ends and knock off the rough edges." (Why not? Because my advisor is involved in starting a new journal, and suddenly my labmates and I are that army of editorial assistants.) I am less interested in the technical details of mathematical typesetting. We've got our fonts chosen already, we're committed to using LaTeX and AMSMath which I speak pretty fluently, and we're distributing online so anything having to do with print is Not An Issue. In particular, I am not looking for another LaTeX user's manual — although if the advice I need happens to be buried in one, I'm okay with that. I'm also not particularly interested in simple questions of usage ("bigger parentheses or square brackets?" "~ or ¬ for negation?"), especially since a lot of those boil down to taste and convenience anyway.

I'm more interested in what you might call the visual semantics of it. (F'rinstance: How do you set a long equation so as to reveal its structure quickly and easily to the reader? How can spacing, line breaks, alignment and so on be used to produce that sort of clarity, and what other tricks are there that I'm not thinking of? What about a sequence of equations? A derivation or proof? How do you set a nonstandard symbol — an operator, function, etc. defined by the author;we get this a lot in my field — so that it's clear what its role in the equation is? This isn't a complete list of questions, but it's questions like that that I want to learn how to answer.) Aesthetic details — good spacing, good line breaks and page breaks, all-around symmetry and tidiness — are also important. The goal is to make these thorny and technical articles as easy and joyful to read as I possibly can.

Bonus points for a guide with good advice on the odd situations that come up in formal semantics and mathematical logic. (For instance, I've been unable to find any advice for laying out expressions in lambda calculus, or ones containing multiple quantifiers, and both of those are frequent sources of difficulty here.) But if that's asking too much, then I'm looking for general best practices that I can apply to the edge cases when they come up.

It's just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right.

miss lynnster — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:00:59 -0800

I need visual examples of vintage influences (1920s-1950s) in current popular culture to prove retro design is still hip with the cool kids. Putting together images for a style presentation. I want to hire a retro illustrator for a project but last week someone expressed belief that young people aren't interested in waxing nostalgic for a time they didn't live in. I just need to show solid proof of how off base that is. I need visual examples of pop culture and design (magazine ads, interior decor, popular products like the Dangerous Book for Boys, anything really...) to prove that modern people are still embracing very vintage inspiration and that retro style is still relevant in popular culture and embraced by younger people.

I have a lot already. Just want to see what I might not have thought of. Thanks oodles. You da bomb. Yes, you.

Short passages of particularly strong or weak nonfiction prose?

cymru_j — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:04:34 -0800

In search of short passages of especially strong or weak nonfiction prose! I’m hoping to build a composition class around short examples of effective and in effective writing. I'm thinking of passages of about 1-6 sentences.

We'll look at excerpted passages as a class and analyze what makes them more or less effective. Maybe we'll even try rewriting them in various ways to note the effect.

Passages from well-loved (or well-hated) prose stylists are very welcome, but bonus points for writing whose quality seems surprising or out of context, i.e. poor writing where one might expect strong (from a respected magazine, author, columnist) or good prose that pops up in off-beat venues (blogs, advertising copy, tabloids, etc.).

Any comments on why said prose is effective or ineffective are also welcome.

Thanks very much, guys!

Looking for a simple and ergonomic men's watch

snarfois — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:20:22 -0800

I'm looking for a men's digital watch that is simple, slim and ergonomic. I don't care much for style. For most of my life I've used a basic Casio F-91W which has all the functions I need.

Yet I'm not entirely immune to occasional pangs of embarrassment around meeting tables, and I have to admit that while my watch is adequate, it's not something I love or that really reflects my values.

What am I looking for?

First, it has to be digital. (I know that eliminates 90% of the field of well-designed watches.) Second, my arms are skinny and I work at a keyboard all day. Chunky watches look ridiculous on me, and are uncomfortable when my arms rest on a desk. Even my little Casio is chunkier than I'd like it to be. Metal is out.

Third, I work in user experience and care about ergonomics. I hate how most watches compromise usability for style. I value legibility and comfort. I like how some sports watches have large numerals, large buttons, and are sometimes even angled to be readable at an oblique glance. But sports watches all tend to be as pointlessly chunky as 80s boom boxes. While style is not my first concern, I do care about attractive typography, visual balance and colour.

Finally, functions. All I care about is hours, minutes, seconds, date and day. Stopwatch would be nice but is not essential.

So, does a watch like this exist? I consider it so unlikely that money wouldn't be an object.

Help a fussy, picky dresser look better.

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:10:40 -0800

I'm embarrassed by the way my husband dresses. He says he wants to dress better, but that he "physically can't". My husband has told me repeatedly that he wants to look more stylish and more professional (he's 30). This is great, because I'm tired of feeling like he's my kid brother instead of my partner when we go out. However, he has a bizarrely long list of tactile sensitivities that make it "impossible" for him to wear certain things because they're so uncomfortable that he "can't concentrate on anything else".

I don't really know what to make of these objections. I remember when I was a child thinking wool sweaters must be punishment for bad behavior, but I definitely grew out of it. Is he just being ridiculous, or could these issues be physically and/or psychologically real? Any other picky dressers have insight?

Here is partial list of his self-imposed sartorial restrictions, along with his rationales. (He also has a rather spartan aesthetic sense, you'll notice). He won't wear any of the following things except under extreme duress:

Things that are "scratchy":
denim (i.e. all jeans) and corduroy
synthetic fabrics or blends
wool or wool blends

Things that "make me feel like I'm suffocating":
sweaters
ties
undershirts
slim-fitting shirts

Things that are nonspecifically "uncomfortable":
blazers and jackets
shirts tucked in
belts

Things that "look dumb":
stripes, checks, or patterns of any kind
v-necks
boots
pink, yellow, purple, and pastels
vests
watches
hats
(pretty much any accessory/nonessential)

Things that are "inefficient":
shoes with laces
owning more than one pair of shoes
owning more than one coat
buttons

The end result of these limitations is that he typically wears Gap chinos, a t-shirt, and slip-on shoes every single day. On dressier occasions he'll swap the t-shirt for a solid-colored oxford-type shirt, but only if it's half a size too big, loose at the collar, and untucked.

So...

1) In the short term, what can he do to dress better within the boundaries he's set for himself? I'm not very knowledgeable or creative in this department, unfortunately.

2) More importantly, in the long term, can he be desensitized to blazers, belts, shoelaces and sweaters? How should he go about it, and how can I help?

Anonymized for my Mefite husband's privacy, who would die of embarrassment.

Looking for some style advice for a 21 year old from the HiveMind!

Junior687 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:49:10 -0800

Looking for some style advice for a 21 year old from the HiveMind! I just recently turned 21 and I would like to dress more like an adult. I have grown pretty tired of sneakers and gaudy t-shirts. I have been reading various blogs and magazines, but I want to get the opinion of the average person. HiveMind is the greatest!

I'm 6,4 and 167 pounds. I'm in the process of gaining weight, but I would like to get outfits that show off my height, but don't make me seem pencil-thin. I don't want to dress too formal, but a casual stylish look is what I'm trying to achieve. What are some outfit essentials for a young man's closet? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

On a side note, a friend bought me a sweater from Banana Republic to celebrate my goal of trying to dress like my age. See here. Does anyone have any ideas to dress up/down this sweater so I can wear it for an upcoming retirement ceromony? Thanks!!!

Inglorious Hat

Hands of Manos — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:04:10 -0800

What kind of hat did Melanie Laurent wear in Inglorious Bastards? (link included inside) I have someone special that wants a hat like the one Melanie Laurent wore in Inglorious Bastards. I'm unsure what kind it is (a cabby?) however for reference here is a link of what it looks like.

Can anyone help identify what style of hat that is and where would be a good place to purchase one?

Thanks!

Shameless music that'll grab our son and your daughter in the arms of a jungle, animal instinct - massteria!

TochterAusElysium — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:29:05 -0800

What's this kind of talking/singing music called, and what else is like it? I particularly like a kind of music that I can't really name, as it spans several genres, and I'd love to find more like it. Generally speaking, it's almost like proto-rap; more spoken or chanted than sung, usually with elaborate non-repeating lyrics. It's hard to describe (for me, at least).

Some examples include Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan, I Do the Rock by Tim Curry, Modern Major General by Gilbert & Sullivan, I've Been Everywhere by Hank Snow, Trouble in River City from The Music Man, Come On-A My House by Rosemary Clooney (kind of), and so on.

Reading for a Reinvention

cuando — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:49:30 -0800

I've decided to make some big changes in how I live. Things like exercising more, eating better, dressing nicer and so on. Things are going pretty great now, but I am looking for some useful reading (magazines, books, websites, blogs) to help me stay motivated and generate ideas. Further info... I'm a guy so I'd prefer suggestions (especially anything relating to style, fashion, & health) that are unisex or male-geared. Some examples of what I currently read are:

NYTimes Well blog
Gimmie20.com
ExRX & StartingStrength
Uncrate
A.Continuous Lean
Lifehacker
Triathletes Training Bible
Runner's World

I was also thinking of getting a magazine subscription to like Men's Health. Any thoughts are appreciated

Hong Kong style noodles. Recipes requested.

lilywing13 — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:20:48 -0800

Hong Kong style shrimp noodles and what to do with them? Give me your recipes please. We are lucky to have wonderful Asian markets in my semi-rural area. Sometimes, when we're shopping at them, we'll find items that look and sound great. Most often, I can google the item plus the word "recipe" and figure out what to do with it.

So, now, I have two large bags of Hong Kong style noodles, one is shrimp and the other is scallop. They are in little bundles within the bag, kind of like how mung bean noodles are packaged, but these area clearly wheat noodles. There are only the most rudimentary English instructions on the bags.

I only found a few recipes when I searched. A couple of lo mein type meals, a couple about frying them until crispy in places (boiled first or dry? they didn't say!) and a soup that also includes wontons.

I'm probably overthinking a bag of noodles, but I want to make something good and not have to toss it out and call for pizza. If it helps, I learned how to make pad woon sen, and my kids like it a lot. We are adventurous eaters here.

Please help out a woman that loves a good food experiment. Thanks.

What do wear under 3/4-length sleeves?

otherwordlyglow — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:20:43 -0800

What do you wear under a 3/4-length sleeve jacket? I just bought a cute jacket from an online vendor. It's nylon-coated and clearly outerwear. When it arrived, I realized that it has 3/4-length sleeves, which in theory is fine; I like that length in sweaters and shirts but in outerwear, I'm finding it a bit problematic if I'm wearing long sleeves as a shirt or jacket. Do you usually just let your long under-sleeves extend out past the cuff of the jacket? The jacket is pale green so not everything I wear under it will be color coordinated with it and I sort of think that long sleeves peaking out of a shorter sleeved jacket looks odd. But then the alternatives are push up the sleeves to the shirt/sweater and keep my arms bare below the cuffs of the jacket or.....wear another jacket. I take the jacket off when indoors. Please believe me when I say that I am not losing sleep over this and I do realize that my concerns over sleeve coordination are pretty minor issues in the grand scheme of things.

Can anyone help an italic-hater?

JoanArkham — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:31:35 -0800

Calling all editors, proofreaders, and style mavens! I need help with (not) italicizing court cases in a non-legal document. I know you italicize the names of cases when you're using "versus" or naming a specific case. ("Brown v. Jones" or "in the Jones case") But how about when you're just naming people or companies who were involved in cases in a narrative? Like "In March 2002, ABC Corporation agreed to settle allegations that it violated federal law."

It's there. I don't like it. Can someone get me off the hook with some sort of style guide I can cite? We don't have a house one, and the rule as listed in GPO isn't clear to me.

(This is for a non-legal American government document which will eventually be published online for the general public.)

Nerdy white girl wonders about hip-hop fashion and subcultural stereotypes.

bubukaba — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:37:07 -0800

I am curious about different varieties of hip-hop style (basically, the kinds of things I see cool [mostly] black teenagers and young adults wearing). I'm interested in looking at pictures of it (are there street fashion blogs for this kind of thing?) and also in finding out more about the history, origins, and cultural associations of this kind of dress (anything from academic articles to fashion magazines). Even information as simple as where one can buy this kind of clothing, or what you know or have noticed to be "cool" things to wear among the hip-hop set these days would be good to know. I'd also love to see any trendsetting music videos or whathaveyou that you can recommend.

I'm also interested in anything you can tell me about specific nuances of music or other cultural artifacts that have associations with different 'parts' of hip-hop culture. (I guess one thing I'm trying to hash out here is what the different 'parts' of hip-hop culture even are.)

I'm in Chicago, if there's anything specific to location that I should know about.

Things that I've noticed in particular and wouldn't mind knowing more about:

1: Men wearing outfits that match, completely. I saw a guy on the train the other day wearing a really cool hat/shirt/pants combination with a sort of macabre Jack the Ripper motif. (Is wearing clothing that matches signify anything special? Does one buy the whole outfit together, or is Jack the Ripper the logo of some particular line of clothing that I know nothing about?)

2: Women wearing clothing highlighted with intense neon colors.

3: Women wearing masculine clothing (wife beaters, baggy pants, do-rags, close-cropped hair or cornrows). (Are they lesbians? Tomboys? Some female analog to the banjee boy?)

4: Men with a hip-hop look sporting mohawks.

Aside from aesthetics (I really dig how a lot of this clothing looks, though I as a nerdy white girl could never get away with wearing most of it), a lot of my interest rises from my familiarity with the styles of dress associated with predominantly white subcultures and my apparent lack of familiarity with the styles of dress associated with black subcultures. I feel like I'm culturally literate enough to recognize the stereotypes that are being played with (or played to) when I see a kid with a mohawk and a leather jacket, a guy wearing a salmon pink polo shirt, a guy with a goatee and skinny jeans, or a girl wearing Birkenstocks and dreadlocks (to use some simplistic examples) - but I have no idea how to read similar signals from people who are part of 'scenes' that aren't dominated by whiteness. I can't even tell if the kinds of things I've described as "hip-hop style" in this question are part of the same 'scene' or not. In the world of subcultural stereotypes, would the guys with hip-hop mohawks hang out with the guys in matching outfits, or would that be as 'weird' as a skinhead hanging out with a hippy kid? (Note: I know that in the real world people hang out with all sorts of people - I'm just particularly curious about stereotypes at the moment.)

Car design traditions

twine42 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:29:19 -0800

Can you give me more examples of a design feature that different car manufacturers have kept for several decades...? I don't know how well I can explain this...

I'm looking for examples of things that have stayed constant (or gently evolved) over the course of several decades - things like the Hofmeister kink on the back window of BMWs or the angled lights on Peugeot cars.

I'm not wanting things like the "flame edges" that BMW have used for the last couple of years or the "new edge" styling that Ford has used for the last ten years.

The difference being that kink and the lights have a history of 40 years or so, while the flame edge and new edge are only a decade old...

What's with people oiling their hair and sticking the bangs to their forehead?

ichthuz — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:09:07 -0800

There seems to be a trend among older women, at least in Baltimore (mainly African-American ladies, but I have seen Hispanic and Caucasian women do this as well), of matting down hair with some sort of oil. The goal seems to be to get as much hair as possible as close to the scalp as possible. The bangs are then stuck to the forehead, and it looks like this is purely oil based. As I haven't yet had the kahones to ask one of these lovely ladies what's up with the hair, I was hoping someone knew: A. What sort of product is being applied to get this "just out of the oil bath" look? B. Is this an every morning thing, or do you apply just once a week? Once a month?

Maybe it's time for a (hairstyle) change?

Vorteks — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:46:09 -0800

I'm a man, and all my life I've had exactly one hairstyle. Now I'm looking to refine my look a little bit. What do I need to know? I've had pretty much the same hairstyle for 26 years. My friends and family often tease me that there's no point in me even going to the barbershop because "it always looks the same anyway". I have always worn a medium-length cut. My hair parts naturally, and I've never fought it. I pretty much use no hair products of any kind, other than shampoo and conditioner. I'm pretty conservative in my dress and grooming.

Now, I'm thinking a bit of change might be good. I might change my overall hairstyle, or maybe I want to keep my style but use some kind of product to enhance it or keep it in place a bit. However, I have no idea where to start. Can you help me? How does a man choose a new hairstyle? Is there some kind of guide? What sort of products (gels, sprays, brushes, etc) should I know about? What's the difference between a $10 barber, and a $30 salon? Any and all information would be helpful.

In general, I would consider:

A new (yet still conservative) hairstyle. A bit longer, a bit shorter, try to remove the part, whatever.

Using a subtle gel or spray to hold my hair in place or enhance it

Going to a new shop or salon if it would help

I would not consider:

Coloring or highlighting.

Gels or sprays that have a very obvious and dramatic effect - making your hair look solid, or laquered, or whatever

Anything that would shock your grandmother. I'm going for a more modest, business-friendly look.

I'm looking for more general advice about my options rather than a specific recommendation, but if it helps this is what I look like (although the part in my hair isn't always that pronounced). Also, if it matters, I live in Michigan, USA.

Thanks in advance!

"Heroes" writing: Stupid or Stylized?

Alabaster — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:42:12 -0800

Cheesy writing in "Heroes" -- is it stupid or is it stylized? **** I'VE WORDED THE QUESTION VAGUELY ENOUGH TO AVOID SPOILERS, BUT OBVIOUSLY I CAN'T VOUCH FOR THE ANSWERS WHICH MIGHT COME LATER ON THIS PAGE ***

I just finished watching Season 1 of "Heroes" (haven't seen any more yet, so please no spoilers).

I've enjoyed the show but I've had my share of cringes at the writing.

I'd be willing to entertain the notion that some/most/all of the "bad" writing was crafted this way intentionally to mimic a comic-book style -- but I've never been into comic books so I can't back this up.

Some examples (vague enough to avoid spoilers):

-Sappy, melodramatic scenes which don't "work" because the relationships don't support them
-Sudden, implausible changes of heart from many characters
-Scenes that may as well have a flashing neon sign that says "Exposition"
-Cliche after cliche along the lines of "what's in your heart is what counts" and trite "can destiny be changed or is it written in stone" fluff
-Powerful arch-villains with poorly explained motives/backgrounds (in a way that seems superficial, not intriguing in the tip-of-the-iceberg I-can't-wait-to-find-out-more way).
-Plot threads abruptly/too-neatly tied up or left dangling (not in an intriguing way, but seemingly careless or rushed)
-Dialogue discrepancies between a scene and its recap (this happened enough that I'm sure it was intentional)
-Deus ex Machina ad nauseum

The final episode was the worst offender -- someone randomly shows up just in time with no explanation for how they knew where to go, someone conveniently gets a shoulder injury and can't lift a gun, someone reveals their first name and *gasp* it's from the Bible and makes his whole story seem somewhat allegorical if you don't think too hard about it, someone gets called away from a crucial fight to sit and watch from the sidelines with family, someone with godlike powers stops using them for a few minutes in order to get beaten up by a few punches and kicks, etc....

Anyone care to weigh in? How much of this is cleverly stylized cheesiness that I'm too comic-ignorant to recognize? How much is simply poor writing?

I'm most interested in finding a convincing explanation from someone in-the-know, but I'd also welcome personal theories, opinions, and rants.

(also: should I watch seasons 2 and 3? Do they deepen/thicken the plot in an interesting way? I'm a huge "Lost" fan, no matter how weird it gets, but I'm not convinced yet that Heroes is quite so multi-layered).

I'd pay like a million dollars for a simple pair of black shoes

mippy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:22:35 -0800

I'm 27 and feel like I dress like a teenager. How can I update my look whilst retaining quirkiness and personality? Background: I'm in the UK, I work in a casual office. My old job - also casual - had quite a scruffy intake, but now I've moved into advertising I'm surrounded by People Who Make An Effort and I'm beginning to feel like the dowdy kid sister. Usually I wear jeans, a T-shirt and trainers to work, with the odd bit of kitsch jewellery...I started carrying a handbag a few years ago and I still can't think of it as a 'handbag' as surely this is what grown-ups have?

I'm tall and quite curvy, which rules out a lot of the clothes in the shops from time to time (I'm talking waaay too much cleavage, or things fitting everywhere but around the bust) which is very frustrating, particularly when shopping for vintage, and which makes em glad I don't work somewhere that involves suiting. I also have issue with heels as I have UKsize9 feet that are pretty tender. But I'm starting to feel unkempt and like I've let myself go a bit. I suffer with bipolar disorder and I'm trying to think of ways to help with the depression, and the shallow truth is that when I look pretty, I feel a bit better.

I don't want to go out and buy many new clothes - I have too many clothes as it is. I plan to get a haircut (I only get it cut once every so often - it's straight and flat and allergic to styling products) and, longer-term, lose a little weight. I have new glasses (Rayban tortoise-shell frames) which - call me sad if you like - makes me even more inclined to shift the rest of my appearance. I wear make-up, and try and experiment with new things so I don't wear the same stuff I did at sixteen, yet my wardrobe is stuck in my early twenties. I don't want to be a clone of the people I see around me or in meetings, and I don't want to simply take what the high-street is pushing this year. I want to still look like me, just a more put-together, more grown-up me. And I'm not sure of the ethics or usefulness of getting rid of half my stuff in order to find a coherent style. Any experiences or advice?

whaddya wear with a bright blue dress?

phonebia — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:20:47 -0800

What do I wear with such a bright blue dress? Need ideas on shoes, jewelry, hosiery, outerwear. I have not yet seen the dress in person yet since I just ordered this online quite recently but gosh it sure looks bright (but, that's the reason I ordered it, it got utterly irresistible!). Not at all used to bright colors on clothes that is not strictly of the t-shirt or sneaker persuasion, so I am clueless about what to wear with it. I mean, do I just copy the model? I think the model looks perfectly lovely, but it seems boring or obvious to just copy the model (um, if I actually owned a long strand of pearls and ridiculously adorable patent red leather heels, or even good copies of them). So do you have other ideas? Explanations are most welcome, for I am clueless about fashion.

If it matters: I am 5'2" with short, very dark hair (chin length). Summer's approaching and it will likely be 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit out in couple weeks through late August. Currently the weather's been freaking out with rain and cool breezes, but it's already starting to warm up, cautiously.

Bonus questions:
1. Is this more appropriate for spring/summer/fall/winter? not speaking of temperature necessarily, but ... colors, I guess. I seem to have heard before that some colors/textures are more appropriate for X season, but feel free to debunk this.
2. Is this too dressy or too damned BRIGHT to be appropriate for a business-casual office (middling amounts of one-on-one interaction w/ non-employees is a regular thing if it matters)?
3. Can I wear this pretty much anywhere not a funeral (and work, if you answered "yes" to the #1)?

Men's sweater styles & patterns

NorthCoastCafe — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:23:05 -0800

Looking for an image of a kind of men's sweater I'd like to have made. It's a pullover, with straight rows, round neck, but with a 2-3 row ring where the shoulders meet the torso. I've only seen these in solid colors. The one I once had was heavy, water proof, warm and wonderful. I saw an image recently on the Net but failed to bookmark it correctly and cannot now find it. What I'm looking for is probably European, maybe British.