Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with style

Is my writing style overly complicated?

Unhyper — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:28:56 -0800

I learned English as a second language (native is Finnish). The emphasis in school was on vocabulary and very basic grammar; we did not to my recollection deal with stuff like passive voice etc. So in terms of writing in English, much of my "voice" has developed simply from what sounds right inside my head. However, I've been told that the way I write is overly complicated. Is this so? I never try to complicate my writing with unnecessary stylistic choices or fancy words. I believe that anything that makes it more difficult for my point to get across is detrimental to the writing. Yet, at the same time, I don't think one's writing should simply cater to the lowest intellectual denominator.

Anyway, occasionally when I let others read what I write, they suggest I simplify things. It's not necessarily bad advice, but it has made me a bit concerned over the quality of my command of the language. The trouble is, my natural way of constructing sentences is, I suppose, unnecessarily verbose - yet it is most natural for me. For instance, I was responding to something on Facebook and quipped the following: "By default, I just assume that any insect the nutritional habits of which I am not aware of, is one that sucks blood."

A friend of mine pointed out that I could have just said something like, "If I don't know what an insect eats, I assume it sucks blood." Okay, fair enough.

My question is, would that be better writing, grammatically? Phonetically? Is it simply easier to understand? A sentence like that just sounds so... I don't know. Inflexible? Rough?

I want Readability stylesheet on each web page 1st load. Possible?

usermac — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:30:37 -0800

I'm finding as I age, I use Readability on a lot of pages. Can I make a local style sheet that overrides the native one upon first load of a page that does what Readability does?

Who decides that everyone will be wearing the same color for 3 months?

herbplarfegan — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:22:16 -0800

Everyone is wearing mint green as of spring. EVERYONE. How does this happen? Is there a fashion counsel in a dark room, like at the beginning of Zoolander, where they confer? Do they review which colors are in surplus and push those, like the specials on a restaurant menu?

This is the first time that I have ever noticed a color overtly and aggressively saturating every corner of the sartorial landscape. My guess would be that it's actually happened every season of my life and this just happens to be the most eye-catching color-- lots of contrast and such.

What in general (in the sense that this has indeed always happened) and specifically (in the sense that mint green was chosen to cover every human frame for Spring 2013) is going on here?

if it matters: I live in Seattle, I'm not remotely 'inside baseball' about fashion, & I'm a 35 year old male.

He was, however, unsure of his own judgement...

threeants — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:02:12 -0800

Is placing certain adverbs like "however" and "nonetheless" after the first clause in a sentence an actual stylistic best practice, or just a personal preference I made up? In editing other people's writing for publication, I frequently change sentences like (a) to ones like (b):

(a) However, many people living in the neighborhood do not own cars.

(b) Many people living in the neighborhood, however, do not own cars.

(a) Nonetheless, a number of residents take advantage of local bus lines to get to the grocery store.

(b) A number of residents, nonetheless, take advantage of local bus lines to get to the grocery store.

There may be other words that fit this profile, but only "however" and "nonetheless" are coming to mind for me at the moment.

To my prose ear, the (b) sentences sound elegant and proficient, whereas the (a) sentences sound a bit uneducated or stilted, even ESL-ish (no judgement here...I'm not a prescriptivist, but when I edit for work my job is to make people sound educated!). However*, (a) constructions seem to be so common that I wonder if this is seem weird personal aesthetic that I concocted on my own. What say y'all?

*I unconsciously started this sentence this way and had a good humbling laugh at myself, so I'll leave it as is to eat my slice of humble pie. :) But I would totally edit this back the other way, were I presented it!

dude in shorts

garlic — Thu, 02 May 2013 09:22:58 -0800

It's warm weather season. I want to wear shorts, but I also want to up my style. Firstly, all my shorts now are cargo shorts. When I'm wearing these, what else should I wear with them to up my style / minimize dorkiness? Specific shoes, shirts combos? something else?

Secondly, my understanding is that minimizing my dorkiness in the first question is hindered by cargo shorts. So, if I'm buying new shorts, what sorts of things should I look for? In the last questions about men and shorts, there was a wide variety of argument as to what everyone liked and thought was stylish. Is this a case of varying by region, or is there this much disagreement in style?

Examples of beautiful writing

switcheroo — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:02:08 -0800

I aspire to write beautifully -- what is some great writing that uses colorful, creative language and style? I’m a college kid, and I find that my writing is not very pleasing. I write...functionally, but not beautifully. My writing style is bland, lacking character, overly straightforward and structurally simple, and my vocabulary is terribly boring. While this is fine for school papers, I crave the satisfaction of being able to write well -- being able to write things that I find beautiful and want to read again and share with others.

I recently read a short non-fiction work by E. B. White (linked to on Mefi recently). The writing is fantastic, and the way the ideas are expressed is so imaginative and colorful -- completely new to me! Another work I've come across that had the same feeling (even in translation!) was Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg. I aspire to write like this, and want to read more works written with such refreshing and captivating use of language!

Help me expand my linguistic horizons -- What else can I read to get an idea of colorful, creative, enchanting writing?

Women's fashion blogs and shops that focus on quality and craftsmanship?

third word on a random page — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 04:12:44 -0800

Help me find women's fashion blogs and shops that emulate a certain quality I enjoy in men's fashion and accessories, namely the emphasis on craftsmanship and timeless style. I love men's style blogs like The Compass, Mr Porter, A Continuous Lean, Well Spent and Valet. At the newsagent, I leaf through GQ's style section because I love the aesthetics so much more than, say, Vogue. There's a focus on quality, durability, detail and craftsmanship that I just don't see in women's fashion. Good luck finding women's shoes that are meant to last more than two years, and can be re-soled indefinitely. Even higher end women's clothing just doesn't seem to be built as well as higher end men's clothing. My style is quite feminine, so simply wearing men's clothing doesn't appeal to me.

So. Help me find the blogs, magazines and shops that showcase durable, well-made, stylish and beautiful items. I really like The Vivienne Files, which somewhat embraces this. Where are the others?

(I live in Australia, so anything that focuses on southern hemisphere seasons and/or ships here would be lovely.)

Good ways to keep up with fashion and style?

wooh — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:47:16 -0800

My goal is to keep up with fashion. This is sort of broad, so I'm looking for good blogs and news sources to keep up with what people are wearing, and what people think people should be wearing...or will be wearing, etc. A good example might be Put This On. Another example would be Man Repeller before it got awful (though is still worth a read). My dream would be some blogs that take a more poetic bent on things, or a more academic bent, but I'll take what I can find.

I myself am not terrible fashionable, but I find the fashion world very interesting. I am interested primarily in women's fashion, but am definitely interested in good blogs that cover either. So I'm looking for stuff covering the "big" stuff like Prada's newest line or whatever, but even more interesting in people who have an interesting take on what is going on, whether it be a high level view or more in the weeds stuff.

I never wear hats. But I need a hat.

tmcw — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:12:07 -0800

So, summer's rolling around and I think I need a hat. Unfortunately, I don't 'know sports' or have high enough style to pull off a fedora/habana/or whatnot. Spurred by the ever-increasing sunlight and my decreasing defense against it. One route is the 'cool baseball hat', which seems only slightly different than the classic-baseball-hat. Example would be the American Apparel version? Maybe it's the shorter brim that makes the difference? My 'personal style' could be described as an out-of-date, middle-of-the-road Apple-commercial hipster. No explicit price cap (get it?) but a $200 hat would have to be something extremely special.

Is there such a thing as a knitting briefcase?

epersonae — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:01:29 -0800

I like to knit in meetings; it actually helps me to listen better! But the bag I have for my projects doesn't look particularly professional. Most craft bags are so cutesy, which is not at all my style. What can I get that would look simple & respectable? I have a little soft canvas bag (from a conference) that I keep my current project in, which isn't really cutting it for me now. I don't need a particularly large bag, since usually I'm making scarves, hats, mittens, etc. But I would prefer something simple that I can have on my lap or next to my chair, preferably with some pockets for notions.

Budget would preferably under $30. Bonus points for being able to fit inside my (medium?) Timbuk2 messenger bag.

FWIW: I work in higher ed, in a marketing/technology function. It's not a formal environment, so it's as much about my style as the organization's.

I'm epersonae on Ravelry.

I'll pay someone to tell me what to buy, what to wear and how to wear it

subbes — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 21:42:10 -0800

I'm looking for information about working with a personal stylist or personal shopper, especially as a plus-size woman. Could I? Should I? I just moved to San Francisco (well, OK, Marin county) and discovered that I need to learn how to dress properly. I have no fashion sense or style*.

It looks like I need a third party to hold my hand and teach me everything about clothing myself, starting right at the very beginning.

I need someone who can:

explain fashion, style, and clothes to me like the 6 year old I clearly am

teach me everything about my size and shape and color and what works with it

help me create work and casual wardrobes, made from items already in my closet, and new things they'll help me shop for

give me a bunch of simple algorithms I can plug into my future shopping and getting-dressed routines when I'm doing it alone.

Is this what a personal shopper/stylist can do for me? Where can I find one? What should I expect? What does it cost? Have you ever worked with one? How did it go for you?

Background:

I’m a petite US size 16/18 (which sometimes means plus-size, and sometimes doesn't). I'm almost 30 and only just learned that navy is a neutral.

In the past month, I've spent a bunch of money (at Banana Republic, Gap, Kohl's, and Ross) trying to build a good wardrobe, but I don't think I've done it right. I get dressed in the morning, think I've put together something good, then I get into the city and realize I actually look terrible.

I started to follow a bunch of fashion/fatshion blogs (e.g. Corporette, The Curvy Fashionista, Fat Shopaholic, GabiFresh) but I don’t think they’re really helping me; I rarely see anything I would wear/can afford.

* This is the sort of thing that can happen when you grow up in a family where everyone is plus sized and - thanks, fat-phobic society! - deeply ashamed of it.

Tips for feeling like a badass when you're temporarily not at your best?

pazazygeek — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:57:48 -0800

I am just coming off a very long period of hardcore work crunch. Before I can get myself physically back on track, I am going to spend a short period of time meeting a lot of people and rocking the connections I've made. I know that attitude is 90% of people's impressions of you, but I just don't feel confident these days from the short-term toll the stress has taken on my looks. I need some tips! My project is just ending, and I am about to take some time off to recharge. I feel great about the work that I've done, and it's clear that the work is paying off in terms of great opportunities, but i do not feel good about the way I look right now. I've gained nearly 30 lbs from long hours and a lack of the time to do my regular exercise routine.

I am very excited to pick my workout and eating routines back up, and I am not despairing. I know that getting back on track, once I have rested a bit, will not be terribly difficult, and for the most part, I have a solid plan (it will solidify more once I get my brain back).

I am in a great place professionally: The project I am just completing appears like it will be very successful, and I have made some great contacts that I believe can push me forward to where I really want to be in the next 5-10 years.

I know it's foolish to think that my looks matter, but impressions do matter, and if I feel frumpy, I will seem frumpy.

I got a haircut recently, new glasses, new makeup, and have clothes I don't feel miserable in.

All of those things though, aren't totally doing the job for me. I need as many tips as you can give me. STAT!

Now I want a wardrobe theme too!

ootandaboot — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:39:08 -0800

I loved par court's "1950s French Lady Intellectual" suggestion in this thread. But even though I can see how the possibilities are in fact endless...they aren't exactly popping endlessly into my head. Can you help me come up with some other wardrobe "themes" that I can play around with? If it matters, I'm tall and thin, mid-twenties. My style is currently quite feminine with a vintage flavor, but part of the goal here is to find inspiration for branching out a little, so suggestions don't need to stick to that.

Bonus points if you share a few ideas on what kind of clothes the theme calls for!

Formatting question: including an infographic with a press release

dottiechang — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:04:45 -0800

I work for an advocacy organization and we're getting ready to send out a press release. I know this will make me sound old fashioned, but I'd like to include an infographic we've developed and I'm not sure what the right way to do it is. I know sending images and graphics with press releases is very common now, but I've never needed to do it before. I usually send things like that as a follow up to interested reporters. In this case, we want to send the graphic to everyone off the bat. We're in between communications directors, so I don't have guidance within my organization.

Do I include it as a part of the press statement before the ### or include a link to it or include as an attachment? I usually do the press statement in the body of the e-mail I send instead of an attachment.

I'm just looking for advice style-wise as to what is the norm.

If anyone on here is a journalist, I'd love to hear what you prefer and any other things I can do to my press statement to make it more useful/attractive to you.

Style for addressing a formal letter to multiple people

raspberry jam and clothes iron — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:51:31 -0800

When addressing a formal or business letter to multiple parties, say, A, B, and C, is there a rule for the order, e.g. by how important people are? I.e. if A is more important than B is more important than C, is it: Dear Mr. A, Ms. B and Dr. C: or Dear Dr. C., Ms. B and Mr. A: and are there style guides that I can reference for this? Unrelated bonus question -- have people really stopped using colons and started to spew commas, even for addressing recipients in formal correspondence in America?

Website that showed 'Street Style/OOTD' of people with similar bodyshape

Huck — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:23:48 -0800

I am trying to remember a website I vaguely remember. It was like lookbook.nu but everyone had their height/weight/body shape in their profile, so you could search for fashionable style posts/outfit of the days with people with a similar body type to you? Does anybody know what site this was? Did lookbook.nu at one time have this function or? Are there any sites similar to this idea?
I'd like to be able to get inspiration from people with a similar body type to me. (<5'2'', slightly curvy).
*Bonus points to those who can point me to great fashion blogs featuring ladies with petite frames!

Interview Outfit Help

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:57:56 -0800

I have a job interview next Friday. Yay! But I have questions about what is a setting-appropriate choice. I am thrilled to have scheduled an interview for a creative position at a startup company. I am conflicted about what to wear. Two options I'm considering are:

A chic ponté knit dress in a solid color with a vintagey, complementary blazer and riding boots or cute shoes
Said vintagey blazer with a matching skirt (so, a suit) with a shell and cute shoes

Do either of these sound appropriate? Any other suggestions? I want to dress professionally and respect the formality of the occasion without seeming stuffy.

How can I wear supportive shoes and look cool at the same time?

Dilemma — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:35:37 -0800

I need supportive shoes for lots of walking, but I want to look good too. What's a young lady in an old lady's body to do? I have terrible messed-up knees and weak arches and need very supportive shoes. I also walk extensively around San Francisco. Lately, I've been resorting to wearing my running shoes with skinny jeans and I look like a clown, or running shoes with yoga pants and I'm afraid the hipster fashion police will kick me out of SF. I'd like to find a way to feel good and look good at the same time. Please help me figure out a) shoes I can wear, and maybe put my orthotic arch supports in, that will keep my feet/knees/hips happy, and b) outfits I can wear with said shoes. I've tried more casual shoes like Keds and there's just not enough support or room in them for orthotics, and I've never found flats that have enough support either. My style (such as it is) is pretty simple, like skinny jeans, tight t-shirts, sweaters, in mostly neutral colors (lots of black), or short skirts with tights.

Last Four Years of Fashion

kristymcj — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:18:18 -0800

Just woke up from a figurative 4 year coma called back-to-back babies. What NOT to wear? What are the big no no's? What should I just discard? I'm thinking terrible ie. Crocs or Ed Hardy. If it helps, I'm in Austin and, though I'm not currently participating, I consider myself part of the rock music scene.

Ultra-simple One-liner Link-blogs, List-blogs?

Quarter Pincher — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:37:25 -0800

What are some minimalist blogs that link to something interesting (article, video, etc), and offer minimal explanation but for a concise remark about it? I've been a fan of Waxy Links since the Netscape days, and lately I've become hooked on the minimalist design of Wimp.com..

No comment systems, no up/down votes, just links (or video links) with a simple one-liner about it, and updated regularly?

TBH, I'm trying to launch my own one of these (and trying not to shamelessly self-link) and I'm looking to find what works and doesn't work with this style.

I realize this style is not more widely popular, but my target/niche audience is to those who do like this style, as I do, and I hope to compete with those others.

What are not-hideous clothes for a man to quickly wear to walk a dog?

amoeba — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 15:35:48 -0800

Stylefilter! I love my new puppy. I love my boyfriend. I love that my boyfriend loves waking up early and taking the puppy outside. However, he doesn't love getting fully dressed at 6 am in his normal clothes, and I don't love things like track suits and crocs. Help! Basically looking for suggestions of slip on shoes, and easy-to-wear pants that are not completely hideous. I am looking to avoid grubby sweat pants, flip flops, Man uggs, and matching track suits. What would the Modern Man of Style don for a quick stroll/pee break with a handsome little pup?

Characters (film, books, video games) who dual wield knives or daggers?

wintersonata9 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:09:11 -0800

I participate in a play-by-post fantasy roleplaying game and my character fights with two daggers. Can you help me find resources from movies, books, or video games of characters with a similar fighting style, to help develop my own character's skills? I've seen this list but it's not very useful since it just lists those characters and doesn't provide what I'm looking for, namely descriptions of their fighting styles, written fight scenes, or videos of fights.

Bonus points for female or left-handed characters!

My #1 resource right now is Ayame from the Tenchu video games. Here's a good video of her style.

Thanks for your help!

Okay to wear scarf with hood?

rmttws — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:10:20 -0800

Can you wear a scarf with a hooded jacket or sweatshirt without looking like a jerk?

Wanted: Novels Set on the Internet

restless_nomad — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:50:26 -0800

I'm looking for examples of fiction that heavily involve transcripts of online communication - forum posts, website content, emails, IM conversations, the more and more varied the better. What I'm specifically looking for are examples of formatting and flow between standard narrative and dialogue and these transcripts, so a straight epistolary novel would be less helpful than one that happens to include a bunch of emails, and anything that isn't email would be more helpful still.

How do I get ready for these grad school interviews and what do I wear?

schroedinger — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:37:48 -0800

I've been invited to interview with a few grad schools for biochemistry and biophysics doctoral programs. Hooray! What should I expect? How do I prepare? And what the heck do I wear? Complications: extremely poor and wardrobe consists of t-shirts and blue jeans with one proper "job interview" outfit. The interviews are multi-day and consist of numerous faculty interviews along with lunches and dinners. I'm not certain of how fancy the dinners are going to be.

First, while I'm confident in my enthusiasm for the subject matter, I'm wondering if there are specific ways I should prepare. Read up on recent papers on the particular research topics that interest me? Read the papers of the professors I hope to see (I don't know which ones I'm seeing yet)? Anything else?

Second, is there anything I should expect? "Gotcha" questions? Things you wish you'd done for your grad school interviews? Things you want to see from grad students interviewing with you?

---

Finally, I'm concerned about my wardrobe. I have one outfit I've been using for job interviews. Black flats (though I have high-heeled pumps), gray suit pants, black button-up type shirt. I don't have anything else in terms of office clothing. I go to school in Old Navy blue jeans, ratty Converse knock-offs, and gym t-shirts. I figure this would be inappropriate for these interviews. But I'm not sure if I need to all-out job interview style. Will I need changes of clothing between the day interviews and the dinners?

I've never done a wardrobe overhaul because I don't have extra money and I haven't had the fashion sense or time necessary to put together a cheaper wardrobe by combing through thrift stores on a regular basis. Adding to the difficulty is exceptionally broad shoulders, large thighs, and no sense of personal style. I've never assembled outfits beyond "Pants, shirt, shoes." I don't know how to accessorize or anything. I want to look professional and put-together though. So I am freaking out. The saving grace is at least I only need three days worth of clothing.

I have two weekends until the first set of interviews to get ready. I'm willing to put clothing on credit cards, though I can't do anything expensive and ideally they'll be at thrift stores (also I'm losing weight so I don't know how long they'd last me).

Hope me?