Savvy Belle: Sample Sale alert!

(Image from Femme-iniste)

Yesterday I got a call from a friend demanding that I hotfoot to a Ted Baker Sample sale  after work.

I'm not a huge Ted Baker fan, although I do think they have vastly improved in their styles, but I've been completely out of the loop when it comes to what's on (blame it on the new job / frugal lifestyle 2010 resolution), so naturally I whizzed my ass there sooner than you could say Ted Baker. :)

 I had to queue for about 10 mins to get into the hall  where they were having the sale (my friend was already inside having got there earlier) and one guy came out boasting about how he had just bought 20 (yes, 20!) tops for his girlfriend and the total came £97!!! Touched by his chivalry, and amped about the prospects of snapping up some bargain I was ready to go (and so were the other 60 people behind me lol).

When I finally got in, located my (overwhelmed) buddy, put my game face on and went hunting.

Oh the chaos! The mess! The queues! The BARGAINS!!!!! Tops at £10, Jeans for £20, (Silk) Dresses for £15, Suits for £30,.....

<-------This dress was only £15! (normal retail price £75)













The sale is still on today (LAST DAY) so if you fancy stopping by after work, get the details on the next page....

Belle Career: The terrible career advice women give each other

Open your eyes Belles! According to fellow blogger Penelope Trunk, tall hat advice your (female) manager is dishing out might scupper any chance of personal success....

Here's what Penelope has to say:


"When I was starting my career, I was in the software industry, where there are few women. And then I moved into the tech startup world, where there are even fewer women. The whole time, I have found that older men gave me great career advice and older women gave me bad advice. I am not sure why this is, but I am pretty sure that most women around my age (43) have had similar experiences. They just won’t talk about it publicly.
Here are the three worst pieces of advice I have received about how to succeed as a woman in the workplace. I’m passing it on so that when you hear it, you’ll know to toss it into the mental discard pile.

Belle Inspiration: First Lady Michelle Obama

All hail the superwomen of our generation!

  

Michelle Obama epitomises the ultimate achiever in my eyes...

Michelle Obama’s CV is impressive: she was Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies - encouraging young people to work on social issues - she was also the former Vice President for Community and External Affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals. The media are also taking a shine to her. She was listed as one of the World’s Most Inspiring Women by Essence magazine as well as appearing in Vanity Fair’s 10 Of The World’s Best Dressed People.

Dr Audrey Nelson: Code Switching

In a women's leadership event co-sponsored by the Lokey Graduate School of Business and the Financial Women's Association of San Francisco, Audrey Nelson discusses her coauthored book, Code Switching: How to Talk So Men Will Listen.

Dr. Nelson defines code switching as the ability to use your knowledge of two or more cultures or languages and switch between them, depending on the situation, to communicate. "Rather than telling women to be more like men - a recipe for failure - Code Switching offers a way of reaching across the aisle to open the lines of communication," says Dr. Nelson.

"It helps both women and men speak in common terms so work gets done, conflict gets resolved, and mutual understanding and respect prevail...in the workplace and beyond."




More about Dr Nelson when you flip the page....

Object of Desire

I struggle to find bags that work for me. Granted I'm quite picky but I'm also quite petite so most bags out there are end up looking like they are carrying me, which, I 'm sure you will agree, is not the look to be going for!

Anytime I do see a bag that makes my heart go "ooh", it ends up being in the £thousands and whilst I have a propensity to spend like I have money growing out of my armpits, my physiological composition is quite the opposite.

Today, I came across this cute little thing from Coccinelle. I admit I had never really paid attention to them in the past, but as I am looking for a simple black bag to trawl around everyday that makes me look smart and effortless chic/expensive, I think this "barrel" bag fits my bill (and wallet!)

Pretty no?