Tag Archives: finding

In Pursuit of the Perfect Winter Boots

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ShopStyle.com unearths the definitive trends for you, revealing the must-have items for the month

finding the perfect boots

Each month ShopStyle, the web’s premier fashion search engine, will reveal a trend that has featured high up, or has made a surprise jump on the search term list. Sian O’Flaherty SHOPSTYLE’s resident Online Shopping Specialist will also offer a lesson in fashion terminology with a glossary of monthly ‘it’ words to help you hone in on that trend.

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It may come as no surprise that over-the-knee, chelsea, knee-high, cut-out and thigh high boots fall in the top search terms this month. Whether it’s burgundy studded leather or moss-green suede, the casual boot is the most coveted footwear staple for autumn/winter 2013.

Sian says “When hunting online for your must-have winter boots try not to panic buy a pair that won’t last the season, yes sorry, that means no Rita Ora style patent thigh-highs please. With so much variety on the market there is something to suit everyone; tall or short, slim or curvy. But before you get booted up, make sure you consider the style, fabric and hue to ensure you choose a style that will help complement your figure.

“Traditionally, knee-high or over-the-knee styles look great on taller women. When wearing either of these styles, try to keep the rest of your outfit simple so your boots make a statement. Shorter women should opt for an ankle or mid-calf length boot to keep their proportions in check.”

Glossary:

In order to track down the right winter boots for you, Sian O’Flaherty has developed a list of terms that will make your fashion shopping experience a whole lot simpler.

“Fashion vernacular is something of a minefield for most of us. Unless your name is Anna Wintour how can you be expected to know what a ‘chunky palladium boot’ is supposed to look like? When we analyse search terms we can see that entering a variety of terms can give fashion hunters the best results. Here are some words of wisdom that will help you think on your feet and hone in on the trend of the month.”

Cuban heel boots have an androgynous style and historically feature in men’s boots. It’s a classic that will take you from one season to next, and looks great with skirts or skinny jeans.

Thigh-high styles are fairly obvious; a flat style can look classy with a wool miniskirt or tartan kilt. I would recommend investing financially if you’re thinking of buying this style, there’s a lot of fabric involved, and so make sure it doesn’t look poor quality.

Riding boots are usually knee high, classic brown or black equestrian style. If you’re channelling a Made In Chelsea style country weekend escape or a trip to the polo, these are the boots for you.

Chelsea boots are a classic, and possibly the most versatile of all the winter boots. They originated in the Victorian era and were used predominantly for horse riding, characterised by its elasticated siding. Investment piece alert!

Cut-out is a style ‘it phrase’ that’s been thrown around frequently of late, but this boot style is exactly that, cut out leather showing your tights or socks underneath. These are best worn with a party dress on a night out.

Biker boots are not as scary as you might think, they are usually flat and have decorative feature like buckles. If your search isn’t locating exactly what you want, try biker, they are not exclusive to hells angels, yummy mummies also look fab in these.

Palladium is equally on-trend in fashion slang this season; a throwback from the 90’s, they come with a chunky rubber sole and usually a chunky heel; we’re seeing lots in velvet this season. Give this a go and hopefully you’ll find ‘the one’.

What will you buy?

Seven Steps To Job Seeking Success

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madetomeasuresuitThe New Year is traditionally a time when we take stock of our lives and strive for change. For many people, that means a new job. However, with competition for that dream role at its fiercest in January, Arran Stewart, director at MyJobMatcher.com, offers jobseekers a head start with his seven top tips for success:

Make sure your CV will make the ”yes” pile

Your CV is still one of the most important tools you’ll ever have to clinch that job.  It’s your responsibility, and no one else’s, to make sure that you maximise your chances of catching the eye of employers and recruiters.

It sounds obvious, but take the time to ensure that your CV accurately reflects the required skills of the job you are applying for.  Bring out your relevant experience and relate it to the job – also craft a quick, clear and concise covering note to accompany your application.  All it takes is a little bit of effort to tweak your CV and it could be the key to opening the door to your next job.

Put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter and ask yourself what they want to see and how your CV will get them excited about you?

Tread carefully online – without a traffic cone on your head.

Most employers and recruiters will have a look at your digital footprint – sometimes before ever contacting you about your application. If you have a million selfies sporting a traffic cone on your head as your Facebook front page what conclusion do you think someone will draw?

 

It is both positive and negative that our digital footprint impacts first impressions of who people really think we are – the best candidates use this to their advantage and tailor their online profiles to the sector they are targeting.

Get your personal “in the pub” profile locked down to your mates on Facebook, don’t be a twitter twit and keep your professional profile on LinkedIn in tip top shape as. The latest industry research suggests that 50% of Fortune 100 companies hire here.

Job seeking can be a numbers game but don’t get trigger happy

You won’t simply apply for your dream job one day and get it the next.  Unquestionably, job seeking is about setting a number of good horses running and making sure you get the right ones home!

 

By all means apply for the jobs you think are best and most relevant to you, but be mindful not to simply apply for everything and anything you find as you can ultimately end up reducing your chances of finding a job.

 

You don’t want to devalue yourself by landing on every desk at the same time or, even worse, the same desk more than once.

 

Nothing puts an employer off like the smell of desperation.  Stay proud in your search; remain sensibly selective in your job applications and never devalue yourself by getting trigger happy and firing your CV out everywhere.

 Be careful of recruiter jargon and buzzwords

Like it or not, online jobs have inevitably been written by recruiters who are working in sales-driven environments and who are rightfully desperate to fill roles for their clients.  As a result of this they quite often succumb to the desire to, shall we say, “over-egg” a role as highlighted in this recent quiz in the Guardian.

The danger here is that although you may consider yourself, say, a “Marketing Manager” and not a “Growth Hacker” – you need to invest the time to understand some of the en vogue terms being used by recruiters in order to ensure that you open yourself up to the best and most relevant roles.

 

It is also sensible to mention these terms in the content of your CV – even if only in the summary.  The reason?  Well a lot of recruiters search for people online and obviously key words drive a lot of databases – and after all, if it’s a great job with the right package do you really care if you are called a “Growth Hacker”?

Let technology shorten your odds

Always let technology shorten your odds and do the leg work for you – you wouldn’t go out to get 15 separate insurance quotes in order to find the best one – so where it exists, use technology to make your job seeking simpler.

 

Remember that when you search a traditional search engine such as Google or Bing you will only find what is rated and ranked by that search engine – this is often affected by clever SEO and the amount of budget someone can spend on PPC or adwords to “get found”, so the results are invariably biased.

 

Take the time to go through to pages three and four, rather than just the top ranked page, as you normally would. Even better, let technology do all the searching for you.  Sites like MyJobMatcher.com receive hundreds of thousands of jobs from all the best job boards and then match your CV to the most relevant, eliminating bias and sending you daily alerts with relevant new job matches.

Don’t forget, it’s all about people

At the end of the day, people hire people.  Your CV will only take you so far and where applications are flying in thick and fast a quick phone call to a hirer to confirm receipt of your CV and willing to answer any immediate questions will find you elevated to the top of the list. At the very least they will be aware that you are willing and able to become their next great hire!

Don’t ever give up!

Finally, job seeking can at times be a dark and depressing place.  But, like all things in life, don’t give up – not ever, and always keep true to your motives.  In the end, perseverance, savvy and helping hand from technology will get you there – happy job seeking!

For more information on jobseeking follow @MyJobMatcher for helpful tips via Twitter.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Winter Coat

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coat, shopping, winter coat. Finding the perfect winter coat is a time consuming and stressful business. So Frost has gotten ShopStyle to unearth the definitive trends for you, revealing the must-have items for the month

Each month ShopStyle, the web’s premier fashion search engine, will reveal a trend that has featured high up, or has made a surprise jump on the search term list. Gemma Cartwright POPSUGAR Fashion and Beauty Editor, will also offer a lesson in fashion terminology with a glossary of monthly ‘it’ words to help you hone in on that trend.

It may come as no surprise that the 90’s inspired parka, fur collar pea coat or pink wool coat fall in the top search terms this month. Whether it’s magenta mohair or pastel winter wool, the pink coat is the most coveted item for autumn/winter 2013.

Gemma says “When hunting online for your pink coat try not to see everything through rose-tinted glasses and ensure you consider the style, fabric and hue to ensure you don’t end up looking like a giant marshmallow. With so much variety on the market there is something to suit everyone, so if you’re not a girly girl, try a masculine tailored silhouette in a blush pink shade.”

In order to track down the right pink coat for you, Gemma Cartwright has developed a list of terms that will make your fashion shopping experience a whole lot simpler.

“Fashion vernacular is something of a minefield for most of us. Unless your name is Anna Wintour how can you be expected to know what an ‘ovoid mohair boyfriend coat’ is supposed to look like? When we analyse search terms we can see that entering a variety of terms can give fashion hunters the best results. Here are some words that will help you think pink and hone in on the trend of the month.”

Boyfriend coats have an androgynous fit that will glide over your waist and hips, and can be designed in any length. This classic style will take you from one season to next, and can look great with both work wear and skinny jeans and a blouse for a more casual feel.

Oversized styles are fairly obvious, enlarged and masculine; an ideal style to wear over chunky knitwear and extra layers. Try adding a belt for a waist-cinching effect.

Maxi coats are longer length, gender neutral and scantly fitted usually.


Wrap coats are universally flattering on all body types and sizes – think Diane von Furstenburg’s iconic wrap dress. They are unlikely to have buttons, just a wrap around with a belt perhaps.

Cocoon is a style ‘it word’ that’s been thrown around frequently of late, but the cocoon shape coat does exactly that; it envelops you in a cosy, comfortable clinch.

Ovoid meaning egg-shaped, is a new term to the fashion industry this year. Essentially ovoid encompasses all of the above, so if your search isn’t locating exactly what you want, try ovoid.

Coatigan is equally on-trend in fashion slang this season; part wrap, part boyfriend and part oversized. Give this a go and hopefully you’ll find ‘the one’.

Are you inspired? What do you think you will buy?

The Ghost of Relationships Past

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The old phrase ‘lesson learnt’ is never truer than after the end of a relationship. With each heart break we experience we take something different from it. But do we ever truly move on if we keep repeating the mistakes of our past relationships?

Relationship expert for online match maker eHarmony.co.uk, Dr Gian Gonzaga says “sometimes people lose faith in finding love because they seem to be continually attracted to the ‘wrong’ type of people”.  According to Gonzaga, at times it can seem as though no matter how hard we try we end up with the same problems but with different people, like magnets that attract the same situation over and over again.  It’s time we examine where we are going wrong and eradicate the real issue, to really be able to move on and find lasting love.

So excavate the past to create a different future for yourself:

The common denominator

Look at all your past relationships, write them down if it helps, and ask yourself these questions about each one. What attracted you to the person in the first place? What caused the relationship to end? Were there signs early on in the relationship that there were problems but you ignored them?

Old relationships are never wasted, they are a rich source of information which you can go back over to discover what you could do differently in the future. Be really honest with yourself and try to look at the relationship from an outsider’s point of view. What you are looking for is the similarities between them to see if there is a pattern.

Is the thing that attracts the thing that destroys?

Are you attracted to creative, emotionally unavailable men and then the relationship ends because you don’t get enough attention? Or are you drawn to bright, bubbly women but then fail to get very far because you feel threatened when she flirts with your mates?

Look at the people who have qualities that you find attractive – not just the ones you have had relationships with but also people in the media, friends etc. What is it in them that you find attractive? Then look at yourself and develop those qualities in yourself rather than waiting for someone else to come and make you feel that way.

Don’t fall for someone’s potential

This is the most common mistake that people make in relationships. They meet someone and they fall in love with what they ‘could be’ rather than what they ‘are’ today. They believe that if they love this person enough; give them lots of encouragement, support and everything they need in order to blossom that they will have a wonderful relationship together. Although this often comes from a loving place it is starting a relationship from the basis of wanting to change the other person rather than accepting and loving them as they are. It is a great feeling to be the hero or heroine in another person’s life but it is rarely going to lead to a healthy relationship because the basis of the relationship isn’t equal.

Look in the mirror

When a relationship ends it can be comforting to think it was all the other person’s fault but that attitude is depriving you of the opportunity of finding out what you could do differently next time. Look back through the story of your time together and look at your own behaviour. At what points could you have done something differently? Are you angry with all men/women because of things that have happened in your past? If so now might be the time to get some help if you really want things to change.

Change your mind

Just like any other area of life, relationship choices can become habitual and instinctive. We often dismiss potential matches simply because they don’t conform to an image we have in our head of ‘our type’. Open your mind and heart and start saying ‘yes’ to communication or dates with matches that you would normally dismiss out of hand, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Noone’s fate is fixed in stone, we can all change and grow and even if you have never had a healthy relationship in the past it is no reason that you never will in the future.

http://www.eharmony.co.uk/relationship-advice/start-with-you/2011/11/how-to-make-your-future-love-life-different-from-your-past