Capitol Hill Style

Academy Awards 2012 Liveblog--5:30PM

Belle — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:14:20 +0000

Academy Awards 2012

Happy Hour: A Golden Oscar Party

Belle — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:00:47 +0000

The Academy Awards are this Sunday, and if you're having a party, you need an Oscar-themed cocktail. I like Voli vodka because it's low-calorie and still tastes good. Call me crazy, but I'd rather eat my calories than drink them. Here's a delicious cocktail to keep your guests happy through a two hour red carpet and three hour-plus award show.

Golden Era Cocktail

1.5 oz Voli Orange and Vanilla Fusion Vodka

2 oz Lemonade

0.5 oz Agave Nectar

0.5 oz Pineapple Juice

Add ice and all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake it like a Polaroid picture. I mean vigorously. You want a little froth.

Strain into a chilled martini glass or over ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with an orange peel or a full slice if you prefer.

And what will I be wearing, while liveblogging the Oscar Red Carpet...

Octagonal Earrings (Kate Spade, $78)

I bought these earrings last weekend, and I have worn them every day since I bought them. Which is funny because I don't usually like drop earrings for every day. I like the art deco feel and the black white palette, they're a simple accessory that packs a bit of pop.

If you want something a bit more classic in a similar price point, Kate Spade also makes a lovely pair of square cut jewel drops in the same color palette.

And if you're not doing anything on Sunday night, CHS will be celebrating the Oscar's with our 3rd Annual Academy Awards Red Carpet Liveblog. Tune in here at 5:30PM Eastern for gowns, glamour and a whole lot of hating on Ryan Seacrest. Dude, how hard is it to ask, "Who are you wearing?"

Discuss: Sign on the Dotted Line

Belle — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:00:26 +0000

Earlier this week, I was having drinks with some girlfriends when we got onto the subject of pre-nuptial agreements. Specifically, whether you would ever sign one. Four women, four very disparate opinions.

Number One took a romantic view of love and marriage, and extolled her hatred for pre-nups. "It cheapens love to talk about it ending before it's begun," she told us. She also questioned whether she could ever marry a man who asked her to sign a pre-nup because if her soon-to-be husband sees her as a potential "gold digger," that means he doesn't really love/trust her.

Number Two also hated pre-nups but saw the issue a bit differently. She argued that any man who was building a "financial escape hatch" wouldn't be fully committed to building a strong marriage. To paraphrase, "If he thinks that he can leave at anytime with his bank account intact, it will make it easier for him to 'pull the rip cord' if things get rocky."

Number Three was unremorsefully pro pre-nup. She reasoned that people stay in dysfunctional, unhappy marriages because of money all the time, take money out of the equation, and the only reason to stay together is for love. "Money is business, marriage is love, let's keep them separate."

Number Four wasn't as gung-ho about it. Though she saw the pre-nup as a bit of a downer, she'd sign one if asked. "I wouldn't be thrilled to sign on the line, but if I'm marrying for love and not money, why not?"

We then spent a good 25 minutes debating pre-nuptial agreements as played out in pop culture. "Was it okay to sign if you felt your pre-nup provided fair compensation in the wake of a divorce like Charlotte York on SATC?"

"Was it okay to put in a fidelity clause charging your spouse more for cheating like Catharine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas?"

"If the marriage ended badly, would you spend time and money contesting the pre-nup?"

"Was a man or woman with money foolish to marry without one ala Kobe Bryant?"

"Is it different to ask a woman to sign one than to ask a man to sign one?"

The opinions about these questions were just as varied. Before long, we ended up debating the inevitable final question: Is being asked to sign a pre-nup a deal breaker?

Both Friend Number One and Friend Number Two argued that it was.

So here is our discussion question for today: With which friend do you most agree? And some additional questions...

1) Would you be offended if your potential spouse asked you to sign a pre-nup?, 2) Would you sign a pre-nup, offended or not? and 3) Would you be willing to walk away from the engagement if your fiance insisted you sign and you didn't want to, or conversely, if you asked your fiance to sign and he/she refused?

Leave your thoughts in the comments, the girls and I are really anxious to hear your thoughts.

(In fact, the second the discussion hit an intractable stalemate, Friend Number Two insisted that we take the fight to the blog. "Let your readers decide," she said. The friend with the most commenters in agreement wins a bottle of very good champagne.)

10th Commandment: February 24

Belle — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:00:44 +0000

Elected Official

Trina Turk Hamptons Anorak ($250)

Hill Staffer

Matinee Trench (J.Crew, $138)

Unpaid Intern

Belted Orange Trench (Forever 21, $38)

orange trench

Two Ways: Splendid Mint Striped Tee

Belle — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:00:29 +0000

Top:

From the Left, Necklace: Kate Spade Triple Row Chain ($99) Bag: Dooney Large Pocket Satchel ($298) Shoes: Bandolino Caresse Boot ($112) Shirt: White Button Down ($30) Jeans: Roxanne Skinny Jeans ($169)

From the Right, Bracelets: Tryste Callie Bangles ($48) Bag: Zara Patent Leather Shopper ($50) Shoes: Dolce Vita Sachi Sandal ($149) Scarf: LoveQuotes Scarf ($88) Jeans: Seven Skinny Jeans ($159)

Winter Casual Friday. Mint is very big for spring, as are all pastels. I, personally, can barely stomach pastels. So when I found this top, which I like, I decided to add it to a casual attire set.

Layering a striped tee over a white button up is a good way to keep your casual Friday attire work-appropriate. I also like a dark wash skinny jean for work or a dark wash trouser jean, but the deeper color just feels more professional. Add a necklace for a bit of glamour, a coordinating handbag and a pair of basic flat boots to finish off the look.

You can button the top button or leave it undone, that's a personal preference. Given that the tee is a 3/4 length and the shirt is a full length sleeve, I would recommend rolling the sleeve.

For hair, this is a casual outfit, so down and natural or a simple ponytail would be best. For the makeup, I'd stick with a light coat of rose gloss on the lips, a pink cheek and fresh looking skin. That means under-eye concealer and highlighter applied sparingly to the cheekbones.

Spring Casual Friday. I like white denim in the warm weather months. Unlike white chinos, they have some structure to them, which makes them feel a little more professional to me. Also, while I like skinny jeans, if you don't there are some great bootcut and trouser cut pairs for sale. If you want to skip the jeans entirely, I would recommend white suiting pants with lining. Lining is critical.

I like to wear scarves to pull an outfit together. For this ensemble, I added an ivory LoveQuotes scarf. And to jazz it up, I added a cool stack of bangle bracelets.

The shoes and bag for this outfit are very simple. I love the metal detail on the sandals, and I like that they come up high on the foot for comfort. The bag is a simple shopper that's great for travel, errands or the work day.

For the hair, I would recommend wearing it up. I think that when wearing a scarf, pulling the hair up is usually the white choice. For the makeup, I would recommend a sheer, bright lipgloss and a gold or warm copper wash of eyeshadow. I'd also apply a hint of bronzer.

BPGP: Beautyblender and How to Stipple

Belle — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:00:56 +0000

When I first tried the beautyblender makeup sponge, I wasn't all that impressed. My makeup application improved markedly, but the sponge required daily cleansing and seemed to absorb a lot of makeup. Waste + clean up relegated the sponge to my box of beauty product fails.

Then, about a month ago, I was talking to a makeup artist about miracle products when she identified the beautyblender as her number one tool. When I told her that I wasn't wowed, she informed me that I was using the product wrong.

You see, I was using the beautyblender to dot/press on my foundation when what I was supposed to be doing something the Katja at Birchbox calls the press and wiggle. Call it an ah-ha moment.

Now that I'm using the beautyblender correctly, I love it. Whether I'm using a full coverage foundation or just a tinted moisturizer, the beautyblender gives you an airbrush finish and helps you blend the foundation in perfectly.

No, this product is not cheap. Two sponges and the cleanser will set you back $40. But when you consider that you can use the cleanser on your makeup brushes as well, and add in the cost of buying bag after bag of makeup sponges, the cost seems a little more reasonable.

Whenever I use full coverage foundation, I make sure to use the beautyblender. It gives me an airbrush finish with no makeup lines and no streaks. So if you wear liquid foundation, you should definitely give this product a try.

10th Commandment: February 23

Belle — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:00:22 +0000

Splendid Stripe Jersey T-Shirt (Net-a-Porter, $68)

striped t-shirt

The Hill Life: How to Tell a Staffer Her Skirt is Too Short

Belle — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:00:10 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the CPAC convention to watch one of my bosses speak. I had never been before, so I didn't really know what to expect, but nothing could have prepared me for the chaos of placing thousands of conservatives in a hotel-convention center with limited chairs. Especially when most of the attendees are under the age of 25 and surgically attached to their wireless devices.

I'd been warned by several CPAC veterans that the young women attending the event would be dressed improperly for a professional environment. And as they predicted, I saw my fair share of miniskirts, inappropriately high heels and halter tops. But I also saw an equal, if not greater, number of young women in suits, pencil skirts and work dresses.

Several days after CPAC, family members, readers and colleagues started e-mailing me copies of Melissa Clouthier's blog post: CPAC, The Jersey-shorification of Our Young People. In it, Clouthier talks about some of the clothing choices that she saw at CPAC using words like slut and whore. She blames parents, academia, the media and women's lib for the prevalence of miniskirts and stilettos at CPAC. And she speaks at length about the lascivious thoughts that men think when they see a woman dressed provocatively.

Frankly, I found her entire post to be little more than a graphic and tasteless exercise in slut shaming. If she had positive intentions (which I don't doubt), they were lost in a pile of negativity and judgment.

Giving fashion advice to young women is a tricky mixture of encouragement, mentoring and aversion therapy. You need to be serious enough to let them know that what they're wearing is inappropriate, but constructive and positive enough so they don't feel like they're being denigrated. It's not always easy to strike that balance, and I'm not always successful, but that's at least what I'm trying to do with CHS.

Yes, the clothing you wear conveys a message. And rightly or wrongly, people will judge you based on your appearance. So it's important to be mindful of the non-verbal your clothing choices are emitting and whether that message hinders or advances your professional agenda. But getting down in the muck of calling young women tramps because they were tube dresses is beneath my dignity, not to mention that if my Mother saw a post like Clouthier's on this site she'd take me to the woodshed for being so crude.

I can be outspoken. I can be snarky. I can even be a real bitch sometimes. You may not agree with all of my advice or all of my opinions, but I hope you know that when I write something that sounds a bit harsh, it's not because I'm judging your moral fiber or personal character. I don't know you, I just know the clothes you're wearing and the message those clothes can convey in a professional setting. So how do you tell a younger employee/staffer that what she's wearing is inappropriate?

Have a Dress Code. You can't expect new employees or interns to know what clothing is considered professional in your office unless you tell them. You might assume that some edicts are universally known, but if you rely on assumptions, your office will be the one with interns who show up in minidresses and flip-flops. So write down what you expect--no flip-flops, no spaghetti straps, skirts must be three fingers above the knee or longer--and most people will deliver for you.

Also, if you can, send the dress code before people arrive in D.C. I'd hate for a young person to spend a few hundred dollars on "work" clothes only to show up day one and find out her new wardrobe is not appropriate for her office.

Enforce the Dress Code for Everyone. If your SA or intern sees the LD wearing a forbidden item, she'll think that she can wear it too. So if flip flops are banned and a senior staffer shows up wearing them as soon as the weather warms, then, either the senior staffer needs to be brought into compliance or the dress code needs to be changed.

Never Gossip About a Staffer's Attire. This is a mistake that I made a few years ago. If you talk about someone's clothing choices behind her back, and she senses that you're gossiping about her or what you said gets back to her, you've got a new problem to deal with. So before you talk to anyone else (unless you're simply confirming with a higher-up that the attire requires intervention), talk to the fashion offender first.

Get Out of the Office. If you need to talk to a younger staffer about her clothing, take her for a cup of coffee. This serves two purposes. One, no one needs to see or hear this discussion but her. Two, when you chastise someone within the confines of the office, it can heighten emotions and make the situation feel more serious than it is. Getting out of the office allows for a bit of levity and gives the discussion a less official tone.

Make It a Conversation, Not a Verbal Beatdown. No one likes to get a bad review from their Boss, but you can blunt the sting if you keep it conversational. Say to the person, "How are you liking your internship/position? Is there anything you're having trouble with or anything you want to ask me?" Give her a chance to talk to you about her possible questions or grievances before you air yours.

Then, compliment her, "I've been really impressed by your phone etiquette/writing skills/how much you're learning." And then, break the bad news, "There is just one area that I think needs improvement. As an employee, you're the face of the office and some of the clothes you're wearing to work aren't showing the office or your abilities in the best light." Lastly, tell her what you expect in the future, and if there are any pieces that she should never wear to the office again let her know.

Soften the Blow. No matter what you say or how you say it, you're going to hurt her feelings a bit. It's inevitable. But it will hurt her feelings less if you soften the blow by reiterating all the good work she's done so far, and how you see a great future for her on the Hill if that is what she chooses to do. I also like to come back a few days later and compliment her on something she's wearing. A simple "I like your hair like that," or "I love the purse, who made it?" will go along way toward healing the damage.

What If She Doesn't Get the Picture? If you provide the intern with a dress code and you tell her that her attire is not appropriate, and she still does not change, you need to talk to her in a more official way. Sit her down (in the office) and say, "We talked about your attire two weeks ago, and twice this week you've worn dresses that were too revealing. Is there some reason why you're not following the dress code?" Who knows, maybe she can't afford to buy anything else or she didn't realize you were serious.

Then, let her know that next time there will be consequences, "You need to dress professionally for this job because what you wear reflects on the Boss and the office. If you don't start dressing within the guidelines, I'll have to send you home to change clothes."

These conversations are never pleasant, but they need to happen, and they need to happen early on in someone's career. Women can earn a bad reputation based on what they wear, but instead of judging them and speaking to them harshly like the blogger mentioned earlier, let's help them with a bit of constructive advice. Believe me, they'll thank you later.

Giving Up the Height

Belle — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:00:35 +0000

Last week, I had an important lunch meeting so I wore high heels. It had been a couple of weeks since I had worn "real" high heels, and it took me about 90 seconds to remember why. I hate having to walk slower than my normal pace. I deplore sidestepping grates, broken cobblestones and potholes. And frankly, at 5'7", I just don't need the height.

So after much debate, I've decide to quite high heels for good. This means that my flat shoe wardrobe needs a makeover. I have a great pair of open-toe black flats and a pair of metallic flats, but if this is all I intend to wear, what else do I need?

Because my wardrobe is centered around two neutral colors--black and navy--I'll get the most mileage out of a red flat, a leopard print flat and a flesh-toned flat.

Red can be worn with navy separates, black trousers and denim (Joan & David Heidee flat, $180). The leopard print pair (Loeffler Randall Quinnee, $295) can be worn with almost any color palette except (in my opinion) pastels and brights. And the flesh-toned are the saving grace for those days when you need a good basic but metallic will be overwhelming (Vera Wang Lara Flat, $175).

I've chosen pointed toe shoes because they look better under trousers and jeans than a round toe. I also think they're a little more dressed up than round toe flats.

In my opinion, the secret to wearing flats well is to choose shoes that are just as dressy and well-built as high heels. Too often, I see women who toss on casual flats with business attire and it just brings the entire look down. So look for a flat with structure and style not something that you would wear on your commute.

Also, if you're going to wear flats you need to care for them like they're heels. They need to be shined and repaired regularly. And when they're beyond their usefulness, toss them out. Last week, I saw a staffer wearing a pair of round toe, black flats that had been worn down to the frayed edges in the back. Not the kind of non-verbal that you want your outfit to convey.

Hopefully, giving up the height will make getting around the Hill a bit easier for this fast walking lady. I just can't stand to be slowed down by my foot wear or left standing at a fundraiser with aching feet. It's simply not worth it to me.

10th Commandment: February 22

Belle — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:01:05 +0000

Elected Official

Eddie Borgo 24k Gold Earrings (Net-a-Porter, $240)

Hill Staffer

Michael Kors Fireball Studs (Neiman Marcus, $65)

Unpaid Intern

2028 Rose Gold Studs (Macy's, $22)

rose gold earrings