2009 resolutions!

First off, Happy New Year! Yay, pandas!

For the last two years, I've started off the new year with my resolutions. In fact, I started off the blog itself with resolutions -- so PeriodicStyle is now two years old! (Hooray!) And little did I know last year, when I said I'd go somewhere and report on something in '08, that it would be New York Fashion Week itself! So big things can happen if you just set a goal.

Thus, here are my goals for 2008:

- Use what I have. Beauty-wise and fashion-wise, I need to do a better job of using what I have and playing with it more, versus dashing out and buying something new every time I have a special occasion or a new collection comes out. I need to curb the "buy! buy! buy!" impulse, especially now that I'm a Big Girl Living In The City (with Big City Rents).

- Take care of myself, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm going to take dance classes, go out and have fun, and not let myself get snagged up in stuff. Brightness and lightness and fun, yesyes.

- Donate more. Clothes, money, time and energy.

- Write more! More blog posts! (Yes, for real!)

- Comment more and reach out more! (Yes, for real, again!)

- Cook more -- I'm very much a boil-or-microwave type of cook, and so I'm hoping to break myself of my bad habits and actually cook for real. (Yeah, I'm not a food blogger, but I do like food!)

- And yes, as always, work on my skin. It's actually doing reallyreally well right now, so I just need to keep hydrated, keep my hands off, and keep doing what I'm doing because it's actually working... (!!!)

What are your goals for 2009?

image from muryousozai.com

Science Fair for December 22nd - 28th

Oh man I have not been online at all this week, you guys. I've been away from work since Tuesday afternoon, and running around doing the family thing until last night.

But for the last Science Fair of '08, I have to have something for you, right?

- Not only is there a Burger King fragrance, there's now a Twilight fragrance. (I do love lavender and freesia separately, but together? And a Hot Topic perfume for $50?)

- The release of the final Princess Diaries book, Forever Princess, is coming up in a few weeks, and Meg Cabot has released the first eighty pages!

- This has been the Christmas of me singing Santa Baby over and over (and searching for it on YouTube to little avail), and unfortunately we lost Eartha Kitt on Christmas. I'm sure you've been seeing these all over, but here she is in "I Want to Be Evil" and "C'est Si Bon":




- Finally, it's the time of the year when everyone comes out with their Best and Worst lists. Here's the round-up of Entertainment Weekly's Best & Worst of 2008.

Have a great week!

Fair Trade Fashion

In today's clothing market, you'd be hard-pressed to find high-quality items for your wardrobe that aren't made in sweatshops overseas under torturous conditions, priced up hundreds of times more than the wages paid to manufacturers' workers, and ultimately design-homogenized for the mass market. Whenever I walk into a store, be it H&M, the Gap, a little hole-in-the-wall boutique, or even an online shop, I consider my options--do I really want to pay this price for a dress made out of plasticky material, probably made by someone half my age working sixteen hours a day?

I'm not really crushed by this sense of guilt or impending judgement, but it's always something to consider. What kind of clothes are worth my money? How can I maximize my dollar, when money is tight right now? I am entering a phase of my life now when the wear-twice-throw-away quality of H&M's otherwise stylish pieces are impractical. Being in a new job, though, I'm still not financially stable enough to do the kind of wardrobe basics restock a la Tim Gunn's Guide to Style (I love you, Tim Gunn!). Obviously, corporations running chain stores like J. Crew, Zara, Banana Republic, United Colors of Benetton, et cetera, have masterfully cornered this market and pretty much clothe every working man or women between the ages of 18 and 45 in America today. I've started looking for other options. Other, new, exciting, affordable, fair trade, environmentally and labor rights-responsible resources for a little wardrobe refresher.

First up is out of the UK, Adili.com organizes their collections by age cohort, but don't let that stop you exploring! Here's an example of my one problem with a lot of fair trade clothing...it's just too expensive for what it is. I understand the reasoning behind it, and I do love this dress by Kowhai:

This knit vest by People Tree has the librarian-chic whimsy of a piece you might see at Urban Outfitters. Isn't that cute? But for nearly US$400, I couldn't justify that kind of expense. I want to be fiscally AND morally responsible! (Tip: a quick and dirty way to approximate UK pounds sterling in US dollars is to simply multiply the UK pounds by two.) Adili's shoe collection is a fascinating mix of crunchy-granola burlap-and-string sandals and super-classy, chic high heels. Tempting, no?

Also in the UK (why do they have all the best shopping? OH JEALOUSY) is Fashion-Conscience, where you can shop by your pet cause: organic, fair trade, sustainable, recycled, or vegan. These Amelia two-tone brogues are super-classy.
As someone whose wardrobe consists of a very basic palette and a ska fan, I have a deep love of two-toned shoes. The race-car red! The office-appropriate heel!

If you want a Nike alternative, the Autonomie Project has the spitting image of Converse low-top sneakers that are close to the same price as the "real" thing. In fact, Equita's whole "outlet" sale section has a great variety of bags, tops, and jackets for you and yours!

As you've probably seen recently in the mainstream chain stores, "organic" natural fabrics are a new, huge profit area. I think the fair trade movement is ready to move into the mainstream as well, as consumers become thriftier and try to shop with a conscience. We want our dollars to stretch further, and give our consumerism significance for the rest of the world. Don't you agree? I can't say that I will always buy fair trade, organic, or green, but I can try!


Images from Adili.com and Fashion-Conscience.com.

Holiday Gift Guide: Last Minute Gifts and Stocking Stuffers

So last year Kati did the last-minute gift guide post... on December 19th. This year, you truly get it at the last minute -- December 23rd. Oops?

Usually I'm the one tearing around Borders on Christmas Eve ("omg, Mom really loved this movie in the 70s and I think we rented it once, so I'm going to BUY IT ON DVD HOORAY MOM IS DONE"), so I am well-aware that sometimes we need a little extra help at the last minute. So, you know, I'm ducking under the wire here too!

- We all know that gift cards are a very safe bet, especially ones that allow you the ability to send online. There's the classic Amazon.com gift card, the iTunes gift card, Shopbop, Zappos, or Shanalogic.

- I also always enjoy getting magazine subscriptions, since I almost never bother to subscribe to anything myself (I let my Nylon and my V subscriptions run out), and so this is one we suggest every year.

- If you find yourself lost in the wilds of Target today or tomorrow, check out the cute bath products from Soap and Glory. There's also the Sonia Kashuk tools, which I have a couple of and liked -- another Sonia Kashuk brush fan is Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog.

- For a cute little stocking stuffer that you can likely find at your local drugstore, check out the Sally Hansen gift sets featured at All Lacquered Up, complete with swatches! Both the Holiday and the Deep set are great little mini-collections.

- Stuck at the office up to the last minute, but you've got access to PayPal, cardstock, and a printer? Check out some of the adorable printable PDF calendars and stationery on Etsy! There are some wonderful designs at littlebrownpen.etsy.com, upup.etsy.com, and marialunate.etsy.com. Just order, wait for the seller to email you the file, print, and done! What a fabulous idea -- and you don't have to wait (or pay!) for shipping!

- Finally, why not work a little DIY beauty magic in the kitchen? It's easy to put together a brown sugar scrub or scented bath salts. Besides, you're going to be running to the grocery store at the last minute anyway, right?

I lucked out in pretty much finishing my shopping early this year (and by early I mean "today after work", so actually I'm not done at all), but I know how it goes. So if you're out there, braving the crowds and wondering what the heck you should get for that last person (or, uh, dog in my case) on your list, I salute you. Good luck to you, my friend!

images from store.apple.com and littlebrownpen.etsy.com

SCIENCE! Says: A new feature!

Here at the Periodic Elements of Style, we've decided to gift you all with an early holiday season present: a new blog feature! It's called, "SCIENCE! Says"; in which we answer your questions and hand out free advice, all based on what we know from...you guessed it...SCIENCE! Because really, if SCIENCE! didn't know what was up, where would we be?

Question: I am a proud, card-carrying carnivore. What with this recent "economic downturn," I'm hearing more and more that our dietary habits are going to have to change. Anthony Bourdain, Time Magazine, and my grandmother all say I should start eating offal, because it's cheap/delicious. What do you think? Are animal organs better than chunks of charred muscle?

SCIENCE! Says: Don't switch to eating organ meats exclusively, cheap though they may be. The reason you see offal fans come out of the woodwork in lean times is the relative low, low price butchers and mass-market meat producers ask for those less-desirable cuts of meat. Today, most Mega-Mart butchers won't even have offal out in their refrigerated display cases. In anthropological terms, as we industrialized, American culture cultivated a high premium for cuts of meat further away from the potentially bacteria- and parasite-laden internal organ system of livestock. The richer you are, the better cuts of meat you can afford, thus your grocery list becomes a symbol of your economic and nutritional health. That has perversely reversed itself in the past few years as the Yuppification of America continues, and self-branded "gourmands" turn to offal for a rush of culinary adventure.

You may not be able to afford to eat t-bone steaks and pork chops every day now, but a good dose of properly cooked liver'n'onions never killed anybody. Just remember that organs like the liver, kidneys, and various glands in animals function the same as in humans--they filter out toxins. In sick animals as in humans, toxins and nasties can accumulate in the organs and lymphatic system. You can avoid over-exposure to toxins by avoiding those organs in general. Some types of offal do contain higher amounts of nutrients like potassium, but check out how much more cholesterol a 4oz serving of beef brains has compared to regular lean ground beef! (751% of your daily value versus 29%, that's seven and a half TIMES your daily allotted amount of cholesterol!)

If you're talking about calves' brains and oxtail, I will point you to the risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, aka "Mad Cow," a prion disease that emerged a decade ago in Europe to the great consternation and near-ruin of the livestock industry. Avoid mystery meats if you can because of this--cheap sausage, ground meats with abnormal coloring, and products like SPAM contain the odds and ends, including ground-up bone, of animals you should really stay away from.

It may save your wallet a couple of pennies, but you could prevent serious health problems by sticking to what you know. Anthony Bourdain may have survived decades of drinking, smoking, and offal, but remember: he gets paid to eat it.


Note: If you would like to have a question answered in SCIENCE! Says, please e-mail us at periodicstyle [AT] gmail [DOT] com. We love a challenge, so bring it on!