Success

The other night at a dinner party a parent told me that when their daughter graduated college she didn’t know how to write a check or balance her checkbook.  Now to some this might sound crazy but this young lady was no fool.  She was (and still is) bright, driven and grounded.  The issue was that her parents had always given her the money she needed to get by.  Any expense she had her parents wrote the check for.  Personally, I think personal finance needs to become a mandatory course in our school systems.  Until then read Investopedia.com’s article “8 Financial Tips for Young Adults”.  Here are their 8 Tips:

1. Learn Self Control
2. Take Control of your Own Financial Future
3. Know Where Your Money Goes
4. Start An Emergency Fund
5. Start Saving For Retirement Now
6. Get a Grip on Taxes
7. Guard Your Health
8. Guard Your Wealth

To read their full advice for each tip click here.

I’ll admit that I’m still on the wild roller coaster ride of figuring out my finances.  I can interpret financial speak as well as I can interpret German, which is not at all.  Luckily with the help of my mother, friends and trusted advisers I’ve been able to read through a collection of books that helped explain my finances in a friendly, digestible way that kept me interested.  Well about as interested as I can get.  Here are suggestions from my own personal library:

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman ($10.88)

I’ve gotta admit, Suze Orman is one kick-ass career chick.  You’ve seen her on Oprah, you’ve seen her on bestseller book lists, you’ve seen her on her own television show.  This book is geared specifically to 20-somethings who have graduated college with student loan debt and are facing a terrible job market.  She gives you real-life advice that’s practical with step-by-step guides to get you to become young, fabulous & NOT broke.

You’re So Money: Live Rich, Even When You’re Not by Farnoosh Tarobi ($10.17)

This wonderful guide to living the glamorous life on a homely budget was recommended to me by my best friend, Chelsea.  She had sooooo many rave reviews about it that I can’t even remember them all.  So instead I’ll give you some of the reviews from Amazon.com:

“Farnoosh Torabi’s You’re So Money is the perfect blend of fresh advice and bold attitude necessary to educate a horribly underserved generation about personal finance.”
—Jim Cramer

“You’re So Money is the best financial book for young people I have read in ten years. Farnoosh’s style is entertaining, straight to the point and powerful.  You’ll laugh as you read and learn how fun it can be to live and finish rich!”
—David Bach, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire and Start Late, Finish Rich

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki is a bit of a rock-star in the investment world.  He has created a highly visible brand through his Rich Dad, Poor Dad series that has started out with books and now stems into seminars, games and videos.  But there is a reason for all this.  Robert makes things simple and makes it seem possible.  He makes you feel like he’s from your camp, got a secret insight into the other camp, and then came back to report.

xoxo, Vanesa

This post will be slightly different from the rest of the “Style” posts.  As you may have already noticed I typically only showcase items that are less than $100.  But this post will need to go a little bit higher in the price range and believe me it is worth it.  When dressing up to go to an interview you need to invest in a few good office-appropriate pieces.  The last thing you want to do is look like a kid trying to wear “big girl clothes”.  Investing in well-fitted interview clothes will give you a better look and fit making you look like the polished professional employers are searching for.  And when you are looking at the higher price tags on some of these items remember that you will be going on plenty of interviews during school and after you graduate.  If you do end up landing the job you won’t have to go out and rush for work clothes.

A few of my key tips:

• Get one great BLACK suit (blazer with pants or a skirt).  If you can afford it, go out and get another suit in a lighter color like tan or grey.
• Make sure your suit fits well.  If you need to, spend the extra money to get it tailored to fit your body.  Remember you want to look polished, not frumpy or sleazy.
• Bring life to your suit with a pop of color in a bright (but not blinding) blouse or a necklace (you can never go wrong with classic pearls).
• If you plan to accessorize do not go overboard.  Make sure your jewelry is not distracting or frivolous.  You can look stylish in a calm, cool and professional way.
• Go ahead and wear heels, just make sure they’re not the 4 1/2 inch platforms you wear out to the club.

The very first place I head to for work clothes is J. Crew.  Words cannot fully express my love affair for J.Crew so I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

J.Crew’s Super 120s line in their Womens Suiting Department has taken me on many interviews and successfully into the job.

J.Crew Super120s Two Button Jacket ($230) and J.Crew City-fit Super120s Classic Trouser ($130.00)

J.Crew Super120s High Pencil Skirt ($118.00) can be paired with the jacket above if you’re interviewing at a corporate office or it can be dressed down with a cardigan and blouse if you’re interviewing in a more relaxed office.

Here are some beautiful J.Crew blouses to punch up the look of your suit:

J.Crew Herringbone Frances Cami ($88.00)

J.Crew Silk Frances Cami ($88.00)

J.Crew Scalloped Petal Top ($69.50)

J.Crew Tattered Silk Cotton Tank ($178.00)

Once you’ve landed the job you can break your suit up into separates and create these beautiful, business-casual looks:

A fitted graphic cap-sleeve paired with a suit skirt:

My go-to look….Suit blazer paired with tailored jeans (no holes!!!):

For more J.Crew love check out their site here.

xoxo, Vanesa

Before the weekend Facebook announced the Facebook Fellowship Program for Ph.D. students in the 2010-2011 academic year.  Pretty exciting stuff coming from the Goliath of all social media.  According to their post on, what else, Facebook, they are ,

“interested in a wide range of academic topics, including Internet economics, cloud computing, social computing, data mining, machine learning, and systems and information retrieval. Full-time Ph.D. students who are enrolled in U.S. universities and working on research in these topical areas qualify to apply for one of five fellowships, which will cover their tuition and fees and provide a $30,000 stipend in addition to conference travel and other benefits.”

Check out the Facebook Fellowship Program site here and remember that the deadline to apply is February 15th, 2010.

Yesterday’s postings on 5 Tips For Finding a Job and the Anthropologie Internship brought up the following question, “Should college students and post grads have a business card? What information should be on it?” To this I answer a big, bold YES! YES, college students and post grads should have a business card or personal calling card.  In fact, every fabulous being should have one.  I had a personal calling card long before I was employed because I always figure you never know who you’ll meet or who you will want to stay in contact with.  Plus pulling out a beautiful card is très chic compared to the sloppy number written in lipstick on a napkin.

As far as what information to include, I believe in keeping it simple.  No, not as simple as Clooney’s card in Ocean’s 11, which was just oh so suave. (Ahhhhhh, Clooney.*swoon*)

Not that simple and slick (unless you ARE a high class criminal like Danny Ocean).  Here are the basics needed: NAME, PHONE, EMAIL, and if you find it necessary add your LOCATION.  An example may read:

Holly Golightly

New York, New York

holly@littleblackdress.com

212-123-4567

If you work in an industry where social media is involved you may want to add your Twitter site or LinkedIn information.  But always remember that your lines of contact should be ready to receive people.  Your outgoing voicemail message and Twitter tweets should be appropriate for a potential employer to listen or read.  And don’t give out your calling card with a link to a Facebook page where your profile picture is that distant memory from Mardi Gras caught in all of its digital camera glory.  Yes, I’m talking about the pose that got you the beads.

I, myself, am also in the market for a new card and found some lovely choices from Etsy.com:

Modern Geometric from nelladesigns ($18.00)

Signature Calling Cards from HelloHarbor ($14.00)

Flower Cards from saratams ($14-$86)

Stippled Dots Monogram Calling Cards from Saddle Stitch Studio ($16.00)

Black Phone Calling Card from JosStudio ($30)

Simple Icon Calling Card from InkScissorsPaper ($26.00)

Type and Swirl Eco Friendly Calling Cards from modernemotive ($22.00)

2×2 Square Call Me Cards by paperandink ($32.00)

xoxo, Vanesa

There are internships for this?!?!?!  At one point I wanted my entire house to look like an Anthropologie display.  I soon learned that I wasn’t as crafty as I thought.  For those of you UC Davis or UC Berkeley Campus Confidants who ARE crafty enough, or WANT to be crafty enough here’s a posting from the UC Davis TXC and FPS Internships blog:

“Anthropologie is seeking Display and Visual Merchandising Interns for our Bay area stores. Please stop by any one of our locations in the Bay area and speak with a Visual or Store Manager for details. Best time to stop by Monday through Friday between 10 am and 3 pm. For Internship consideration the following expectations are mandatory. You must apply in person to be considered and you must be currently enrolled in college at the time of your internship. Please do not apply unless you have met that expectation. Thank you.”

For the full length internship description read the entire post on the UC Davis TXC and FPS Internship Blog.

Writing this post made me think of all the magical displays I’ve seen at Anthropologie over the years.  After a quick trip through Google Images I found a few photo inspirations:

And while we’re on the subject of the beauty of Anthropologie….This past holiday I was gifted with a Voluspa Candle from Anthropologie and its been sitting at my desk filling the air with all sorts of deliciousness.  Its amazing how the aroma can take me to a peaceful place.  I need these everywhere!!!  Here’s a pic of my candle, Voluspa Goji & Tarocco Orange 3 wick candle.  You can get your very own here at, of course, Anthropologie.

xoxo, Vanesa

I know, I know…the job market sucks.  Not only are today’s college graduates facing a terrible job market, jumping from the maternal womb of college life to the real world is depressing.  I’m a few years out and I’m still dealing with the post-traumatic-stress syndrome of graduating then immediately moving back in with my parents.  (Love you, Mom and Dad!)  Since the average college grad lacks experience we can all lean on the fact that we’re still attractive to employers because we’re young, we’re naive, we’re cheap and therefore we’ll do things most seasoned employees will refuse to do. *Sigh* I guess that doesn’t help much either. Regardless, you need a job because that spa mani/pedi is not getting paid all by itself.  If you’re out there on the hunt and you have no idea what you’re doing check out this great article “5 Tips for Finding a Job” from Top-Colleges.com. Here are some of the key points I found interesting:

#1 Make a Connection

“…you need to make an attempt to make a personal connection so your resume will stick out from the rest.”

#2 Utilize the Career Center

“With an in-person appointment, you can get hands-on assistance with conducting a job search and the career counselor can more effectively help you with creating a resume and practicing interview skills.”

#3 Expand Your Horizons

“If you are having a difficult time finding a job or if you have a few different career interests, focus your job search efforts on the area where the most jobs are available.”

#4 Consider Your Priorities

“When deciding on the right career path, it is important to consider which is more important to you: a job that is intellectually stimulating or one with a high salary. While it is always nice to have a job that is personally satisfying, you also need to make certain you are making enough money to pay for your living expenses.”

#5 Don’t Run Off to Graduate School

“Attending graduate school is meant to be a stepping-stone toward advancing in your career or taking it in a new direction, not as a strategy for finding a job when no jobs seem to be available.”

You can read the entire article here at Top-Colleges.com

xoxo, Vanesa

On the UCLA Campus.

I’m thrilled to say that UC campuses are part of Kiplinger’s 100 Best Values in Public Colleges for 2009-10.  According to Kiplinger, this is how they rank the schools:

We narrow the list to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality — including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class entering in 2002.

We then rank each school based on cost and financial aid. In our scoring system, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total).

You can see the entire listing of their top 100 here on their site as well as the full description of how they rank the colleges here.

Here are the rankings for the UC’s:

#11: UCSD

#13: UCLA

#18: UC Berkeley

#20: UC Irvine

#29: UCSB (Still on the list but not as high as the above schools.  I’ll account it to all the beach-front property)

#41: UC Davis

#50: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Not a UC but still loving that another California school is on here)

#68 UCSC

xoxo, Vanesa

On January 1st the FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid becomes available.  Yes, I filled this out when I was in college and yes, I even helped my brother with his too.  Before you get yourself knee-deep into signing off on a bunch of information you know nothing about I suggest you go through Lee Bierber’s “Countdown to college: Terms you need to know to apply for financial aid.” The list is a set of vocabulary terms to help make the application process a bit more digestible.   This post was sponsored by the letter “A”…”A” as in Aid Package and “A” as in Asset Protection. You can find the full article here.

xoxo, Vanesa

Photo from consumerist.com.

This past weekend I hit my regular favorite shops in hopes to find some great deals for holiday presents.  Going from store to store I recognized some new faces and realized that these were the new seasonal employees.  During my first year of college I picked up two seasonal jobs that helped me put money away for holiday presents as well as the many cups of Starbucks that got me through finals week.  In these poor economic times everyone can pick up extra cash if only to bulk up your savings.  I came across this great article from the Wall Street Journal about Turning a Seasonal Job into Full Time work. This is a great read and I hope inspires some of you who may be down and out about the economy and job market while balancing your school schedule.

Here is the introduction to the article…..

Every year around this time, thousands of workers are hired for jobs catering to holiday shoppers and usually ending in January. The work can be a short-term way to generate a paycheck. But for a select few—particularly recent graduates and prospective career-changers—the seasonal jobs could become even more.

A small percentage of these temporary recruits are offered staff positions in the months that follow—and not just behind a register, but also eventually in areas like human resources, management and finance.

Continue reading the full article here. And remember, there’s nothing like having money in the bank and an employee discount.

xoxo, Vanesa

I have to admit that the past few years have been a roller coaster ride.  When I left college everything changed and suddenly there was not a set list of things to check off in order to succeed.  The challenges I have faced are not screenplay-worthy or therapy-worthy, but they are growing pains.  Yet at the end of the day when I say my prayers to God, The Universe, Buddha, Allah, Mother Nature, or whatever proper noun you may use to define the spiritual power that is out there, this saying always pops into my head, “If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough.”

So on Thanksgiving, I give thanks to the simplest pleasures that make my life so incredibly blessed…family, love, friends and of course, my constant reminder to find joy in life’s simple pleasures, MY DOG

Have a Happy Thanksgiving full of joy. xoxo, Vanesa

Anna Sui, Parsons Alumni

I came across a great article from 39thandbroadway.com titled “Do I NEED to go to Fashion School?” Just reading the title made me laugh as I thought of the countless friends I grew up with who doubted the importance of a college education.  Many of them had the grades, the money and the support to go to college.  But since they were creative types they felt that the institution of higher education was not for them.  I’m not saying you won’t be successful if you don’t go to college (See Bill Gates, Maya Angelou and The Olsen Twins) but I do believe if you have the access to do so, college will be an irreplaceable addition to your life.  Here’s a few highlights from the article with specific higher education advice for those entering the fashion industry.

One of the most common questions we get from young people is, “Do I need to go to college to have a career in fashion? Well, the short answer is, yes.

It’s our unanimous opinion that college is absolutely necessary.  Now certainly there are a rare few who succeeded without it, but even for them a degree wouldn’t have hurt.  There are many famous designers like Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, and Donna Karan who never finished school, but one thing to remember is, for them years ago a college diploma was not the prerequisite that it is today.  Not to mention they all began by working for other companies and designers, whom today all require a Bachelors degree even for an assistant level position. Regardless of your career path, a college degree is, at the very least, something to fall back on.  Should you change your mind in a few years and want to switch careers paths or attend grad school, a degree gives you options.  In the US today a college degree is what a high school diploma was 30 years ago.  According to the US census bureau, over the course of their life a college grad earns one million dollars more then their high school diploma counterpart!  So all fashion industry intricacies aside, we will always recommend higher learning.  Additionally, since many of our readers and the majority of fashion industry professionals are women we feel even stronger in pushing education.  Women have enough battles for equality in the workplace; a lesser education should not be another.

Marc Jacobs, Parsons Alumni

First, when an ad is put out we receive hundred of applicants, as fashion design is a very coveted and competitive field. We are busy and certainly don’t have the time to interview or examine everyone’s portfolio. So step one for an entry level position, if your resume does not contain a college education and classes or major in fashion it goes out with the garbage.  Second, we don’t really care about GPA’s or school awards, we’d rather see strong skills (pattern making, foreign languages, CAD, etc)  and an innovative portfolio. Third, we’d like to see a portfolio that goes beyond just a few sketches, show us you have more abilities than any random joe with a fashion sense who can draw. Lastly, while the fashion industry may be known for its diva behavior, recent grad needs to check the attitude at the door, and be gracious. It is always shocking to us how many newbies forget that last point because even the best degree won’t overcome a bad attitude.

Check out 39th and Broadway’s site here to read the full article.

I know I know I know, who wants to listen to another speaker when you listen to your professors all day long in lecture?  But like I’ve said before, “Think – Life after College”.  If you haven’t heard, the job market isn’t exactly flourishing right now and you’ll need all the ammo you can get once you’re out.  For those of you looking into documentary film-making and journalism this should be a great webinar on the “critical technical and creative skills emerging journalists will need as they enter the job market.”  Below are the details on the webinar from Campus Technology’s site.  You can sign up for the free session here.

The convergence of emerging technologies, and the increasing financial pressures faced by all media outlets, requires graduating journalists to have a wider skill set to be marketable. As a result, journalists are not only reporting the news, but writing, shooting, producing, and editing their own work.

Join us for an educational webcast to examine new trends in journalism. Explore the critical technical and creative skills emerging journalists will need as they enter the job market. Hear what experts from the field are looking for in new hires, and what technologies are currently being used. You will also learn how Sony Broadcast and Professional products can help your student prepare for these changes.

Speakers

The September Issue

The iconic bob…dark sunglasses…and she proved at the premiere that yes, indeed, the devil does wear Prada.  But with all the criticism, we can’t help but recognize Anna Wintour as one of the ultimate kick-ass career chicks.  When Vera Wang turns the green eye of envy at you, you know you’ve really done something…

“I mean, I was there for seventeen years. I didn’t get the job that Anna got. I guess that was my most memorable experience.” - Vera Wang to New York Magazine on her time at Vogue

I have been anticipating the release of the new documentary The September Issuewhich tracks Anna Wintour as she prepares to release the biggest issue in the fashion mag world.  It has already been released in New York and it will finally, finally, fiiiiinally make its crawl into Los Angeles today!  I love this review from one of my favorite blogs, Fashionista.com, and got even more excited when they said the only movie that made them laugh harder this year was The Hangover. Check out the film’s official site to watch clips here.

xoxo peace and love, Vanesa

I’m the type of person that can spend hours in OfficeMax or Staples just staring at office supplies and how to get organized. But for some reason when it came to picking out my course schedule my priorities always gave way to other considerations. For example, my list of things to consider included: Open Fridays, no 8 am lectures, lecture location in proximity to my apartment, lecture location in proximity to Starbucks, lecture location in proximity to friends’ apartments and Final cannot run into same time period as Nordstrom sales. It’s tough to make sure your personal considerations coinside with your entire purpose of your education. I stumbled upon Kelci Lynn’s college blog on About.com where she has posted a great article, “How to Pick Your College Courses”.

Read through her advice on the proper considerations for building your schedule:
Talk to your adviser, Make sure your schedule has balance, Think about your learning style, Aim to pick strong proffessors, Consider your work schedule and other commitments.

We Can’t Wait to Meet You!