Mascarah, I couldn't agree more!  'Put together' is the key.  I work in finance in a client-facing role.  Do I wear suits?  Hell no.  But I take a lot of care in my appearance for two reasons :

1. I love fashion and love 'dressing up' for work.  I am surrounded my males a lot in the work environment who wear the same old shirt  and pants every day.  I'm thankful that I get to mix it up a bit more and tend to wear very feminine outfits.  Admittedly I have one black suit which gets rolled out when I have particular meetings.  

2, I believe that if you look put together and that you clearly care about your personal appearance, other people (i.e. clients, customers, etc) assume you will pay attention to detail when it comes to their needs.  I'm pretty sure studies have proven this.  

One rule that I follow when it comes to dressing for work - when it doubt leave it out.  If you are standing in the mirror wondering if perhaps you are showing too much cleavage then wonder no more, wear something else.

Mary,

It's not an issue of being "technical" or whatever that is supposed to imply, it's about being honest and transparent before your readers.

We like to call this gaining consumer loyalty in marketing. This should be part of your acquisition plan, not something you rattle off at 2:10am in the morning on a post that will soon be replaced.

Think about why you're losing a great deal of your fans, including me. We are not jealous because that would be laughable and simplistic, no - it's more like it's abundantly clear that you can't take criticism and don't like being called out on all the secrecy and double-speak.

THINK rather than being acting defensively.It might get you somewhere:

http://rebloggingnonsociety.blogspot.com/2009/02/ok-here-you-go.html

As a viewer/reader I'm not concerned with whether you *say* you are telling the truth. I am concerned with getting the full facts and using my own brain and judgment to determine what I believe. 

Is there any reason your readers shouldn't have the full picture to be able to make their own assessment instead of putting blind faith in someone who simply says "trust me that I'm telling the truth" instead? 

No one (that I've seen) accused you of lying. You have been asked repeatedly however about your deals with those you promote. That has nothing to do with lying. It has to do with exchanging promotion for personal or professional gain and is a normal issue to disclose, especially for those in the media and particularly journalism which is what you all have been calling publicly your work at NS lately.

Also, getting free review samples or small thank you gifts is a VERY different thing from getting free ongoing product supply for your personal use (ie payment) in exchange for promotion. 

When you are getting free products for your personal use, you are not paying for something you would otherwise have to pay for on your own. So the free gift becomes payment when it's for your use and not just for review purposes. 

When you promote companies and get payment from them (and really even when you get free samples, services, accommodations, etc for reviewing) the ethical and professional standard is to disclose it *each and every* time. But then maybe maintaining professional ethical standards and being transparent  are not big priorities around here. Your responses to this issue and to readers concerns about such matters as well as your lack of clear and consistent policies on ethical and transparency issues certainly seem to indicate as much. 

And that is likely why so many seem to take issue with this aspect of your business, among others. I've never seen a site so overrun with critical comments (just look at your question of the day feedback before it's deleted). At some point you have to wonder what role you play in inspiring the comments and whether there is any point to their message that you may benefit from listening to instead of blaming it all on so called haters instead.

Well, most of the time I don't.  I'm in a Juicy tracksuit and socks right now.

But I think if you ask any woman in four inch heels - and that would be most women out in Manhattan on a Saturday night - they'd tell you that their Uggs are more comfortable, but they're just not that sexy.

Not sure what else to tell you.

Yes, because criticism = hater.

Perhaps if you learned how to spell properly, you'd find gainful employment. You and Mary have a great deal in common.

criticism doesn't = hater, but there are different ways to present criticism. Instead of insulting the girls and using a negative tone you should be more constructive. You had some good ideas for topics but people are more likely to take your advice if  you present it in a positive way.

Right. Just like how they instruct their haters to "die," and send expletive-ridden emails to online journalists, and have tumbrls dismantled. That is certainly a much more adult way of dealing with, and responding to, criticism. 

"the girls"? Sounds like cult of TMI to me. 

And many people far kinder than me have presented criticism and it was deleted and ignored.

I added and r for emphasis you ignorant twit.

And thank you for the compliment. Mary is an exceptional woman along with Julia and Megan.

If you don't like it then don't watch it. That's like eating peas if you don't like them. That makes you the bitter dumbass.

Hit a nerve, Julia?

Ok, first of all we have 3-5 minutes for these episodes.  We could do fill 10 minutes on each topic you suggested.

We referenced many brands at different price points: Theory and Laundry on the higher end, J Crew for middle of the road (Banana Republic probably should have gotten a mention as well, and  Zara and The Limited for affordable wear.

A wrap dress seems like an obvious choice, but sometimes you forget about these things.

We will get back to this topic and talk about taking office attire from day to night, what to wear on interviews, etc.

Yes, I realize now I forgot to delete the "do" in the second sentence.

My apologies.

The point is that you didn't touch on any of the topics, rather you prattled on about yourself. 

Maybe one day you'll actually take and implement feedback rather than making excuses and penning snappy, defensive replies.

And you wonder why there are so many "haters."

That was completely rude anon. She wasn't making stupid snappy comments, she was replying to your "criticism". If you don't like the show, then don't watch it. They have plenty of fans that actually like these episodes and appreciate them taking their time to make them.

Julia - Good to hear from you. Did you finally get Wifi like everyone else twittering & blogging from Davos?

Mary,
When do you plan on posting your guidelines on product endorsements in an effort to make the products you promote more transparent?

Or, are you too busy shopping in the "ghetto"? Btw, we really like it when you pass judgment on ungentrified communities. Keeping it offensive this week, aren't we? First botox = abortion, now this.

Classy.

yeah, because jealous people are hateful.

Julia or Elizabeth or whatever you're calling yourself these days- Welcome back! How was Davos and your lack of connectivity? So great to see you here on the QOD boards as "Ashley." You breathe new life into multiple-personality disorder.

Of course! We're all jealous. You're so right. God, why didn't I realize that sooner?

I agree with Katie k. I asked about this last episode and honestly you have had your site up for many months but still haven't botherd posting a policy on disclosing your relationships and compensation arrangments with those companies whose products you promote in your reivews. 

Last episode you said a page would be posted on this soon. I assume you all know what your policy is so how long will it take to just put that in writing and post it? 

I think it's clear from the feedback you've been getting that many readers and viewers feel this is an important ingredient for the trust required to be able to take your reviews seriously. Thank you.

I'm not Julia. But that is an awesome compliment.

www.elizabethboom.tumblr.com

But you're just as sad. And alone in your obsession to emulate a train wreck. Hope the shock treatments work.

And sweetie - just because you have a tumblr with a made-up name doesn't NOT make you Julia Allison. 

Keep up with the shocks and your poor pea metaphors.

I know I'm not Julia. But, these women still have a lot of great advice. Maybe you should take some. and I'm not obsessed. I get a lot of useful information out of these videos and want to defend it. 

Oh and they aren't trainwrecks. You're the trainwreck arguing with a 20 year old girl on a site that doesn't meet your expectations...

Usually I just let you guys go at it, but this has gotten a little out of hand.  Katie, stick to what you hate most.  We are your target, not those who like us.  Rip away because in your eyes, we deserve it.  But, respect that other people have interests they feel strongly about.

Thanks.

Oh, Mary. I don't hate you. I don't. I just want to see this trainwreck, and all the nonsense you spill, shut down. 

LISTEN TO FEEDBACK. 

How quickly hundreds of thousands reduces to "those." Then again, we can easily get site stats via compete.com & alexa.com. Not looking good, bunnies. That's the price you pay for insulting a lot of your older fans, like us, with your antics. 

Btw. The area surrounding USC is not the ghetto. Black people + Absence of Tory Burch dog bags does not a ghetto make.

Katie you are a hateful person. Why do you have to take everything so seriously? You're the one who is sickly obsessed.

Both you and lindsey are right.  Entertainment, no matter which coast you're on is pretty casual.  But I think you would agree, NYC is a little more formal than LA.

And you can definitely find suits in LA.  Just check out Century City mall around lunch.  The CAA and ICM suits take over that joint (whether at Houston's or Subway).