Speaking of money, the jacket actually was only $148, and if you order now, you’ll get 15% off.

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I actually came across these rings after seeing my friend Bexo wearing one. She came in wearing one in silver, and I insisted on “borrowing” it – I  borrowed her armor-dillo and she borrowed my 3 finger ring. I wanted to buy my own but she couldn’t remember the name of the store she bought it at, or the name of the designer. A few months later, I ended up accidentally breaking the ring, which was a huge bummer.

Last week I was catching up on my twitter feed, and saw that Melody Ehsani posted a link to some rings that were back in stock for the holidays. Lo and behold, it was my beloved ring! I scooped up a silver one and a gold one. I also sent my brother a link to the chain pow gun ring as a gift suggestion.

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“Dos and Don’ts: A Fashion Company’s Guide to Managing a Lawful Internship Program

The fashion industry runs on intern power, or sometimes it seems that way. The U.S. Department of Labor, however, is concerned that unpaid internships are replacing entry-level jobs and is looking much more carefully at what interns are really being asked to do.

Yes, internships are often precious steppingstones for students, providing opportunities to enhance résumés and slip well-shod feet into otherwise tightly closed doors. No, the benefit of résumé lines is not always enough to replace cold cash, at least in the eyes of the Department of Labor, especially when an intern is doing the work of a full-time employee or performing menial tasks. Hazing one’s interns a lá “The Devil Wears Prada” might win you a Golden Globe in Hollywood, but in real life the only thing it will earn you is a hefty fine and orders to distribute back pay.

That said, so long as you play by the rules, hiring unpaid interns can be profitable and rewarding for both companies and students. Follow these simple suggestions and you will be well on your way to avoiding a Fair Labor faux pas:

DO help your interns learn skills they can use at other jobs, whether its patternmaking or memo writing.

DON’T assign interns filing, photocopying, errands, or other mundane tasks (i.e. picking up dry cleaning, fetching lunch and coffee, acting as a courier, etc.).

DO provide close supervision for interns, including the opportunity to shadow a senior employee; a day in the life of the creative director, public relations manager, or graphic designer is a the kind of learning experience that the Department of Labor wants to encourage.

DON’T have more interns than full-time employees working in a single department. If the workload allocated to an intern is that of a full-time employee (or two), then you’re breaking the law.

DO make sure that interns understand that there is no guarantee of a job at the end of the internship.

DON’T rely on the fact that interns receive some benefit in the form of improved work habits while performing repetitive required tasks like clerical work (unless the intern is training to be a clerical worker). In other words, be sure to give more than you get.

Happy and successful interns create a good reputation for the company, and some interns may ultimately be retained as productive and valuable (paid) employees. To show interns that you appreciate their time and energy it’s a great idea to provide stipends to cover expenses whenever possible. An intern shouldn’t have to pay to work. What’s more, working with institutions to provide academic credit to unpaid interns is one way to ensure interns benefit from the internship.

When in doubt, refer to the Department of Labor’s six factors, listed below, to determine whether a worker is a trainee (intern) or an employee for the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In order to legally employ an unpaid intern and comply with labor laws, an internship program must be in full compliance with ALL six factors:

1. Training should mirror that of a vocational program;

2. Training must be for the benefit of interns;

3. Interns should learn from current employees, supplementing their work but never serving as their replacements;

4. The company must not immediately benefit from the work of interns; instead, the employer’s operations may actually be impeded on occasion;

5. The interns are not automatically entitled to a job at the end of the program; and

6. Both the employer and the interns recognize that the interns are not entitled to any wage earnings during their time in the internship program.

In practice, the range of unpaid internships that meet these guidelines is fairly narrow, and walking the fine line between lawful and unlawful can be as difficult as walking the runway in a pair of twelve-inch platforms. Worse yet, a stumble here will cost you more than a bad picture and a bruised ego; the legal costs and public relations fallout from a failed internship program could be disastrous. Rather than fret about it, follow the official guidelines.

Remember, your interns are the creative directors, executives, and general counsels of tomorrow’s fashion industry, so treat them that way. Go ahead and deliberately distress a leather bag or cut a dress down to size, but never do either to an intern.”

Prepared on behalf of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School by Amanda B. Agati, J.D. ’10 and Dean’s Fellow for the Fashion Law Institute; Barbara Kolsun, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Stuart Weitzman; and Professor Susan Scafidi, Academic Director of the Fashion Law Institute.

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yankees game

world cup

alejandro ingelmo

lakers

pretty lights

silly bands

yeasayer

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1. Interns: work hard and don’t complain

Work is the new four-letter word. People want to work in fashion and go to fashion shoots because it looks glamorous. What they don’t realise is that you have to walk around the city, picking up clothes in garment bags and filling out insurance forms. When you get to the photo shoot no one is going to care that you are there, even though you are really pretty and went to a really great school. They are going to say, “Hey, you” 700 times, “Go get me a coffee”, or “Can you make this 15-year-old model who is seven foot taller than you and getting paid $10,000, while you are working for free, feel good?” That’s the reality. If it hurts your feelings, then you’re in the wrong industry.

2. Consistency is key

It’s not enough to just know somebody or have somebody open the door; once the door is open you have to walk through and set up your shop. Consistency is such a simple thing: if you show up somewhere every day and get the job done right, over and over, then things grow. At People’s Revolution, when people are doing a good job, we always make a point to acknowledge it, remember their name and invite them for dinner. But you have to wait, that’s just how it works.

3. Use the internet wisely

Do not Facebook the owner of a fashion agency asking for a job. I’ve said this before and yet people still Facebook me. The messages often contain grammatical errors, they don’t make sense or they are littered with acronyms like LOL. Phrases such as “I have a passion for fashion” or “Fashion is what my life is about” are my pet hates. If you do Facebook the owner, have something interesting to say and use a spell check.

4. Offer up ideas, but know the right moment

Don’t stand next to my desk with an idea and a notepad when I am on a conference call trying to make $100,000. However, I do like it when interns offer up ideas – not every day, but when it’s honest, right and correct.

5. Never lose your excitement

You have to believe in the beauty of fashion, whether it’s the power of colour, structure or line. With fashion, you have to be enamoured by it, never fully understanding it and always wanting to know more.

Olivier Zahm, who founded Purple magazine, is a great visionary in fashion. He’s seen everything, yet if you bring him somewhere cool and he sees something beautiful, he still gets excited. These are the only people in fashion that I want to hang out with.

6. Be the village girl

You don’t have to hail from the big city and be dripping in diamonds to work in fashion. The village girl might not have been the prettiest, the most economically privileged or the smartest girl, but she has a strong work ethic and is often the most frequently looked over. She’s tenacious, kind and intuitive. Through proper cultivation, mentoring or the right environment, it’s “Ding!” and she’s in her game. Don’t underestimate her.

7. Have a neurotic personality

When you work in this industry, you’ll always have the feeling that you are never really finished with a project. There’s always something more that could be done, but it’s also about knowing when to let go. Attention to detail and great organisation skills are useful attributes too.

8. Observe the rest of the world

Fashion takes itself way too seriously and has a sense of exclusivity. No other fields are like that. From rock’n'roll to chess, they don’t care where you’re from, they invite everybody in. They understand that most of the greatest artists, sports stars, musicians and fashion designers came from nothing.

9. Go it alone at the right time

Use your intuition here: if you really feel that you should do it now, then follow your instinct. For me, it was what I needed to do [Cutrone decided at 23 that she wanted to start her own company] but I put myself through a lot of needless trouble. If I could have sat still a little longer, I would have been better off. A lot of stuff can be learned while you’re still in a job and being paid, such as understanding your accounts, learning industry terminology and locating the best contacts.

10. Read my book

If You Have to Cry, Go Outside, on Amazon.”

To view the original article, click here.

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Double band chain ring in oxidized sterling silver with diamonds by Made Her Think. I want to buy two to wear on my middle and index fingers.

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“Get the scoop on how to perfect your networking skills from some of Ed’s most connected cronies. We’ll discuss e-mail etiquette, how to follow up with an editor, how to ask an editor to meet you for coffee and how to walk the fine line between persistent and, well, annoying. Email events@ed2010.com with “Networking 101” in the subject line today to sign up!

Date: Monday, May 17, 2010

Time: 7 P.M.

Location: Midtown Manhattan (we’ll send you the specifics once you’ve been confirmed).

Cost: $25″

Go go go!

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