Newport Manners & Etiquette: Making Up Made Easier Online + More
Didi Lorillard, GoLocalProv Manners + Etiquette Expert
Newport Manners & Etiquette: Making Up Made Easier Online + More
Making Up
My wife and I find ourselves fighting more and more. Over the children, over money, over house chores, over things grave and small. We talk about counseling, but we both work and can't make the time or financial commitment. What does today's etiquette say about fighting? Are there guidelines for issues like arguing, trust and communicating? H.W., Providence
There is an app for that. No, seriously, if you're not in crisis mode and cannot get to a real-life therapist, apps such as Couple Counseling & Chatting, (and Romantimatic, Embre, and the older Fix a Fight and Love Maps) are out there to help. Counseling & Chatting could well bring a calming balance, an emotionally effective tool, into your life to help you and your partner communicate to ease conflict when it raises it's ugly head. The point is to acknowledge those everyday stressors and bad habits, all of which we seem to take out on our partner, and get back on board to working as a team. When you're not feeling good about your mate, you're probably not feeling good about yourself. Couple Counseling & Chatting even has the option of free texting for professional personal feedback.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIt's still too soon to site studies on the use of relationship software apps, but a recent Pew Research Internet Project found that technology is being used more and more in relationships, and not just for online dating, but for online making up. The apps help to identify the reasons for conflict. The study of 1,428 adults in committed relationships found that the 25 percent who texted their partner when they were together had an easier time calming down anger and communicating their issues. Apparently, 21 percent of those who used the Internet and cellphone admitted to feeling closer to their partner through their digital exchanges. Furthermore, nine percent said they had resolved problems online and through texting that they weren't able to fix talking one on one. ~Didi
Corsages and boutonnieres
I'm attending a 1940s dance with a 58-year-old lady. Should I present a wrist corsage to her? I am 64-years-old. D.L., Brooklyn, NY
You've asked the wrong person. I'm not a fan of corsages. It would be chicer if you wore a red carnation in the lapel buttonhole of your jacket. Often called a boutonniere. A corsage is a sign of affection and the colors would have to go with her dress. The dress would most likely be a prom dress. The safest thing to do when giving a corsage is to include a pin and ribbon, so the woman has the option of wearing it on her wrist or dress. What's more, be sure to give her permission to leave the corsage in a small vase with water as a remembrance upon her return from the dance. ~Didi
Mother-In-Law Dilemma
MY daughter's mother-in-law signs her cards----Love, Mother!!!!!! I am my daughter's only mother and I feel that she is trying to be pushy!!! What should I do and what is proper here? A.H., Fairfax, VA
You're annoyed when your daughter's mother-in-law signs her emails Mother. Tell her how you feel. Just say, "My daughter has one mother, last I checked you're not actually her mother." It is all in the tone of how you say it. Have fun with this and let it be spontaneous, not critical.
My guess is that she comes from a family where all mothers were called 'mother.' There was a Mother Bee, Mother Alice, Mother Didi. Don't take this personally, but this coziness is culturally engrained in many women. All mothers are mothers, but not all daughters are ours. Gently, ask your daughter's MIL to call herself Mother Bee, or whatever second name she choses to use. ~Didi
Boat wedding
My daughter is getting married this July on a boat at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. It's daytime noon till 4. What is the appropriate kind of dress I should be looking for. It's a crowd of about 100 people. A.S., Grosse Pointe, MI
This wedding sounds like great fun. The earlier in the day, the less dressy the attire. Even if the wedding party wear formal attire, you want "Suits & Dresses" for your guests. It's more about the quality of the clothing than the dressiness of the outfit. It will be hot and humid, so tuxedos would be ghastly to wear. I like white dinner jackets, if you're looking for a cooler alternative for the men. Otherwise, let the men wear "Jackets & Ties," that they can always take off.
As the mother-of-the-bride you want to be looking elegant and dignified, as well as cool and collected in a beautiful knee-length summer dress with a lovely hat.
I use the Halsbrook website to illustrate looks for women over forty, take a look at halsbrook.com under 'dresses' for:
Lyn Devon New Betty Stretch Cotton Sheath Dress
Elie Tahari Beverly Printed Silk Dress
Elie Tahari Bernadette Double-Knit Dress
Les Copains Periwinkle Stretch Cotton Dress
Maxmara Simone Cotton-Blend Dress
Armani Collezioni Turquoise Jersey Twist Dress
Maxmara Morris Floral Jacquard Dress
There are a couple of nautical-looking dresses but the MOB needs to be a bit dressier, which is why I love the Maxmara Morris Floral Jacquard Dress best. ~Didi
Do you have a question for Didi? Visit her at NewportManners.com. We can withhold your name and location. Didi researches etiquette and all matters of manners for her book,"Newport Etiquette." Previous weekly GoLocalProv.com columns may be found by typing in Didi Lorillard in the above righthand search.
Great Moments in Alex and Ani History
On the Silver Screen
April 2011
Alex and Ani Hit Silver Screen
Local jewelry makers and retailers Alex and Ani has partnered with ScreenVision Direct, the worldwide leader in cinema advertising, on a project that includes playing a movie trailer advertisement in Rhode Island theaters. It represents a new type of advertising environment for Alex and Ani. Read More
Best Places To Work
May 2011
Alex and Ani Named One of Best Places to Work
The Alex and Ani jewelry company has been named on of “The Best Places to Work in Rhode Island" - recognition of the growth of the company and the culture. Read More
Fastest Growing Companies
August 2011
Alex and Ani Named One of America's Fastest Growing Companies
Leading business publication Inc. Magazine has ranked Designer Carolyn Rafaelian’s Alex and Ani, Inc. number 470 on its annual Inc. 500 list, jumping nearly 800 spots since last year’s ranking of 1,247 on the Inc. 5000. This exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies recognizes Alex and Ani as the only Rhode Island based company to make the 500 list – a prestigious acknowledgment among the nation’s primary independent-minded entrepreneurs. Read More
$1M Donation to Bryant
January 2011
Alex and Ani Donates 1 Million to Bryant University
Alex and Ani, Inc. - named one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing companies for 2011, has donated $1 million to Bryant University. The gift -- $100,000 a year for 10 years – will support the University’s nationally recognized International Business (IB) program. Read More
Biz Person of the Year
March 2012
Alex and Ani's Rafaelian RI Small Businessperson of the Year
Celebrating a substantial history as an established business, growth in the number of employees, innovativeness of products and contributions to the community, the U.S. Small Business Administration has announced Alex and Ani, Inc. Owner, Designer Carolyn Rafaelian, Rhode Island’s Small Business Person of the Year. The announcement means she will compete for the National Small Business Person of the Year. Read More
$1M Donation to RIC
September 2012
Alex and Ani Donates $1M to Rhode Island College
Alex and Ani, LLC has donated $1 million — $100,000 a year over 10 years — to Rhode Island College. In recognition of the donation to the college, the new $17 million Art Center currently under construction building will be named Alex and Ani Hall. Read More
Belcourt Castle
November 2012
Alex and Ani Founder Buys Belcourt Castle
Belcourt Castle has been sold to jewelry designer Carolyn Rafaelian for more than $3 million. The sale by the Tinney Family to the founder of Alex and Ani is the most recent in a series of acqusitions and expansions tied to the Rhode Island-based jewelry company. Read More
Difference Maker
December 2012
Carolyn Rafaelian: 12 Who Made a Difference in RI in 2012
You can go big or go home. Or, if you're Carolyn Rafaelian, you can go big, stay home, and do worlds of good with the great success you're generating as a business. Read More
Buying a Vineyard
December 2012
$8.95 Million Sale of Sakonnet Vineyards To Alex and Ani Final
Lila Delman has announced the sale of Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, listed at $8,950,000, to Alex and Ani, the Cranston-based jewelry company. According to RI’s statewide MLS service, this is the highest sale in Little Compton in the last two years. Melanie Delman, President of Lila Delman, Susana Gustavson and Robin Nicholson, Broker Associates with the company, represented the seller. Read More
The Boss
March 2013
Alex and Ani Designer Rafaelian Appears on “The Boss”
Alex and Ani Designer and Founder Carolyn Rafaelian starred in NECN's "The Boss," on March 11, 2013 at 8pm EST.Giovanni Feroce, Alex and Ani CEO, appeared on NECN's 7am Morning Show with Steve Aveson and Bridget Blythe to promote the episode. Read More
Job Creation
September 2013
Alex and Ani Fuels Economy - Creates Thousands of Jobs in RI
Rhode Island’s economy may be stuck in a low growth gear, but Alex and Ani is developing into one of the bright spots for the Rhode Island economy according to a report by Bryant University’s John H. Chafee Center for International Business and The Center for Global and Regional Economic Studies. The Bryant report found that in 2012, the company directly or indirectly generated nearly 1,100 fulltime jobs in Rhode Island. Read More
Celtics Team Wine
November 2013
Celtics Name Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyard Official Team Wine
The Boston Celtics have named Carolyn's Sakonnet Vineyard as the official team wine, in a partnership announced today between the 17-time World Champions and the domestic, international-award winning wine producer in Rhode Island. Read More
Man of the Year
January 2014
Rhode Island’s Man of the Year: Giovanni Feroce
In 2013, no one man has done more to transform Rhode Island's self-confidence than Giovanni Feroce.
In just four short years, he helped to grow a small Rhode Island jewelry company from just $4 million in sales to over $200 million. No favorite son has spent more time and energy reinvesting in the Ocean State, between rebuilding a manufacturing base, to multiple million dollar donations to colleges in the state, to growing jobs. Read More
New CEO
March 2014
Alex and Ani Appoints Carolyn Rafaelian Interim CEO
Alex and Ani has announced that founder Carolyn Rafaelian has been named Interim CEO of the Cranston-based life-style brand company.
The company, which has grown to be one of the largest employers and manufacturers in Rhode Island, has been on a rocket of good news. Presently featured in a national ad for Bank of America, the Alex and Ani has been featured as a model for innovation, branding, and Made in America manufacturing. Read More
