Ugly Holiday Sweaters

Tis' the season for giving, loving, and appreciating. Tis' also the season for hideous holiday sweaters with ice skating bunny rabits wearing santa hats. So essentially, with the use of these knit, itchy, eye-sores you are 'giving' the gift of laughter to others, 'loving' the fact that you're making people suffer, and 'appreciating' all of it. Here at Internet Brands, we truly enjoy laughing at others, in the nicest way possible of course. So this holiday season, stock up on your ugly holiday sweater essentials and dont hate, appreciate....

While Andy is busy recruiting near the HR fireplace, he wears his disgusting holiday vest to remind us of two things: A) you can always rock the holiday sweater with prints of christmas trees, minoras,  dreidels galore and B) our fireplace doesn't actually work and is made of very nice cardboard.

So come on gang! Get your ugly sweaters together and come enjoy a warm cup of hot co-coa near our very cold fire.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS IB!

Workin in a Winter Wonderland...

Winter weather is slowly sneaking up on us, and the bright colors everyone seemed to be wearing have slowly turned into browns, burgundys, and black. Although most of us are used to warm California weather this gloominess we mistake for "it's FREEZING outside" can be quickly remedied with some nice coats and pants.

Because our office most of the time feels as though penguins could migrate here once a year and never know they left Antarctica, we begin to layer our clothing in sometimes really interesting ways. So...here are a few tips on dressing in the winter time to work...

Most of us are rockin the scarves this time of year, it's a pretty simple look for females, and they look great on men too and keep us all a little more warm this time of year, especially underneath a warm coat. (Pictured below)

Neda, in marketing, sports a brightly colored scarf to bring some life to her all-black outfit.

Catlin adds some fall colors dressing down her outfit.

Can't go wrong with gray.

Stephanie sports a pop of white, bringing back memories of summer. (I made her borrow this and wear it)

Andy replaces his usual tie with a scarf with blue accents. (Andy never really wore ties)

Janet goes traditional with her plaid double button. (There was no bribery involved in the wearing of this outfit)

I spotted Jon Sullivan headed into work. He was shivering and insisted that the only thing that would keep him warm was his snowboarding gear. Poor thing. He thanked me for this blog post. Little did he know he would be in my "what not to wear to work" section.

So remember, when it gets a bit chilly, make sure you have your basics: scarves, coats, and beanies which you can layer on top of almost any summer outfit to transform yourself from a sun-kissed beach fan to a rain craved starving artist.

IB Halloween!

Welcome to the spookiest/funniest Halloween Internet Brands has ever seen!

Here are some snapshots of the fabulous work appropriate/creative costumes some of you fab employees wore today (more to come as the day goes on!):

A soccer star joined us at the office today

So did...Burger King??

Even though Kim Kardashian filed for a divorce this morning, she still managed to join us at the office with her sister, basketball wife, Khloe Kardashian Odom.

A princess, in the flesh....

Recruiter Andy Lucas decided not to dress up today...

A true foodie, Lauren Anderson, dressed up as a Panera Bread employee

The Greek Goddess of reception...

 He just got his teeth cleaned...

office buzzin....

 10th floor madness....

 Andy's weakness...

 Curt dressed as VP of Marketing...

 uh oh...I sense some Burger King competition...

 She just rolled up in her bat-mobile...

 Hellllloooooooo Kitty....

The big big bang....

an LA cowboy....and I don't mean Louisiana....
Happy Halloween IB!

Fancy Fridays and First Impressions: A Penguin Kind of Friday

Fancy Fridays:

Since we have the luxury of dressing casually everyday, some of us in the office got together and decided to try out 'Fancy Friday' - per Jon Atkinson's request. Last week some employees in the office took part in our new 'Fancy Friday' where we dress business casual vs. just casual. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was really excited to dress in their "Friday's best" (suits, ties, heels, etc) and be reminded of why they chose this type of environment.

Here are some snapshots from today's Fancy Friday:

Catlin takes elements of corporate, vest and pumps and tights, and dresses it down with a striped dress. Tres tres chic.

I dug up this dress from my corporate days working at a staffing agency, and man does it feel weird to be wearing it again. Neda found one too!

What does Fancy Friday look like to you??


On another note - the importance of first impressions:

On Tuesday night Chris and I attended the USC MBA Roundtable, one of the many events that recruiters here attend to scout fresh talent. It was a great night of networking and some of the students were pretty great.

Since we all know I'm a strong believer in the importance of managing first impressions, Chris and I dressed in our more "corporate" clothes and hit the scene.

We even won bottles of wine for looking so good....

JK those were given out for free.

The Moustachio Bash-io : Facial Hair in the Office

Hello Colleagues:

Whether you've grown your mustache because you are being rebelious against the social norm and our images of beauty, or simply just like the look, there is no need for us to do a double take because we think we just saw a caveman roaming the office hallway.

Here are a few ground rules (because with great moustache/beard comes great responsibility):

1. Please keep it trimmed, your beard or moustache is not used for saving food for later.
2. Your facial hair should never be so long that you cannot see your skin underneath it.
3. If you can't grow one out fully.....well I suppose it's the thought that counts....
4. If your beard is unexpectedly red, own it. Don't attempt to dye, color, or pretend your beard is anything but ginger. 

5. While the "Soul patch", "Anchor", "Zappa" and many other creative designs work for some people, it just does not work for everyone; Consider handlebars which are always fun!

Facial hair can be okay if you keep it in check with rules mentioned above.

Here are some examples of acceptable facial hair-dos for the office:

He is proud to be working in an environment that is appreciative of his unique style.

He feels great rocking his beard today!

Note how it still has shape, and how he pulls it off.

Note how proud he is to be standing tall with a thick beard.



**No facial hair was trimmed in the process of this blogpost.

Blazers and Cowboy Boots: The New Dotcom Style

Fall is here and it's time to pack up your cute summer dresses and board shorts. This Fall, bring some casual street style to your office. Remember there is no need to look like a homeless lumberjack. Dress up your weekend clothes with a blazer and cowboy boots, and you've got yourself a casually dressed up work look.

A few things to remember:
Cowboy boots and cowboy hats DO NOT work together in Los Angeles....unless it's Halloween.
Ladies, get creative with fun colored blazers, no need to look too corporate.
Men, make sure your blazer is fitted, otherwise, you'll just look like an unsuccessful magician.
Ladies, your cowboy boots SHOULD NOT be tucked under your jeans, this isn't the rodeo.
Men, yours should...

Below are some examples of blazers and cowboy boots done right:
(while we do like to hire people with 'grit', it doesn't mean you need to look like you just walked off the set of "True Grit")

Men, velvet is fine...but NO LIGHT COLORS

Ladies, cotton blazers are so hot right now...

Don't be afraid of a little bit of color, especially if you're wearing them with dark jeans!

Cowboy boots:

Notice how his are tucked under his jeans, and notice how hers are not. You're welcome.

If you're not into the whole "wearing dead animals on your feet" thing, like the lizard skin boots above... consider suede...


haha jk.

Flip Flops: Office 'do' or 'don't'?

Flip Flops at work: a delicate balance of freedom and making sure no one loses their apetite.

I want to dedicate this particular post to flip flops and whether or not they should be worn around the office. A huge selling point for this company is the fact that you can leave your suit and tie and dress shoes behind, and let your toes be free in the "flip flop" dotcom environment.

Well, I will not state my opinion as to whether or not I think flip flops are okay around the office, since many of you do wear them, but I think we can all still be mindful of what circumstances we wear them in
1. Make sure your toes and feet are clean and presentable.
2. Chipped nail polish girls? Cover those babies up, no flip flops today honey.

Also, no one wants to hear you "flop" around the office, so make sure you get some nice ones that do not make that not-so-classy noise.

Below are some examples of flip flops & sandals done right (for gag reflex reasons, we will not be posting examples of them done wrong):

Dress up your toes!

Red is always a reliable toe color...

Sandals are a nice alternative to flip flops....
and for those of you who want to go ALLLL out, heels are the best! (Men, please don't wear heels to work)

If you just couldn't make it to your mani- pedi due to your hectic work schedule, add some tights to the equation

.....

Now, men, it wouldn't kill you to get a mani-pedi too once in a while. If you plan on wearing flip flops to work, make sure your toes are not making us want to vomit.

Below is an example of flip flops done right for men: (many declined to be photographed for the same reasons I am publishing this post)

No one expects you to have your feet all done up, but remember, you're in a work environment. Please only ever attempt to wear Rainbows, or a similar style of flip flop...do not be fooled into thinking you have options.




....if all else fails, you can always go barefoot:

Casual Fridays - Visions of the Weekend

Dressing up for work is always a balance of neutral prints, and a pinch of dull-ness. Well, you can dress up any dull outfit with hints of accessories!

Fashion quote of the day: "A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic." George Bernard Shaw

You can't go wrong with leopard! Today's featured accessory: Betsey Johnson's Leopard Heart Necklace
Spotted: IB 11th Floor

Love the detail!

A man's best accessory: Men don't get to accessorize much, but when it comes to their wrists watches are never out of style, especially around the office. Adding a watch to a button down with jeans will make any outfit look much more professional and put together!
Spotted: 11th Floor

Doesn't have to be anything fancy boys, get your wrist bling ASAP!


(If you would like to be featured in next weeks fashion entry, wear your Friday's best and come see Iris or Samantha on the 11th floor for your very own photoshoot!)