Writing Three Inch Heel the past 2.5 years has been an incredible journey. It started before blogs were mainstream and when I was a young country girl starting out in the big city. I’ve decided to end this project and redirect my energy to other inspiring pursuits. I still believe very strongly that young professional women need a forum to talk about work, life, love and how to manage it all. Even more so, I believe that we as women need to be each other’s champions and value the unique fire in each of us.

You have been loyal, gentile, and encouraging and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am working on a new project. The link and information will be posted here shortly.

Live inspired. Love fiercely. Be glamorous.

Always,

Nell Ferragamo aka Nelly Arnold

Enjoy and live inspired.

Not diamonds, but heels are a girl’s best friend.
William Rossi, Footwear Expert

A pair of new shoes might not cure a broken heart or soothe a tension headache, but they will relieve the symptoms.
Holly Brubach, Fashion Critic

High heels are pride and privilege, the passkey to decadence.
Karen Heller, Journalist

Shoes, like buildings, have a mysterious chemistry of proportion.
Suzanne Slesin, Journalist

A cause may be inconvenient, but it’s magnificent. It’s like champagne or high heels, and one must be prepared to suffer for it.
Arnold Bennett

You may not be able to wear your favorite pair of pants if you gain a few pounds, but you can always wear your favorite pair of shoes. 
Sara Vass, Shoe Collector

To be carried by shoes, winged by them. To wear dreams on one’s feet is to begin to give reality to one’s dreams. 
Roger Vivier

You put high heels on and you change.
Monolo Blahnik

The history of footwear is one of endless conceits and fantasies.
Colin McDowell, Fashion Writer

If you want to fall in love with a shoe, go ahead. There are so many nice looking ones.
Allan Sherman, Musician

I look at stilettos more as an attitude as opposed to a high-heeled shoe.
Lita Ford, Rock Singer

The fact is, sometimes it’s really hard to walk in a single woman’s shoes. That’s why we need really special ones now and then to make the walk a little more fun.
-Carrie Bradshaw

Nothing has been invented yet that will do a better hob than heels at making a good pair of legs look great, or great ones look fabulous. 
Stuart Weitzman

As young women, we must look to those females before us for inspiration and wisdom. This is not a new concept, but as young people we sometimes forget to listen. As JK Rowling describes at Harvard Commencement, young people are on the brink of “real life” and are so afraid of failure. But it is the failure and our imagination that save us from ourselves and from what we think we want. Enjoy and live inspired.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

In all of this boldness, sometimes I forget the little moments. The times when I needed that extra push or a pick-me-up and an unexplainable gift came along.  Here’s my favorite from November 2002.

It was early fall in Missoula, the University was buzzing with hippies folfing and me, so homesick. I missed the familiar torture of high school and my freshman year wasn’t going as planned. I didnt rule the school yet. More than that, I wasnt sure if I was making any of the right decisions in my life. Normal college freshman doldrums.

One veeerrrry cold late afternoon, a couple of days before my birthday, I decided to take a walk over the foot bridge and get an early celebratory pint of ice cream, cookie dough to be exact. I was wallowing. Being totally dramatic and completely depressed. Just sad.

As I walked across the bridge, a homeless man was coming toward me, casually, but directly enough to where I was a bit alarmed. Montana homeless are pretty chill, but you never know. He got about 3 feet away from me stopped and looked me in the eye. I thought he was going to ask for money and I was getting a little flustered. He said, “Excuse me miss, do you have a smile?” Smiled at me, then kept walking.

This is totally for real. I’m not making this up. I’ve had a few of these moments. I call them unexplainable gifts. I’m not sure if it’s karma, divine intervention or kismet and I dont really care. I’m just in love with the idea that I am warm enough to see, feel and appreciate these gifts when they come along.

I had a bit of an unexplainable gift today. Nothing major. As many of you know Sephora is my favorite store, so I went in for a little Birthday treat. I’ve been feeling a little blue (aka freaked out) that I am now on the late side of my 20s, with 30 around the corner. After browsing with nothing to show for it, I lingered around Nars. Picking up a soft touch shadow and trying it on. Loving it with confidence like spreading peacock feathers. The name of the color? “Skorpios.” Well, I’m a Scorpio. Perfect.

Watch for these unexplainable gifts. They bring smiles and a glow that only comes from a beautiful inside.

Cheers to all the Scorpios out there.

-Nell

Art – This is my love. Always has. I visit my favorite painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art almost every month. Pick something you can visit often that gives you inspiration. It feels like a second home. Museum directory.

Schedule Every Minute – This gets intense, but for the busy-but-I-wish-it-was-a-lazy-day, I schedule tasks every 15 minutes depending on the ‘to-dos’ and stick to it. I type out the day using colors and fun fonts and even a picture or two. It actually makes me want to keep it on my desk. Schedule breaks, lunch, social time, clean up, etc.

Dance! Whether cranking up your boombox and rockin’ out in the living room or finding that cheesy 80s night, this always works for me.

Rearrange – Everything has at least two potential spots. Try them! My sis sees everything so differently than I do, so periodically she comes over and we move all my furniture, switch rooms, throw things away. It works for your desk too. Move your computer, rearrange files, freshen up. (You need to Lysol that stapler anyway.)

Be Free – Allow yourself to LOVE it’s Friday. Free your plans for tonight (and the obligation to go to happy hour) and do what YOU want to do. Read at a coffee place? Window shop? Pint of ice cream and a sappy movie (PS I Love You is my latest)? Allow yourself the freedom to be unconfined and unplanned.

Happy Friday Ladies.

-Nell

phenomenal professional outfits that young women wear to the office. All styles, all types to inspire.

Courtesy of The Sartorialist

How are you keeping young and fresh while still exuding professionalism and confidence? I want to know. Email me your name, photo of outfit and website (if applicable) at threeinchheel (at) gmail (dot) com.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

From what I hear, the fear of having nothing that you need is the main culprit to this satchel dilemma. I’m thinking we women are extremely intelligent and there is no reason we can’t figure this one out. Here’s what I do.

1. COMPARTMENTALIZE! Mini cosmetic bags are your BFF. I recently got my sis the sweetest little marc jacobs mini case for her new purse to introduce her to the world compartmentalizing. Basically, I carry three – one for makeup; one for medications, creams, etc; and one for supplies like mini sharpies and a swiss army knife. Go wild! The funkier they are in comparison to each other, the better. You can tell them apart. I like these…

Target’s 4-In-1 Cosmetic Bags

MARC JACOBS 'Pretty' Pouch

Bloomingdale's Little Brown Cosmetic Case

2. GO MINI! Ok, what is going in your cute little cases now? Only your essentials. You don’t need to carry around your whole makeup routine or stationary ladies. For cosmetics, take note in your morning ritual what you use most. I’m all about mascara, hairspray and rosebud salve, so I have mini versions in my purse. I also am a perfume fiend. Mini one of those. Everyone is different, but an essential everyone should have: hand sanitizer. I like these minis…

Colgate Wisp

Sephora Beauty Minis

Bag Balm 1oz

Sharpie Mini

3. SWITCHAROO! Now all you have to do is keep your chaos contained in your cosmetic bags and make sure you have your wallet and phone when you switch. Anything else goes in the trash and loose change, in a jar to fund a new purse purchase.

Good luck!

-Nell

Nell

Article by Michael J. Silverstein and Kate Sayre from the Harvard Business Review.

As a market, women represent a bigger opportunity than China and India combined. So why are companies doing such a poor job of serving them?

Women now drive the world economy.

Globally, they control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years. Their $13 trillion in total yearly earnings could reach $18 trillion in the same period. In aggregate, women represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined—more than twice as big, in fact. Given those numbers, it would be foolish to ignore or underestimate the female consumer. And yet many companies do just that, even ones that are confident they have a winning strategy when it comes to women.

Consider Dell’s short-lived effort to market laptops specifically to women. The company fell into the classic “make it pink” mind-set with the May 2009 launch of its Della website. The site emphasized colors, computer accessories, and tips for counting calories and finding recipes. It created an uproar among women, who described it as “slick but disconcerting” and “condescending.” The blogosphere reacted quickly to the company’s “very special site for women.” Austin Modine of the online tech publication The Registerresponded acidly, “If you thought computer shopping was a gender-neutral affair, then you’ve obviously been struck down by an acute case of female hysteria. (Nine out of ten Victorian-age doctors agree.)” The New York Times said that Dell had to go to the “school of marketing hard knocks.” Within weeks of the launch, the company altered the site’s name and focus. “You spoke, we listened,” Dell told users. Kudos to Dell for correcting course promptly, but why didn’t its marketers catch the potentially awkward positioning before the launch?

Most companies have much to learn about selling to women. In 2008 the Boston Consulting Group fielded a comprehensive study of how women felt about their work and their lives, and how they were being served by businesses. It turned out there was lots of room for improvement. More than 12,000 women, from more than 40 geographies and a variety of income levels and walks of life, responded to our survey. They answered—often with disarming candor—120 questions about their education and finances, homes and possessions, jobs and careers, activities and interests, relationships, and hopes and fears, along with their shopping behavior and spending patterns in some three dozen categories of goods and services. (You can learn more about the survey and take an abridged version of it at www.womenspeakworldwide.com.) We also conducted hundreds of interviews and studied women working in 50 organizations in 13 fields of endeavor.

Here’s what we found, in brief: Women feel vastly underserved. Despite the remarkable strides in market power and social position that they have made in the past century, they still appear to be undervalued in the marketplace and underestimated in the workplace. They have too many demands on their time and constantly juggle conflicting priorities—work, home, and family. Few companies have responded to their need for time-saving solutions or for products and services designed specifically for them.

It’s still tough for women to find a pair of pants, buy a healthful meal, get financial advice without feeling patronized, or make the time to stay in shape. Although women control spending in most categories of consumer goods, too many businesses behave as if they had no say over purchasing decisions. Companies continue to offer them poorly conceived products and services and outdated marketing narratives that promote female stereotypes. Look at the automotive industry. Cars are designed for speed—not utility, which is what really matters to women. No SUV is built to accommodate a mother who needs to load two small children into it. Or consider a recent ad for Bounty paper towels, in which a husband and son stand by watching a spill cross the room, until Mom comes along and cheerfully cleans up the mess.

Meanwhile, women are increasingly gaining influence in the work world. As we write, the number of working women in the United States is about to surpass the number of working men. Three-quarters of the people who have lost jobs in the current recession are men. To be fair, women are still paid less, on average, than men, and are more likely to work part-time—factors that have helped insulate them somewhat from the crisis. Nevertheless, we believe that as this recession abates, women not only will represent one of the largest market opportunities in our lifetimes but also will be an important force in spurring a recovery and generating new prosperity.

Copyright © 2009 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. Original Link: http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/09/the-female-economy/ar/1

1. Input your address.
2. Input your client/friend’s address.
3. Choose the category ie coffee, pizza, shopping, etc.
4. Through google maps, choose the place that sounds good for you.

So simple, yet soooo useful. Hopefully, this makes clients meetings a little easier for the girl on the go. Find it in the links on the right side under “business” or “young professional.”

Happy Networking.
Nell