Blog: Off the Cuff

Welcome to my blog, taking you behind the curtain of fashion.
-- Michele

JOYEUSES Fêtes: Er, JOLLY Holidays: Gifts From Afar

    Poor us.  We had a ball soaking up Paris and, well, now we're buried in deadlines. So we're...

MICHELE’S PACKING TIPS: Per Your Request

  I won a writing award for a packing story that ran in late great National Geographic Traveler. Here are...

HOLIDAY HEROES: These Gifts Are Saviors

Boy Smells Holiday Candles   By Michele Meyer Beautiful, fragrant, elegant, hip -- you can’t go...

THE PLAYBOY PLAYBOOK: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 9

My Cover Story   LESSON: If you’re a germaphobe, don’t sit on the furniture at a...

SPEAKING OUT OF TURN: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 8

That, sir, is a recording device. LESSON: When you start recording a meeting or have an audience,...

STOP THE PRESSES: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 7

Homecoming royalty are more popular than they appear   LESSON: Rather than let the word "NO!"...

RUNWAY WITH ME: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 6

LESSON: Dream it. Plan it. Do it. Just remember that it takes more than a magic wand to fulfill your...

WORKING 9 TO 9: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 5

THE LESSON: If you're going to do a job, why not do it well? The daughter of a successful retailer, my...

THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 4

Household confidential THE LESSON: “I’m not really a waitress” is one of OPI’s all-time bestselling nail...

BOMBS AWAY, BELFAST: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 3

Sightseeing in Belfast. (My photo). THE LESSON: Never stand next to a man with a gunshot wound in his...

OF COWS AND MEN: Story Behind the Stories, Chapter 2

You talking about us?   THE LESSON: You need to aspire, take action—and ask the right questions—to...

IS THAT A BOMB? Stories Behind The Stories, Chapter 1

  THE LESSON: The chisel that cracks a glass ceiling is made of passion, bravery and excelling in your craft....

JOLLY HOLIDAYS: Our Seventh Annual Beauty Gift Guide Lets You Glide Through

We expect the end of this year to wrap up nicely--thanks to the presentable and delectable presents we've discovered. Here...

IT’S A MYSTERY: A Royal Find and My Other Favorite Mysteries of 2022

Reading is the secret to great writing – that’s my belief and my approach as a journalist. So I read...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: The Grinch Cannot Steal What Matters

By MICHELE MEYER I'm sorry to report that the Grinch--aka supply chain shortages due to the global pandemic--stole most of...

Insta-Truth

As a fearlessly frank fashion writer, I tell it like it is on Instagram at @Michele_Meyer77
XMAS 2020 Orveda Candles-xmass-dark

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: In the Nick of Time Pampering Treats to Give and Receive

  By MICHELE MEYER We all have aromas that evoke joyous holiday memories—for me, cookies cooling on the baking rack,...
Diptyque Advent Calendar

GREAT ESCAPE: Advent Calendars Take You to New Places for the Holidays

  Molton Brown Advent Calendar By MICHELE MEYER   Advent calendars are hard to resist: Who...