Mindful Shopping
Read Time : 1 Minutes

School mindfulness programs try to calm ‘storm of stresses’

Kristen S. Sykes

A small group of sixth-graders filtered into socially distanced seats on a recent Wednesday in a classroom at Pleasant Hills Middle School — a room whose very design indicated that this would be a different sort of class.

Overhead, instead of the glare of fluorescent lights, muted colors were backlighting cutouts in the shape of clouds. Floor lamps and decorative lights created a calming effect. In opposite corners of the room, smaller arrangements of seats offered comfortable settings where students could drop in during the day, collect their thoughts and relax.

Various affirmations were posted: “In a world full of doing, doing, doing, it’s important to take a moment to just breathe.” And: “Wherever you go, there you are.”

For some of the students, this was their first in an occasional set of classes in the “Chill Room.” Instructor Shelly Meier calmly greeted them with a brief explanation.


“The main

… Read More
Online Shopping
Read Time : 1 Minutes

Men’s Wearhouse Intros Contactless Tech to Measure Customers: Will More Retailers Follow?

Kristen S. Sykes

Retail, once the mainstay of malls, can’t effectively exist anymore without a web presence. But to be really effective, retail stores should also maintain a brick-and-mortar location or locations. Men’s Wearhouse has embraced this business model with two new types of stores called “next-gen” stores — retail stores that give customers a combination of the online and in-store shopping experience.

Anyone who watches retail (a form of commercial real estate) has seen the rise of the omnichannel customer experience. Take clothes shopping. An example: Customers browse for apparel on their phone or computer, read about the product and its reviews, and order the item for pickup, where they can try it on at a brick-and-mortar store to ensure it’s what they want.

Why the need?

Once people started ordering products online, there was no going back. Some online product ordering works better than others, though. And with

… Read More
Face and Body Spa
Read Time : 1 Minutes

These 21 Cheap Beauty Buys Have Officially Replaced Our Pricey Favorites

Kristen S. Sykes

Constant changes over the past year have brought on many beauty revelations. Suddenly, we’ve all gotten way more comfortable performing at-home manicures, tackling our own hair color, and even performing spa-level facials complete with top-of-the-line treatments and the latest skincare tools. But one major lesson that’s presented itself is that up to this point, many of us have been spending entirely too much money on beauty products. As a beauty editor, that’s a tough pill to swallow since I get so much joy from sampling the most spendy products out there. But on the other hand, that very activity has taught me that a product’s price tag doesn’t always determine its efficacy and that there are tons of products that cost pennies on the dollar and perform just as well.

Team Who What Wear is full of beauty lovers, even on the fashion side, so I

… Read More