Emily Weisberger

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming… “Oh my god I have nothing to wear!” Sound familiar?  Warmer weather brings more social occasions – but that doesn’t have to mean more stress over your outfit.  With the help of style expert and Tommy Hilfiger PR assistant Sarah Marshall, HC makes dressing for spring flings easy and fun with our 2010 Spring Events Style Guide. 

Graduation

One word for graduation attire: appropriate.  Even though the weather might be warm, and you may be baking in the hot sun for hours, a graduation is not the time to be overly trendy or skimpy when it comes to your clothes—in all likelihood, many of your relatives will be there. Keep the fabric light and very “daytime,” opting for cotton or linen over silk, for example.  And color?  “Don’t be afraid to go for color and play with proportions,” says Marshall, “ I love the idea of a shorter dress with long bell sleeves. It’s conservative, yet playful.”  Since many pictures are taken with graduation gowns on, another great way to make a statement is with your shoes.  Pick a shoe in a bold color or pattern to peek out from under a drab gown.  We love these turquoise ones from DSW – only $40!

CL by Laundry Ionia Stretch Platform Wedge - $39.95 dsw.com 

Catmint Dress - $148 anthropologie.com
 

You may have seen the commercial urging you to be “one less.” And chances are your doctor or gynecologist has asked if you have, or would like to be vaccinated. Both are referring to protecting yourself from Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that according to WebMD, is actually really common - at least 50% of all people who have sex at some time in their lives will get it. However, while some people don't have any symptoms and the HPV infection goes away on its own, certain types can lead to cervical cancer. Fortunately, HPV is 100% preventable when we make smart, informed decisions about our health. Receiving regular pap smears and using protection while having sex are two safe practices recommended by all doctors. However, a fairly new option is Gardasil, a cervical cancer vaccine that protects against four types of human papillomavirus (HPV) – two types that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases and two more types that cause 90% of genital warts cases. Every year, about 12,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 4,000 die from the disease, with college-age women falling in the age range considered most at risk. If you’re feeling a little in the dark about HPV or the vaccine, don’t fret! Consider this Gardasil 101:

Here’s something to chew on: According to the American Obesity Association, approximately 65% of American adults are overweight and 31% are considered obese and at risk for chronic disease. American society has become what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention terms “obesogenic,” or an environment that is focused on increased food intake, unhealthy foods, and lack of exercise. In the World Health Organization’s comprehensive list of the fattest countries around the globe, the U.S. weighs in at a whopping number nine. Not exactly a statistic to be proud of. Sorry, Paris. We don’t all have your metabolism! The fact of the matter is that the U.S. stands out for our culture of unhealthy habits – and although we like to think we know it all when it comes to diet and exercise, it seems that compared to our sisters abroad, we’re working harder on our health with more lackluster results. So are girls in other countries keeping these big health secrets that we don’t know about? We did some research and found these surprisingly easy-to-adopt, healthy habits from abroad: