L.L. Bean Offers

Online shopping can be addictive and convenient, but some may shy away from purchasing items with a couple clicks of the mouse due to the cost of shipping. For L.L. Bean enthusiasts, starting March 25, that will no longer be a problem.

As of Friday March 25, apparel and outdoor gear maker L.L. Bean will permanently extinguish shipping fees for all online orders in response to customer demand. As stated in Business Week, L.L. Bean’s Chief Marketing Officer Steve Fuller said the Maine-based company is adopting the policy because that’s what customers want.

To promote its free shipping deal, the company is wrapping 10 MBTA (Massachusets Bay Transportation Authority) buses in advertisements that will make them look like mail-order packages. Anyone who rides the 10 buses from Monday to Saturday of next week will ride free, according toBoston.com. The MBTA, or the T as it is called in Boston, has twice before offered free subway rides as company promotions, once for ING and another time for Microsoft, but those were only for three-hour periods. L.L. Bean is the first company to focus on the city’s buses, according to Boston.com. The Maine-based company is paying the MBTA $216,000 for the promotion, which is roughly double what the 10 buses would collect from fares in a typical week.

“Boston is a very big market for us,” said Laurie Brooks, L.L. Bean spokeswoman in Boston.com. “We’re going to be running a national TV ad, with 15 second and 30 second spots, but we’re not doing anything fun like this.’’ The T’s busiest bus routes carry about 16,000 riders on an average weekday, with 10 or so vehicles operating on each route. According to reports, a busy bus might generate $1,200 a day in fares.

During the promotion, the inside of the buses will also be covered in advertisements that will resemble the inside of an L.L. Bean package.

Vera Bradley

If there is one thing that we know at Exec Digital, buying her a gift for no reason at all is going to get you some serious brownie points. One guaranteed way to get some love is through an accessory from the new Vera Bradley summer fashion. This fashion brand has been a staple in most women’s lives for decades, and if you’re at all familiar with Vera Bradley’s patterns, then you know she’ll love some of the handbags from Vera Bradley’s new summer fashion.

The fashion brand has taken a cue from New Orleans, French Quarter for inspiration on great handbags that are perfect for any summer wardrobe. The new summer collection video introducing Vera Bradley’s new line of summer fashion accessories was shot in New Orleans and introduces women to four brilliant new colors for the summer 2011 line – English Meadow, Watercolor, Deco Daisy and Viva la Vera. Sophisticated without being too presumptuous, Vera Bradley’s Viva la Vera stands out from the pack with its floral pattern and brilliant hues.

Vera Bradley probably doesn’t need much introduction in your home, especially if you’ve got a stylish woman on your arm. But the brand isn’t all that unfamiliar with your base at Wall Street, either; Vera Bradley Inc.’s stock recently saw unprecedented numbers in its fiscal fourth-quarter results with a reported net income increase per share of 35 cents.

The jump wasn’t that too much of a shock for senior staff, who attributed Vera Bradley’s strong internal structure, great new brand awareness and excellence in fashion to help boost sales. Vera Bradley is already a household name and this Wall Street shock easily helped push them to the top.

So if you’re in the dog house, pick up one of Vera Bradley’s fashionable accessories like a wristlet, small duffel or cosmetic bag to boost the relationship morale. It’s a guarantee she’ll love it.

Should Nose Piercing Be Allowed at School?

For Ariana Iacono, the jewelry she wears in her pierced nose is more than a fashion statement. It’s a symbol of her faith, a belief that modifying and manipulating one’s flesh strengthens the bond between mind, body and soul. Her school, however, says the ring in her nose is nothing more than a violation of the dress code and grounds for suspension.

14-year-old Ariana and her mother, Nikki, are members of the Church of Body Modification. The church’s website, which is not for the squeamish, professes a belief in body modification as “one of the safest and most societal responsible ways to stay spiritually healthy and whole.” They encourage piercings, tattoos, scarification as well as reconstructive and cosmetic surgery as means of controlling and subverting the physical biological development of the body.

And yes, it’s a real church, incorporated as a non-profit entity and tax exempt.

But despite the apparent legitimacy of Ariana’s s faith, administrators at Clayton High School near Raleigh, N.C., have suspended her for refusing to remove her nose ring. Mom Nikki says in doing so, the school is violating it’s own dress code policy, which allows exemptions on religious grounds.

The ACLU has gotten involved and I believe it’s just a matter of time before Nikki’s suspension is dropped. If the school is going to make exceptions to the dress code to accommodate a person’s religious beliefs, then they must make those exceptions for every religion. Even one that seems so far afield from what might be considered mainstream.

But ultimately, I think schools need to get out of the business of telling students how to look and what to wear. Dress codes are often arbitrary and based on little more than the personal preferences of those who created them. Mohawks, blue streaks and nose piercings may not be your cup of tea, but they truly never hurt anyone.