Dear Sars,

I’m pretty embarrassed to be asking this question, but it’s been on the back of my mind for awhile now.

I think I stink.

Not terribly, I just don’t think I smell particularly nice. I mean, I shower and wear deodorant, it’s just…well, I don’t wear perfume or cologne or body spray or whatever it is that 20-year-old girls are supposed to wear these days. I’d like to remedy this, but I’m not really sure how. I mean, firstly, I don’t know what it is that 20-year-old girls (women, I suppose. Although perhaps you don’t qualify until you know what scent you ought to be wearing) are wearing these days. Secondly, I loathe those strong, old-lady smelling perfumes, but have no idea what other options there are. And thirdly, well, I’m cheap.

So I guess I’m just wondering if you (or your readers) know of any cheap, not-too-strong-smelling…somethings to keep me from stinkiness.

Stinky, picky, AND cheap

Dear Stinky,

First, let’s distinguish between “I stink” and “I don’t wear a scent.”If you bathe regularly and wear deodorant, but you think you actively smell bad in spite of those measures, you need to see a doctor — a GP or an endocrinologist — to see if it’s a medical issue, because spraying a bunch of perfume on yourself to fight the problem will only mask it (and is not that effective in that regard in the second place).

If what you’re saying is that you don’t have a signature scent, that’s different.I used to wear “real” perfume — variations on a theme of Calvin Klein, mostly, and Paloma for a while — but now I wear scents from The Thymes.They’re natural and not aggressive or musky, although if you’re looking for a more typical perfume-y scent, the Ginger Milk spray is nice for that.

You also might try fragrances from Demeter; the company is probably best known for the kooky scents like Funeral Home and Dirt, but their more mainstream scents like Tomato and Sugar Cookie are really nice and not too old-lady.

Readers, what did I miss?We’re looking for scents that aren’t too vampy, good for a first-time perfume user.Email subject line: “fragrance.”

Hi Sars!

I graduated from college last month with a degree in English, though my main fields of of study have been journalism and drinking. This month, I got a job as a copy editor/page designer at my hometown newspaper.It’s only a temp job, but most people start here as temps before being hired full-time.

Anyhoo, my main reason for writing is that I need a dictionary. A grown-up, real-editor’s dictionary that can tell me the correct spelling of “bleu cheese dressing” and “liqueur” like my old dictionary can’t. I’ve been borrowing the dictionary from the desk of the guy next to me, a blind sportswriter who works nights, but people tell me he doesn’t like other people touching his stuff (and probably rightfully so), so I need to suck it up and buy my own. Are there any particular dictionaries that you suggest? What do you use?

Why does a blind reporter even NEED a dictionary?

Dear To Hit You Over The Head With, My Dear,

I don’t know what print-journalism pros use, but I can tell you what’s on my desk in the “used every day” pile: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (also known as “the 11C”); the Garner; the Barnhart dictionary of etymology; Metcalf’s How We Talk; Elster’s Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations; Barrett’s The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English; and a Latin-English dictionary from New College that I’ve had since seventh grade.I also use m-w.com if I’m feeling lazy.

I have a whole other shelf of reference volumes — older editions of Garner, the 9C, the 10C, Norton Anthologies, cultural dictionaries, Pauline Kael and David Thomson out the wazoo — but for spelling, a standard dic should do you fine; you don’t need the OED that comes with a viewing stand.

I was raised by a crossword addict who favored the Webster’s Collegiates, and I like them for the geo and bio listings in the back (which vary from edition to edition), but the readers might have other favorites.Hit it, guys.Email subject line: “dictionary.”

Dear Sars,

I’ll be in New York next week for about 48 hours and am hoping to fit in some shopping. However, New York isn’t exactly well known for favoring the plus-sized shopper. I know not everyone there is a size 2 (heck, my NY distant branch of family sure isn’t), so is there anyplace recommended for the foodie fashionista?

Major brands and labels are all available here in the Midwest, and I’m not really a Dana Buchman kind of girl anyway. I still treasure my Trash & Vaudeville days, and have an extremely casual office so I can get away with fairly edgy styles –- if only Rei Kawakubo made things large enough!

I’ll be staying Midtown, and would love to be able to just walk down the street and find a gem I never knew existed.

Sincerely,
No wonder Rubens’s gals were nude

Dear Little Breezy For That This Time Of Year,

I could give you a great list if you were staying in Brooklyn, but you ain’t, so I’m turning this one over to the readership.

We need boutiques and/or stores unique to New York City, in Manhattan, that carry plus-sized styles.Email subject line: “New York shopping.”

[11/3/06]

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