Style Guide for Nickel & Suede

By
Updated: March 30, 2020

Nickel & Suede (https://www.nickelandsuede.com/) is a family-owned company based in

Liberty, Missouri, that specializes in lightweight leather earrings and statement accessories.
Kilee Nickels, a fashion blogger and entrepreneur, founded the company in 2014 after she
realized the homemade leather earrings she had created on a whim represented a unique and
potentially life-changing addition to the jewelry industry. Starting with a part-time venture in
their basement, Kilee and her husband, Soren, soon found themselves working full-time to grow
the business as it rapidly expanded from their basement workshop to become a worldwide brand.
The company is committed to providing high-quality products and encouraging women to be
strong and confident.
Nickel & Suede depends on online content to advertise to customers, make sales, and
inspire women all over the world. Because the company markets to women everywhere, its blog,
Instagram posts, and product descriptions must be captivating and understandable to an
international audience. Consequently, this in-house style guide emphasizes standards outlined in
John R. Kohl’s The Global English Style Guide: Writing Clear, Translatable Documentation for
a Global Market (2008, SAS Press: Cary, North Carolina, ISBN 978-1-59994-657-3).
Because Nickel & Suede generally follows the principles outlined in The Chicago
Manual of Style (seventeenth edition), this style guide is not comprehensive. Instead, it outlines
situations in which the company should incorporate principles of global English, depart from
principles in Chicago, or choose between several valid editorial options. This guide also
reinforces principles from Chicago that have been repeatedly violated by writers or editors in the
company. By following the principles in this style guide, Nickel & Suede will be able to create
web content that is consistent and compelling to women everywhere.

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Contents Commented [ST1]: Consider starting this on a new page
to separate it from the introduction.

5 1 Grammar and Usage Commented [ST2]: Since this is Nickel & Suede’s in-house
style guide, the entries should probably start at 1 and count
51.1 Parallelism up like this. It’s not necessary to number them as if they’re
51.2 Passive Vvoice the chapters of Chicago.
51.3 Restrictive and Nnonrestrictive Cclauses
51.4 It is Ssentences
51.5 This, that, these, and those as pronouns
51.6 Placement of Mmodifiers
51.7 Complete Vverbs
1.8 If . . . then statements Formatted: Font: Italic
1.9 Past participles
6 2 Punctuation
62.1 Em dashes
62.2 Fragments
62.3 Spacing between Ssentences
62.4 Serial Ccomma
62.5 Commas with Llocations
2.6 Punctuation and format of email addresses Formatted: Space Before: 0 pt, After: 0 pt
2.7 Colons Formatted: Font: Not Bold, Font color: Black
7 3 Spelling, Distinctive Treatment of Words, and Compounds Formatted: Font color: Black
73.1 Compound modifiers before or after a noun
Formatted: Font: Not Bold, Font color: Black
73.2 Italics
3.3 Product sizes Formatted: Font color: Black

8 4 Names, Terms, and Titles of Works

84.1 Product Nnames
84.2 Names of collections and recurring blog posts
84.3 Blog post titles
4.4 Name Cconsistency
84.45 Titles of Wworks
9 5 Numbers
95.1 Numbers
95.2 Decades
10 6 Abbreviations
106.1 Abbreviations for the company name
106.2 Clipped terms
6.3 Abbreviations of company terms

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5 Grammar and Usage
5.1 Parallelism
Kohl 6.5 highlights that parallelism is not just a stylistic choice; it is also a grammatical choice
that helps facilitate clearer communication. The clearer the writing is, the easier it will be for a
global audience to understand it. To maintain parallelism, repeat the prepositions in the parallel
series, unless all of the elements have the same preposition.
Commented [ST3]: Consider starting this on a new page
so that it’s separated from the table of contents.
Commented [ST4]: You can eliminate wasted space by
deleting these extra paragraph breaks and just expanding
the line spacing of individual elements. It will help keep the
content to the ten-page limit.

The colors of our Autumn Reverie collection highlights the natural hues found during fall
in the Mmidwest: warm browns, rich reds, and simple taupes.

NOT

The colors of our Autumn Reverie collection highlights the natural hues found during fall
in the Mmidwest: browns, rich reds, and taupes.

5.2 Passive Vvoice

Chicago suggests that active voice is stylistically preferred over passive voice, depending on the
desired point of view. According to Kohl 3.6, active voice tends to be less wordy. Also, Global
English suggests that translations are clearer with active voice.
Whether it's trying a big pair of earrings for the first time or starting a business or
chopping off your hair, we believe that being brave builds confidence and changes "I
can't" into "I can!"
Formatted: Font: Italic
Commented [ST5]: Talking about Global English like this
makes it sound like another book that’s being referenced. If
you are using it in the sense of referencing the Global
English book, then it needs to be italicized. If not, it should
be fine to leave as is, but it might be clearer to rephrase all
the instances of Global English being used as a subject.

NOT

Whether it’s a big pair of earrings being tried on for the first time or a business being
started by you or your hair being chopped off, it is believed by us that being brave builds
confidence and changes “I can’t” into “I can!”

5.3 Restrictive and Nnonrestrictive clauses
In order to achieve clarity and consistency, Global English requires that the word that always
accompany restrictive relative clauses, as explained in Kohl 4.4. (See Chicago 5.220 and 6.22.)
In addition to the classic earrings and accessories that are staples in our shop, some our
Nickel & Suede leathers are seasonal and are limited to while supplies last.
Commented [ST6]: It would be best to consistently pick
spacing between paragraphs. Some have an extra line in
between, some don’t. Some have paragraph spaces and
others don’t. Adding paragraph styles and choosing specific
line spacing for each element instead of adding in the hard
returns would help standardize the formatting.
Formatted: Font: Italic

NOT

In addition to the classic earrings and accessories which are staples in our shop, some
our Nickel & Suede leathers are seasonal and are limited to while supplies last.

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5.4 It is Ssentences
To be understood by a global audience, avoid it is when possible. For non-native English
speakers, what it is referring to is often ambiguous. Either reword the sentence or use a clear
subject instead of it is to avoid this problem.

With 2020 right around the corner, that can only mean one thing...it's the holiday season!
Our favorite time of the year (how can you blame us) is coming and we're here for it!

NOT

With 2020 right around the corner, that can only mean one thing...it's the holiday season!
It's our favorite time of the year (how can you blame us) and we're here for it!

5.5 This, that, these, and those as pronouns

Avoid using this, that, these, and those as pronouns. Including the noun with this, that, these, and Formatted: Font: Italic
those makes the sentence clearer. The noun also makes translating sentences on the website and Formatted: Font: Italic
the Instagram page easier because many other languages require pronouns to agree with their
Formatted: Font: Italic
referents in number and gender. Using the noun makes the intended number and gender
unmistakable. (See Kohl 5.2.). Formatted: Font: Italic
Formatted: Font: Italic

Act now—these earrings are selling fast! Formatted: Font: Italic

Formatted: Font: Italic
NOT
Formatted: Font: Italic
Act now—these are selling fast!

5.6 Placement of Mmodifiers

To ensure precision, modifiers should immediately follow the verb they modify, rather than
appearing at the end of the sentence.
Nickel & Suede is constantly working to provide handcrafted leather jewelry.

NOT

Nickel & Suede is working to constantly provide handcrafted leather jewelry.

5.7 Complete Vverbs

In many cases, multiple words can compose a whole verb (for example, in progressive and
perfect constructions). In order to facilitate comprehension of Global English, especially for non-

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native speakers of English, do not insert long interrupters between verb elements. Repeat words
when necessary to avoid leaving stranded verb elements.
Our customers have done the talking and have helped Nickel & Suede grow from a two-
person basement business to a company with a full team of employees.

NOT

Our customers have done the talking and helped Nickel & Suede grow from a two-
person basement business to a company with a full team of employees.

5.8 If... . . . Tthen Sstatements Formatted: Font: Italic

Formatted: Font: Italic
In blog posts and other running texts, sentences beginning with ‘if’ as a conditional word should
include a second part that begins with ‘then.’ As Nickel & Suede widens its consumer base, the
language used on the website should grow to be as clear as possible to non-native speakers of
English or speakers of other English dialects.
If you have a floral print tee with a little pink in the pattern, then these earrings will pair
well with it.

NOT

If you have a floral print tee with a little pink in the pattern, these earrings will pair well
with it.

5.9 Past Participles

In order to make Nickel & Suede more accessible for a global audience, avoid using past
participles to modify nouns. Instead, try inserting ‘that’ or some variation thereof to convert the
participle to a relative clause.

These are the same style of earrings that we sold last spring—and those went fast!

NOT

These are the same style of earrings sold last spring—and those went fast!

6 Punctuation

6.1 Em Ddashes

The em dash can replace commas, colons, and parentheses. Em dashes are especially good at
indicating a break in thought. A hyphen is not equivalent to an em dash and is not sufficient to
indicate breaks in thought, interruptions, or replacements of commas, colons, and parentheses.
(See Chicago 6.85.). Formatted: Font: Italic

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 I've enjoyed styling the Earring of the Month in past Style Files—and I really do love the
Onyx Gem (this month's Earring)—but one of my goals as an influencer, as a business
owner and just as a person is to keep trying new things.

NOT

I've enjoyed styling the Earring of the Month in past Style Files- and I really do love the
Onyx Gem (this month's Earring) but one of my goals as an influencer, as a business
owner and just as a person is to keep trying new things.

Avoid using em dashes to replace periods, as there is variation in this practice across dialects of
English. Using em dashes in place of periods may cause confusion.
We're embracing our cool side by putting an emphasis on a few shades of blue and
purple, while mixing in two new statement pairs AND an update to Champagne
Shimmer. You heard that right!
NOT
We're embracing our cool side by putting an emphasis on a few shades of blue and
purple, while mixing in two new statement pairs AND an update to Champagne
Shimmer—you heard that right!
Commented [ST7]: This could be made into another
section, especially since it’s already separate from the rest
of the section. It doesn’t need to be, but it might help keep
ideas distinct and clear.
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 11 pt, Pattern: Clear
(White)
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 11 pt, Pattern: Clear
(White)
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 11 pt, Pattern: Clear
(White)

6.2 Fragments

Fragments are incomplete thoughts. For the purposes of Nickel and Suede, there are appropriate
places to use fragments: photo and product captions and anywhere that a period is not required.
At Nickel & Suede we are all about inspiring women to be brave, to try new things, to be
bold and to step out of their comfort zone.

NOT

At Nickel & Suede we are all about inspiring women to be brave and try new things. To
be bold. To step out of their comfort zone.

6.3 Spacing between Ssentences

In order to maintain consistency in formatting, always use a single space (rather than a double
space) between sentences. (See Chicago 2.9.) Formatted: Font: Italic

We’ve been designing and making fashion-forward, handcrafted leather jewelry since
2013. Shop our lightweight leather accessories, and discover why our customers
describe our earrings as life changing.

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 NOT

We’ve been designing and making fashion-forward, handcrafted leather jewelry since
2013. Shop our lightweight leather accessories, and discover why our customers
describe our earrings as life changing.

6.4 Serial Ccomma

In a list of more than two items, the optional comma preceding the and is called the serial
comma. Always use the serial comma to avoid confusion and to prevent possible misreading.
(See Chicago 6.18.) Formatted: Font: Italic

We’ve grown to provide our customers with an expanded selection of everyday

statement pieces including earrings, cuffs, chokers, and more.

NOT

We’ve grown to provide our customers with an expanded selection of everyday

statement pieces including earrings, cuffs, chokers and more.

6.5 Commas with Llocations

In running text, it is unnecessary to use a comma after both the city and state (or country) in a
city + state (or country) construction. (Compare to Chicago 6.46.) Formatted: Font: Italic

The Nickels are raising five boys in Liberty, Missouri and continue to be an integral part
of the brand’s progression.

NOT

The Nickels are raising five boys in Liberty, Missouri, and continue to be an integral part
of the brand’s progression.

6.6 Punctuation and Fformat of Eemail Aaddresses

When including the email address of the company in running text, follow traditional punctuation
rules around it. Avoid placing the email address in bold or italics.
All requests must be emailed to info@nickelandsuede.com.

NOT

All requests must be emailed to (info@nickelandsuede.com).

6.7 Colons

In order to ease communication across the globe, avoid using colons to introduce multiple
possibilities of a product.

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 We thought of two ways to best wear this print, so here they are—first, with other solids
and second, with other prints!

NOT

We thought of two ways to best wear this print, so here they are: first, with other solids
and second, with other prints!

7 Spelling, Distinctive Treatment of Words, and Compounds

7.1 Compound modifiers before or after a noun

When using a compound modifier to describe a noun, use a hyphen if it comes before the noun.
If it comes after the noun, or if the compound consists of an adverb ending in -ly and an
adjective, a hyphen is not necessary. (See Chicago 7.85.). Formatted: Font: Italic

This special edition of our hand-embossed Nouveau leather earrings is available today
only.

NOT

This special edition of our hand embossed Nouveau leather earrings is available today
only.

7.2 Italics
Instead of using italics for emphasis, when possible, attach a link. Examples of this include
product reference. The purpose of this website is to be clear and navigable for a global audience.

Pair our Afterglow Leather Earrings with a glitzy dress and simple heels to complete
the perfect outfit for any event.

NOT

Pair our Afterglow Leather Earrings with a glitzy dress and simple heels to complete
the perfect outfit for any event.

7.3 Product Ssizes

When the size of a product is referred to in running text, it should always be spelled out and
completely lowercase.

Most of our customers prefer size medium, and we tell everyone who asks to start
there.

NOT

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 Most of our customers prefer size Medium, and we tell everyone who asks to start
there

8 Names, Terms, and Titles of Works

8.1 Product names

Product names should be capitalized when referred to in the blog or on Instagram. This enhances
clarity by clarifying that the name references a specific product that can be found in the online
shop. This principle also applies to the names of special types of products such as Earring of the
Month.

And with a gold post, these earrings look stunning with our Gold Leaf Wide Leather Cuff.

NOT

And with a gold post, these earrings look stunning with our gold leaf wide leather cuff.

8.2 Names of collections and recurring blog posts

When a collection or a recurring type of blog post is referenced in company content, it should be
capitalized to point out that it is the title of a specific collection or that it is a type of post found
elsewhere on the website.

This month's Style Files may look a little different.

Our Autumn Reverie Collection celebrates the simple beauty of the fall season.

NOT

This month's style files may look a little different.

Our autumn reverie collection celebrates the simple beauty of the fall season.

8.3 Blog Ppost Ttitles

When entries are posted in the company blog, the first letter of each word in the title should be Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt,
capitalized. Note that this is not headline style, as Chicago recommends. Pattern: Clear
Formatted: Space After: 0 pt
Say Hello To The New Collection

NOT

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 Say Hello to the New Collection

8.4 Name Cconsistency

At Nickel & Suede, italicising italicizing the name is unnecessary. It should be roman, matching
the style of the running text it is within. (See Chicago 10.1 for abbreviations.)
At Nickel & Suede, we’re all about encouraging women to be confident and experiment
with style.
Commented [ST8]: I changed this reference to keep the
style consistent. It would probably be best to insert them
into each section the same way each time if possible.
Formatted: Font: Italic

NOT

At Nickel & Suede, we’re all about encouraging women to be confident and experiment
with style.

8.5 Titles of works

Capitalize the titles of longer works (such as books, plays, musicals, and movies). Titles of
shorter works (such as songs and poems) should be enclosed in quotation marks. (See Chicago Formatted: Font: Italic
8.156–8.201.).

How beautiful is Jen in this Grease-inspired costume!

NOT

How beautiful is Jen in this “Grease”-inspired costume!

9 Numbers
9.1 Numbers
Except when referring to the quantity of products available or the karat of gold, adhere to
Chicago’s general rule: spell out whole numbers from zero through one hundred. (See Chicago Formatted: Font: Italic
9.2.). Formatted: Font: Italic

With three unique gems arranged in a small group, these cute earrings are unlike any
other stud.

NOT

With 3 unique gems arranged in a small group, these cute earrings are unlike any other
stud.

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9.2 Decades

When referring to decades of inspiration that are within the 1900s, replace the 19 with an
apostrophe.

The geometric patterns and metallic hues of our Nouveau Teardrop earrings are straight
from the Roaring ’20s and are ideal for both a formal affair or a night out with your girls.

NOT

The geometric patterns and metallic hues of our Nouveau Teardrop earrings are straight
from the Roaring 1920s and are ideal for both a formal affair or a night out with your
girls.

10 Abbreviations

10.1 Abbreviations for the company name

Nickel & Suede may be abbreviated as N&S in running text. There should not be spaces or
periods after the letters or after the ampersand.

We used some of the N&S Team to showcase these spooktacular styles.

NOT

We used some of the N. & S. Team to showcase these spooktacular styles.

10.2 Clipped terms

When the full form of a word is reduced to a shortened form without a period, a clipped term is
created. Clipped terms include words such as app (application), quote (quotation), and stats
(statistics). Such terms can be confusing to non-native speakers of English. Eliminate clipped
terms and replace them with the full form. (Ssee Kohl 9.13.).

Tag your girlfriends who need some vacation ready colors!

NOT

Tag your girlfriends who need some vacay ready colors!

10.3 Abbreviations of Ccompany Tterms Formatted: Space After: 0 pt

In blog posts and Iinstagram captions, certain company terms may be repeated several times. In
these cases, it is appropriate to abbreviate the term by including the first letter of each word, and

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following the capitalization style of the term when spelled out. However, each term must be
spelled out at least once in the post.
We’re making May a little sweeter by making one of our favorite pastels for spring this
month’s Earring of the Month...she styles the EotM for spring and summer.
NOT
We’re making May a little sweeter by making one of our favorite pastels for spring this
month’s EOTM...she styles the EOTM for spring and summer.

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