All this iPaddery is well and good, but some fashionistas fear that it projects too harsh an image.

ECONOMIST: High-tech fashion

The media created a harsh and flashy image of Erin as unfit to negotiate during the credit crisis.

FORBES: How Women Executives Who Leave Their Roles Affect the Next Generation of Women Leaders

Miners working the harsh terrain of the Atacama are part of the national self-image in a country that thinks of itself as having snatched prosperity from adversity, whether earthquakes or mining accidents.

ECONOMIST: Chile's mine rescue