It may be minus degrees in the UK this week as the 'Beast from the East' takes hold, but a new launch from NARS has transported us to warmer climes and got us excited about glowing, bronzed skin and luminous springtime highlighters. NARS has unveiled a six-product range of highlighting powders, launching at the beginning of April, featuring "Seamless Glow Technology". The innovative formula combines microspherical powders and pearls that reflect light and blend seamlessly into skin to enhance your natural glow. The silky, lightweight texture provides easy application for buildable radiance that goes from delicately lit to full-on strobing.
While the past few years have seen a surge in hyper pigmented highlighters that can be seen from outer space – Huda Beauty and Fenty's Killawatt Freestyle Trophy Wife Highlighter, we're looking at you – these products see a return to a more natural complexion. With a non-glittery formula, these naturally enhancing powders have a more subtle, pearly glow.
The range of compacts cater for a variety of skin tones, from the palest alabaster to much darker complexions. Named for the most part after desirable travel destinations, 'Albatross' offers an opalescent gold shade, 'Fort de France' provides a champagne shade, 'Capri' is a crushed pink pearl powder, 'Ibiza' offers a sun-kissed yellow gold shade, 'Maldives' is a deeper rose bronze and 'St. Barths' provides a lit-from-within warm bronze.
If you're a fan of NARS' cult cheek products, from the bestselling Laguna bronzer to the iconic Orgasm blush and luminous liquid Copacabana product, these new highlighters will be a welcome addition to your makeup bag, to add a gorgeous glow to your skin for spring. Just be sure to set aside some money for the NARS x Erdem collection too, which drops a fortnight later on 15th April.
The NARS highlighting powder collection, £28 each, will be available nationwide from 1st April 2018.
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Welcome toMoney Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. This week, in partnership with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), we're looking at the contentious issue of home buying.
FSCS is a free servicewhich automatically protects your money, from £1 up to £85,000, in UK banks, building societies and credit unions. They also have loads of helpful money tips and guides, including afuture savings calculator, to help you find out how much money you could save (now and for your future!). Whatever you’re saving for, your money is safe with FSCS.
As everyone knows, we're in the middle of a housing crisis. Millennials are finding it harder than ever to get their feet on the property ladder. Many are struggling to save for a deposit, an increasing number are turning to their parents for help while the rest of us are losing huge amounts of money in exorbitant rent each month.
We decided to profile several different women who went about purchasing their house in different ways. This week, we're with a woman who purchased a shared-ownership house in Milton Keynes just after her 30th birthday. She saved much of the deposit herself and the rest was a gift from family that had been earmarked for her wedding which, in the end, didn't happen.
Age: 31 – I bought the house just after my 30th birthday. Job: Personal Assistant Salary: £25,500 House location and why? Milton Keynes – I was born here, my immediate family all still live here, I work in town and everyone I know is within a 10-minute drive, so I've never wanted to live elsewhere (although house prices are definitely cheaper in other towns!). House type: Two-bedroom terraced house with a small garden, no garage but two allocated parking spots. Mortgage type: Shared ownership – I own 40% of the house. Did you buy this house by yourself or with a partner/friend? I bought by myself. Why did you decide to buy the house? I had moved back in with my parents after a break-up and wanted to get back on my feet (it feels odd to be 30 and dating when your mum is still washing your socks for you), and I didn't want to keep throwing money at rental places. Plus, I liked the idea of being able to paint the walls and hang pictures in my home without having to ask permission from someone else.
Deposit: £16,500
How much was your deposit and where did it come from? My deposit was £10,000. On top of this, because my house is shared ownership, I paid a £6,500 premium, which is an extra cost paid directly to the previous owners for improvements made, like a new boiler and double glazed windows. It sounds like a lot but in my area, finding a decent home with a premium of less than £10,000 is pretty rare! Of the £16,500, I saved about a third of it myself (I also paid all my fees and legal costs), and the rest was a gift from my parents and grandparents, which was originally earmarked for a wedding that didn't happen.
How long had you been saving for and how did you manage to save? I lived at home with my parents for a year so I could save. I couldn't have put as much away while renting, and I was lucky that my parents only asked me to contribute a small amount each month to the increased bills and food costs of me living with them, which meant my outgoings were mostly for my car, my phone and my cat, who also moved home with me.
Mortgage: £225
Mortgage advisor fee: £0 – I had a consultation with a mortgage advisor but then applied for one myself online. Mortgage booking fee: £0 Mortgage arrangement fee: £0 – the mortgage I picked didn't include an arrangement fee. Mortgage valuation fee: £225
Stamp duty: Wasn't applicable. Valuation fee: £0 – I just had the mortgage valuation as above. Surveyor’s fee: £195 – I went for a slightly more detailed survey just in case, but it didn't turn up any problems. Legal fees: £570 – I used an online conveyancing solicitor to keep costs down. Electronic transfer fee: £54 Estate agent's fee: Not applicable for me.
Post-Buying Costs: £3,900
Moving costs: None! I had practically no furniture of my own except my bed, which my dad dismantled and drove over in his car. All my other possessions were books and clothes, which I piled into boxes and bags and moved over in stages. The last thing I moved in was my cat.
Work done on the house before moving in: As I was moving from my parents' house and in no rush, I was able to take a month once I got the keys to decorate the house and do some work to it. I tiled the kitchen floor with laminate tiles from B&Q (less than £100 total and I have some left over in case any need replacing). My family helped me paint the entire house – living room, kitchen, landing, spare room and bedroom (around £70, I bought off-brand paint). I had the carpets on the stairs, landing and two bedrooms replaced (around £400 including fitting). I picked a nice carpet for the bedroom, and a much cheaper one for the spare room, since I'll spend way less time in there. I also got the fusebox replaced, which was another £400, but worth doing – the electrician discovered my electric shower was wired up to my cooker (!) and corrected it for me.
Work done on the house after moving in: The biggest job that I had done after I moved in was the bathroom. The suite was old and a sort of yellowy cream colour (plus the inside of the loo was brown with limescale that just wouldn't shift) and I wanted to get the whole thing ripped out and replaced, but it would have been a huge expense right after moving and I wanted to put some more money aside for it instead of using the last of what I had. It ended up costing about £2,000 including appliances and fitting – I got a basic white suite, plain tiles, and painted the other walls myself.
Items bought for the house after moving in: I only had the bed previously mentioned to my name, so I furnished the entire house from scratch. I got some stuff secondhand; my Next dining table and chairs came from Facebook Marketplace (£150) and my fridge from Gumtree (£50). I bought my washer-dryer new from Argos (£290), and I got my sofa and armchair (£440) from Tesco Online – they look just like a DFS set that I liked, but were a third of the cost. I also got things like bookshelves, a TV cabinet and almost everything in my kitchen from Ikea, except my saucepans, which were hand-me-downs from my mum.
Ongoing Costs: £850
Insurance: I pay for my home and contents insurance once a year, and it's about £110 all-in.
Mail redirection: I didn't worry about this since I was moving from my parents' house which is a five-minute drive away, so I could just pop round to theirs and get any mail that didn't make it.
Council tax: £130
Bills: My mortgage is £354, my rent is £153. I pay £39 a month for gas and electric, £30 for my internet (I don't bother with a landline but I still have to pay for one), £21 for water, and £13 for my TV licence, although I'm considering getting rid of this – all I watch is Netflix.
Any additional costs? No, except for slowly adding to the furniture and general decor over the last year. I was in a great position as a first-time buyer, with no strings or a chain to worry about. I'm not looking forward to having to do it all differently if I ever want to move – the costs involved in selling as well as buying don't sound fun – but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
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The 'Beast from the East' sure is making the country look pretty – as the many, many photos and videos on social media attest, but it's also causing a fair bit of disruption, with schools closed, trains delayed and flights cancelled.
The UK is going through what is predicted to be the coldest week in half a decade, with the mercury dropping to as low as -11.7C in South Farnborough, Hampshire last night. We haven't even seen the worst of it either, with storm 'Emma' forecast to hit tomorrow, bringing with it freezing rain, even more snow and a temperature of -15C in parts of the country.
In spite of all the warnings and inconvenience, people kept calm and carried on in typical British fashion. Plus, it's been a good excuse to don our snow boots.
The reaction was widely recognised as disproportionate in many parts of the country, as it is every year. 'Snowverreacting' has become a national tradition.
I like to think that somewhere in a bar near Fairbanks, Alaska, people are passing an iPad around and laughing at #Snowmageddon until beer comes out of their noses.
Other responses were enough to warm the cockles of our hearts – and we'll take all the warmth we can get right now.
At the Embassy we are prepared for this weather wearing the double layer of wool Norwegian grandmothers taught us. Keep safe and warm, British friends ! #Snowmageddonpic.twitter.com/XHDjQzVWGA
Just spoken to my mum on Teesside: "Are you OK?" I asked. "Yes, I've cleared my path and delivered the papers to the old people down the street." She's 86. #BeastFromTheEast
Thank you to our nurses who travelled in the snow last night so they could provide care, and to every nurse working in the community. This photo was shared by our Rapid Response Team in London #LondonSnowpic.twitter.com/BrUju0kitk
Many people harbour dreams of owning a flat or entire property of their own, but in the current housing market it can seem like a futile aspiration for all except the richest. Most of us are partnering up with friends, significant others and even strangers to get a leg up on the housing ladder.
However, new research suggests that if you're prepared to buy outside the biggest cities, it is still possible to fulfil your Virginia Woolf A Room Of One's Own dream. Zoopla has ranked the most affordable locations for single buyers in England and Wales based on the price of one-bedroom flats – and there's a good chance you won't have heard of the market town that tops the list.
Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, West Midlands, is the cheapest location for solo buyers, with average monthly mortgage payments equating to just 10.84% of the area's median monthly wage – three times less than the average for England and Wales (35.14%). Only 10% of your wages needed for a place of your own? Its population of just under 130,000 could be about to get a lot larger.
Most of the other affordable areas are found in the north of England, with the seaside borough of North Tyneside ranked as the second most affordable. Single buyers here only need to sacrifice 10.92% of their monthly wage on their mortgage, closely followed by those in Yorkshire’s Bradford (11.79%), Kirklees (12.34%) and Blackpool (12.48%) in Lancashire.
The south of England is home to the least affordable properties for single buyers. It's probably not worth flat-hunting in Cambridge, a popular commuter city with a notorious housing crisis, as a singleton. You'd have to devote more than a third of your wage to the monthly mortgage repayments (36.14%).
Nearby Hertsmere in Hertfordshire isn't much more affordable, with monthly mortgage repayments at 35.85% of the monthly median wage, followed by the more southerly Brighton and Hove (35.56%), Bath and North East Somerset (35.14%) and Slough (33.69%).
In regional terms, the best bet for an affordable property as a solo buyer is the northeast of England, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands, while the east and southeast of England are pricy. And London is obviously even more expensive, with single buyers needing to be prepared to sacrifice more than half (57.35%) their monthly wage to live alone in the capital.
There is, however, huge variation between the London boroughs, so if you have a high enough salary it may not be completely out of the question to buy alone in the Big Smoke. Single buyers in Bexley would need to allocate 28.99% of their monthly earnings to live there, followed by the similarly 'affordable' Havering (29.52%) and Redbridge (30.73%).
It goes without saying that most single buyers would need to give Kensington and Chelsea a wide berth. A mortgage on a one-bed flat in the royal borough would require most of the average monthly wage (82.44%), and Westminster (82.12%) isn't much cheaper, followed by Hammersmith and Fulham (68.48%).
The top 10 cheapest local authority areas for single buyers
1. Newcastle-under-Lyme 2. North Tyneside 3. Bradford 4. Kirklees 5. Blackpool 6. East Riding of Yorkshire 7. Wakefield 8. Derby 9. Wirral 10. Sandwell
The top 10 most expensive local authority areas for single buyers (outside London)
1. Cambridge 2. Hertsmere 3. Brighton and Hove 4. Bath and North East Somerset 5. Slough 6. Epsom and Ewell 7. Spelthorne 8. Epping Forest 9. Oxford 10. Windsor and Maidenhead
When The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story first aired, I immediately started comparing the famous cast to the infamous people of interest they were playing, because I had some working knowledge of the real-life events. When American Crime Story: Versace first aired, I thought, “Wait, why is Darren Criss so scary?” and “Is this one even based on real life?”
It could be that I grew up in L.A. and not Miami, or maybe my parents didn’t want to tell a 6-year-old me that the FBI was looking for a charismatic young man who killed at least five people, but I didn’t know squat about this crime until I started watching. I’d venture that many people will be entering this season with a similar ignorance, and that makes this season darkly exciting to watch, and has inspired me to do a lot of homework.
The show starts in ‘90s Miami Beach, and if you get The Birdcage vibes, that’s cause YAS girl, the timing roughly fits! It’s 1997, and the colours are bright and beautiful – the pool basically belongs on a spam Instagram account. The maids bowing to Gianni Versace in the morning creeped me out a bit, but I was too distracted with the tiling to care. Oh, and we meet Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan while he’s getting a wicked sunburn on the beach.
The quick jump to earlier ‘90s San Francisco threw me a bit, because I felt like I was watching a totally different Cunanan than seconds before. As the episode went on, though, I realised that’s how I was supposed to feel. The man was a shapeshifter and a bit of a ham. I fact-checked several of the charming things he said, only to find it was half true and half lies. He lies about his parents’ names, but the thing about his dad being from the Philippines and his mum being Italian American are true. Later in the episode we see him copy the emotional reaction of another person, and you realise just how often and how much he’s acting.
The episode’s director, Ryan Murphy, has made it clear that this show is going to be about the rampant homophobia of the time, which feels terrifyingly recent. It actually really matters how many characters in this show are going to be gay, and some are played by gay actors. (I’m a Ricky Martin fan, what can I say? Did you know his twin boys are 9 years old now?!) Seeing gay bad guys and good guys in the same scenes, or at least on the same show, feels like a win for nuanced representation. One such gay good guy is brought to life by Dascha Polanco, who you may know from Orange Is The New Black. Polanco plays detective Lori Wieder, who was one of the two openly gay members of the Miami Beach police at the time.
I actually found myself feeling intense sadness for Versace (Edgar Ramirez) when we do see him shot, despite the fact that all I knew of him at that point was that he had beautiful fruit breakfasts. He was immediately painted as warm, maybe because we see him gently touch people a lot. The mourning was seriously bumped up when we first see Penelope Cruz donning platinum blonde hair as Donatella, and you imagine what it would actually be like to walk past your dead brother’s blood on the way into his impeccable home.
The Versace family has been outspoken that this show will be a work of fiction, but I was still excited to see a portrayal of the iconic matriarch. Her presence seemed to mark a decided change in the episode, and a feeling sank in that the rest of the season would be like a war between her team and the cops and media hoping to splash the details of her brother’s life all over the papers without actually catching the man responsible. The moment where she puts a porcelain bust ever so slightly back in its place leads me to believe she will not be forgiving of mistakes, and her immediate TCBing (taking care of business) have me excited to watch her take on the role of a general. We catch a glimpse of Cruz as Donatella’s simultaneous softness and hardness when she delivers the most beautifully sad line of the episode saying, “They’ll judge the killer yes, but they’ll judge the victim, too.”
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is on BBC2 at 9pm tonight.
Despite it being a natural part of life and the year being 2018, there's still stigma attached to breastfeeding. Mothers are asked to "cover up" when breastfeeding in public places, leading many to feel judged, ashamed and embarrassed by the need to feed their children. All of which explains why Gap's latest ad campaign has gone down a treat on social media.
The clothing giant posted the ad on Instagram this weekend to promote its new Love By GapBody luxe apparel line, and it's a breath of fresh air compared to how breastfeeding is often portrayed and talked about in the media.
In the first of the two campaign images, Nigerian model Adaora Akubilo Cobb is seen cuddling her 20-month-old son, Arinze, and the second photo shows her breastfeeding him, a tender moment that has been warmly received by the 40k people (and counting) who have liked the image on Insta so far.
However, far from the moment being carefully planned, it actually happened by accident as the toddler needed feeding mid-shoot. “I let [the team] know,” Akubilo Cobb told the Chicago Tribune, “They’re like, ‘Oh, my God, of course it’s OK, go ahead.’ And they said, ‘You can do it right here.’” Then the photographer asked if she could take some shots, an experience Akubilo Cobb described as affirming and empowering.
The campaign has made waves on the internet, with women in particular praising the brand for helping to shed the stigma attached to breastfeeding (using the hashtag #NormalizeBreastfeeding), for highlighting diversity and for selling practical-yet-comfy clothing to boot.
Yes @Gap !! Normalising breastfeeding and not only that but an older child to boot. Fantastic and beautiful to see. Beautiful photo and I bet your PJs sell out now thanks to the positive Breastfeeding community support! pic.twitter.com/3PHnqqYGv7
These Gap breastfeeding ads are maybe the most beautifully intimate shots I've ever seen in the realm of advertising. So pure and innocent. Yet so capitalistic 😂. For the record I do love them. #adguypic.twitter.com/dTNqJWwoyl
Akubilo Cobb posted the campaign image on her own Instagram page, followed by a longer post on Tuesday about her experience of breastfeeding. She believes it wouldn't have been so easy for her to breastfeed at work in any other industry.
"I had the unique opportunity to work with my son for Gap so I didn’t have to worry about expressing. When I needed to nurse him photographer Cass Bird went with the flow capturing the beautiful moment, which made me feel empowered and loved."
Meanwhile, she continued, her friends who are working mothers in other industries "have to fall short of their goals because they don’t have a private area to pump in order to maintain their milk supply. Not only that they aren’t given adequate number of breaks in order to pump. These mothers who need to work and nurse need all the support and love they can get."
Akubilo Cobb urged women to educated themselves about their rights as women in the workplace, followed by the #NormalizeBreastfeeding hashtag.
In a statement, Gap said their aim with the campaign was "to encourage and empower all women to be the woman they want to be as a friend, partner, wife, mother and voice in today’s society". Seems to be working.
Before it happens, a revolution is a noble idea. But in the fashion industry, it's dragging. At every turn, key players are using their social platforms to call out its biggest issues — racism, sexual harassment, body diversity — both on and off the catwalk. But as brought up most recently by editors at The Cut and Fashionista, the streets are still a popularity contest: they're thin, they're white, and they're famous. On top of ebbing interest in street style as an outlet for inspiration, it'd seem the art of documenting current trends, and thus people, feels more dated than ever. But it's going to take more than outrage to fix them, because diversity in street style is much more complicated to achieve than diversity on the runways. But don't take our word for it.
After asking a group of street style photographers, from Tommy Ton to Melodie Jeng, a series of questions on the state of diversity in the industry, the imbalance between diversity on the catwalks and the streets, and just why we're all so angry, their answers round out a story no one seems to know the end to. Not everyone agreed to comment, with a few of them not even allowed to by the publications that employ them.
In the beginning, we liked street style because it wasn't about celebrities — it was about real people. But then real people became celebrities and iPhones replaced a craft that, like most things in fashion, was forced to evolve. Because of this, we're seeing the unconscious bias play out in street style as it did with runway, and the focus of the industry's criticism has shifted. Not until now are people starting to notice the real trends — and we're not talking about clothes.
The homogenisation of street style is more obvious to those who don't get their photos taken as often as others — or never — than it is to those who attribute it to part of their status. None of this, however, changes the fact that getting one's photo taken has always been, and remains to be, a compliment (and a privilege, to some).
So, why do certain people get shot and others ignored? Is it the photographers' fault? The photo editors? Or is it the PR houses who put together the guest lists? Because unlike the catwalks, there's an element of reality in street style that gives a much more accurate read on whether the industry actually is as diverse as it says it wants to be. If we expanded our view on what constitutes an outfit worth shooting, would it show a more a more diverse street scene? Or would it be more of the same?
There's much to glean from the interviews ahead, especially when it comes to who has the final say in what gets published, but what ends up on the cutting room floor says as much as what actually gets posted. Accompanied by the photos they want you to see, here's what the photographers want you to know.
If there's a method to snapping the most successful, shareable street style shot — what is it? “I think there's a misconception that street style photographers have a hand in casting the subjects they shoot. Since street style photography has become primarily about the style outside the shows during Fashion Month and not so much about spotting someone on the street on a random day off-season, the subjects we have to choose from are ultimately dependent on the editors, influencers, etc. who attend the shows, and the models who are cast in them.”
What role do the publications/websites you’re shooting for play into who you photograph? What sorts of directives are you given, if/when you're shooting for magazines? “If you look at the mast heads of most of the top American magazines, you'll see there are [fewer] people with diverse backgrounds appointed to top roles than at the European editions. This lack of representation creates less opportunities for photographers to capture diversity during the shows.
“Additionally, as more and more photographers tend to favour models or influencers who have been invited to the shows and dressed by brands, you realise that it's also the brands and their marketing and publicity teams who have a responsibility to invite more men and women of different backgrounds and sizes.
“With the casting of shows, I've found that there has definitely been a shift in recent seasons. I applaud designers like Marques' Almeida, Michael Kors, Vaquera, Eckhaus Latta, and Kenzo, to name a few, which have been inclusive and diverse in their casting. But there is definitely more that can be done."
If fashion photography is supposed to reflect the time and state of the industry, what is street style photography supposed to do? “There is a trickle-down effect where, in order for street style photography to become more diverse and inclusive, there needs to be more diversity and inclusion represented on the mastheads of major publications, and with the attendees and castings of the shows. We as street photographers make it our mission to document what inspires us and what is reflective of the time, so I feel that as the industry becomes more open and accepting, the medium of street style photography will definitely evolve to capture that."
What role do the publications/websites you’re shooting for play into who you photograph? What sorts of directives are you given, if/when you're shooting for magazines? “I think some people might have free rein when it comes to what is being photographed, but I know that’s not always the case. I know certain publications might ask you to make sure you’re shooting a range of industry people — from editors to influencers to stylists, people who are prominent and have a space in the industry — as opposed to, let’s say, the hoverers, outside the show.
"Of course, Refinery29 being as inclusive as it is asked me to aim for as much diversity as possible — in race, age, body type, etc. But then others might shoot for a publication that’s aimed at a different demographic, and so perhaps they’re required to shoot for the target audience. Then there is commercial, which often involves looking out for certain brands being word as opposed to someone's style."
If fashion photography is supposed to reflect the time and industry, what is street style photography supposed to do? “Is that what fashion photography is supposed to reflect? If anything, that is something street style should reflect. And sadly, it does. You’re seeing whitewashed street style photos? An abundance of skinny women looking incredible in head-to-toe, full looks? Barely any POCs? A rare occurrence of some body diversity? Well, that’s sadly a reflection of what is going on at the shows. It might not be a reflection of the movement trying to be brought forward by a lot of people in this industry, but it’s true that, unfortunately, the guests attending the shows and the people with high followings are predominantly white and ‘thin.'”
Has the imbalance of race or size diversity in street style photography ever crossed your mind? Or have you seen it happening in real life? “Of course it has, particularly when I shot for Refinery29 and it was part of the brief to shoot more diversely — and even more so, as I get more and more involved/interested in these kinds of sociopolitical issues. I can’t name a single black ‘influencer,’ but I can name 10 to 12 black editors. Why is this the case? Why are brands not actively pursuing brand ambassadors or influencers who are POC so they can show their brand is an everywoman brand? Why aren’t more women of colour not just being hired, but being invited to these shows?
“I don’t speak for every street style photographer, nor do I think they are all obliged to feel this way, but I know that my personal beliefs mean I’m motivated to use my position to try and capture a broader range of diversity in my imagery. I don’t think it’s a true reflection of the industry. If anything, it would be a more falsified view if I were to make my gallery 50% women of colour and 50% white women.
“I think it’s easy to sit and point fingers around the room saying whose fault this is — i.e. is it the editors? the brands? the photographers? Well, maybe it’s just everyone. Maybe the brands should actively pursue women who are older, women whose bodies are different to those of the models, and women of color. Maybe the editors should drop a hint and say, Hey, less skinny, white girls, please. And maybe we should also take a step back and be like, Wow, okay. Here I am. I’m a white person. I hear this opinion and see the statistics of underrepresented women in this industry. I’m in a position of privilege with this camera in my hand and I will run the extra block in order to diversify my imagery, resulting in our editors being forced to use more diverse content, and maybe we’ll have more than the same 10 to 15 women of colour in our images.
"We can only shoot what is around us, and sadly, the industry is warped. It isn’t diverse, it isn’t inclusive, it isn’t an accurate representation of women around the world — but that doesn’t mean it can’t be changed or that it isn’t on its way there.”
In terms of editors versus influencers, has Instagram changed who is photographed? It seems like people with bigger followings make for easy targets, so they repost the photos and get more eyes on your pictures. “Instagram puts an emphasis on followers, and so naturally people with more followers get more attention. Unfortunately, a lot of who the public deems ‘popular’ on Instagram fits the traditional images we see in fashion — tall, sample sized, caucasian, etc. At the same time, Instagram also provides a platform for anyone to express themselves freely and have control over their own representation; this gives the opportunity to people who wouldn’t ordinarily be portrayed in fashion image culture.”
“Representation is an issue that I’m always grappling with in my work; it’s likely the most important topic a photographer faces in this profession. My background is in documentary photography and photojournalism — I studied at the University of Michigan under David Turnley, who was the personal photographer of Nelson Mandela — which are fields that emphasize the problem of agency in storytelling; does a photo steal a moment from its subject to fulfill the photographer’s motive, or allow its subject the agency to represent themselves authentically?”
“I think Instagram opens up this issue in many new ways. Ultimately, though, it's still a tool — whether it has the potential to democratize the fashion industry or not is up to the people who use it.”
If fashion photography is supposed to reflect the time and industry, what is street style photography supposed to do? “If the role of haute couture is to define the cutting edge of fashion, the importance of street style photography is to push the authentic styles of everyday individuals into the image culture and consciousness of the industry, and also to make fashion accessible to a wider public audience. The fashion industry and its artisan roots in Western Europe have historically favored those at the top; if my photographs can help to give agency to those outside of the traditional sphere of influence or help bring the expression of personal style to those for whom it previously wouldn’t have been accessible, then I think I’m fulfilling the passion that drove me to become a street style photographer in the first place. I hope people who see my photographs get a sense of this.”
Has the imbalance of race or size diversity in street style photography ever crossed your mind? Or have you seen it happening in real life? If so/if not, why? “I recognize that I’m always going to have a say in the people and styles that I choose to portray, and this is an important responsibility for me, one that I take seriously. Photography should be a collaborative effort. And, while I express my own style through the photographs I make, it’s even more important to make sure my photographs are genuine representations of my subject — especially when they are subjects that don’t get as many opportunities to dictate the terms of their own representation in the industry.”
When it comes to diversity, and unfortunately, racism, on the street, what are some things you've observed during Fashion Week, if anything? “This is an incredibly difficult problem to navigate, and while there’s no easy answer, staying conscious has always led me to looks outside of the mainstream and the ‘typical’ cast of the fashion media. People and styles that aren’t close to the ‘typical’ I think tend to feel less pressure to conform to the standard, and so I often find that those who might be underrepresented in the industry — when given the agency to show who and what they are — provide the most authentic and fresh moments for me to capture.”
If there's a method to snapping the most successful, shareable street style shot — what is it? “I suppose by ‘successful’ and ‘shareable’, you are asking me if there is a method to snapping street style pictures that are going to receive the most engagement or get the most ‘likes’. My answer: I contrast two ways of shooting that I feel would catch the viewer’s eye. On one hand, I focus on standout details that disassociate the image from the person. By doing so, I’m not featuring who is wearing something but instead highlighting how something is being worn. On the other hand, I feature images which focus explicitly on the person, in the form of a portrait."
What role do the publications/websites you’re shooting for play into who you photograph? What sorts of directives are you given, if/when you're shooting for magazines? “My publications never really give me any direction on what to shoot. I think if they did, it would be restrictive. The only direction I’m given is when deciding on which cities to cover. I send a list of fashion weeks that I’ll be attending to W magazine, for example, and they then select which cities they will publish. The cities and images they don't post, I still post on my website. So, though they may not give me directions, they do act as a filter in some way. My website/Instagram /book are the only publications which I have full control over.”
In terms of editors versus influencers, has Instagram changed who is photographed? It seems like people with bigger followings make for easy targets, so they repost the photos and get more eyes on your pictures. “I don't feel that this question applies (or has applied) to the way I shoot. I will always select a stylist, editor, model, or a person unknown to me over an influencer with a large following — unless there is some outfit or detail I truly cannot miss — as I feel much more ‘honest’ in this choice of subject. What I mean by that is: I'm always wary of influencers dressed by brands, and thus the product we shoot is not necessarily a true look at how people really dress.
“The way I shoot is more photojournalistic than ‘street style’ in its classic sense. If there are 500 photos of ‘Blogger A,’ do I really need to shoot the 501st photo? I try to focus a bit more on the mood and atmosphere of the event, versus just treating it like a step-and-repeat at the Met Gala. After our #NoFreePhotos movement last season, dozens of other photographers and I no longer tag influencers in our photos. And if an influencer reposts our photo and tags their brands in the image, it is treated as commercial usage and a license is required. In response to the statement we were making, many influencers said that we (photographers) need them (influencers) more than they need us. The point of #NoFreePhotos was to quell the entitlement that people had and to stop the use of our photos as promotional tools for these people with no compensation for the photographer.
“From my perspective, there is no longer any point in shooting an influencer with the sole intent of getting likes/followers from their direction. Fashion Week and street style photography existed long before any professional ‘influencer’ existed.”
If fashion photography is supposed to reflect the time and industry, what is street style photography supposed to do? “‘Street style’ is meant to sell clothes, promote trends, and drive clicks. This is why I adamantly label my platforms as This is NOT a FUCKING Street Style Blog(/Book). I consider myself a fashion photojournalist. I understand that I participate in the genre, but I just want to show you what it feels like to be stuck in the rain at Gucci or burning up in the sun at Sacai.
“I cannot stand it when I post my favourite shots from the day and the comments I receive are questions about where to purchase the clothing or accessories seen in my photographs. I have no desire to sell anyone anything. If you buy something because you like it in one of my photos — cool. But my photos are not there to influence your wardrobe.”
Has the imbalance of race or size diversity in street style photography ever crossed your mind? Or have you seen it happening in real life? If so/if not, why? “Of course. It's very obvious who ‘runs’ this industry. Look at the editors-in-chief of most of the biggest publications. Aside from British Vogue and a couple others, what are we seeing? And their teams often reflect them in some way."
What role do the publications/websites you’re shooting for play into who you photograph? What sorts of directives are you given, if/when you're shooting for magazines? “From past publications I’ve worked with, I had no directives or requirements on the assignment, but I also had no feedback on if I was creating good or bad content for them. However, I’ve had many cases where minority groups (Black, Latino, and Asians) were omitted from the final selections, even though I submitted them and they were captured in a moment I was proud of.”
Has the imbalance of race or size diversity in street style photography ever crossed your mind? Or have you seen it happening in real life? If so/if not, why? “It is totally happening. I had a plus-sized blogger who I came in contact with because she loved my photos, so I was shooting her as she went into New York Fashion Week shows one season. We talked from time to time and she actually asked me what makes photographers shoot, too. I feel like she was discouraged by being ignored when walking into the shows. But does that mean race or size diversity comes into play? I don’t think so. I have seen diverse races of attendees to fashion weeks whom street photographers run to capture their image.”
What role do the publications/websites you’re shooting for play into who you photograph? What sorts of directives were you given? “I usually get invited to shows by PR groups that find me on social media or that I've reached out to personally. They don't really give me any directives, so I try to diversify my coverage by getting backstage, beauty, and runway shots that they won't get from anyone else. When I'm backstage, I make it my mission to photograph models of colour, especially black models. This season, I saw a lot of natural-haired beauties backstage, but I don't really see that reflected much in the social media coverage.
“Since I'm just a contributor, I don't have any power over what photos get chosen or posted. Even if I send off great images that represent the diversity, a lot of times they don't get seen. Unfortunately, many brands might post one token black model or a token Asian model just for the sake of faux diversity, but they aren't really dedicated to it. I've also been doing this for three seasons now, and I've only been in the media pit with another black woman twice. That's saying a lot, as well.
“I think that a lot of publications are afraid of backlash and ugly comments, or they fear losing their reputations and followers. So many people are still stuck in the dark ages of ignoring any woman who isn't a sample-sized blonde bombshell. I've seen people post hate comments and threaten to unfollow brands that post out of their norm. I say: Let the internet haters spew their nonsense and do the right thing regardless. If your brand doesn't represent what society really looks like, it is failing. Diversity has unfortunately become a buzzword, and it's important that we don't buy into what they're selling unless it's authentic and truly represents what that word means.”
Has Instagram changed who is photographed? It seems like people with bigger followings make for easy targets so they repost the photos and get more eyes on the picture. “I definitely notice that every major fashion account or publication that covered fashion week on Instagram basically reposted the same five or six people. I love some of those ladies and I also love their style, but because I was out and about myself, I know for a fact that there were more street style stars to choose from. If you have a major following or a lot of influence, there's a huge chance that you'll get photographed and posted.
“If you're an internationally-known publication, will it hurt to ‘discover’ and share some lesser known fashion enthusiasts? Giving the same bloggers exposure again and again might increase reach and engagement, but the industry needs to come at inclusivity from every angle and not just on the runways.”
When you’re photographing people, who are supposed to be reflective of the times and our society, are you then making a conscious about the not just the clothing but the people who are in them? “When I'm out shooting street style, I'm definitely scouting for good outfits — but it would be untrue and unfair representation of show-goers if all of my subjects looked the same. Being amongst other street style photographers revealed an extreme bias toward tall, thin blondes and brunettes. I'd see someone in a good outfit exit a venue and if she wasn't tall and thin, not many photographers would rush over to get the shot. It shows me that many of us still have a warped idea of beauty that doesn't represent reality and our diverse society. After witnessing it firsthand this season, it became even more important to me that I continue to do my part in the future.”
Has the imbalance of race or size diversity in street style photography ever crossed your mind? Or have you seen it happening in real life? If so/if not, why? “Inequality in fashion comes in many forms, and it sometimes affects me personally because I love so many publications and accounts that clearly don't know or care that their content doesn't represent their full audience. Some of my favourite publications don't even post women that look like me. Street style is such a melting pot of sizes, races, and ages. It still baffles me that some photographers — popular ones at that — have such an antiquated way of capturing what's out there. We have more than enough photos of tall, thin girls smoking cigarettes in alleys between shows, and there are many more interesting, well-dressed people out there for the world to see.
“It's important for every street style photographer to broaden their gaze, and it's equally important for brands to invite a diverse group of people to their shows. Not seeing good race and size diversity in street style makes me wonder how many people of color and plus-size women — and men — get invited to the major shows.”
What role do the publications/websites you’re shooting for play into who you photograph? What sorts of directives are you given, if/when you're shooting for magazines? “I'm mostly shooting for models.com, and thankfully I have a lot of creative freedom with them. It's really a balance of models/faces that I really like and if they have good personal style. I usually don't get a lot of directives, I think the client usually trusts me and hires me for the work they've seen me do. For the most part, it's important to only shoot for clients that you really align with. Until this season, Refinery29 is the only client that ever asked me to make sure I get a variety of race, size, etc.”
If fashion photography is supposed to reflect the time and industry, what is street style photography supposed to do? “Designers have always been inspired by what they see on the street, and then their designs trickle down to contemporary lines, fast-fashion brands, etc. It's a weird cycle. At fashion week, street style has definitely become much more commercial, commoditized, predictable, and impersonal. It was bound to happen. Most people are just wearing the trend of the moment, which can be kind of boring, or wearing full looks or clothes borrowed from the designer. But I am aware and just try to find styles I like. And while I don't love shooting people who parade around the fashion shows, I respect them for at least trying. It's not easy to put yourself out there.”
Has the imbalance of race or size diversity in street style photography ever crossed your mind? Or have you seen it happening in real life? If so/if not, why? “Yes, definitely. As an Asian-American, I think about this a lot because I know what it's like to have no one to look up who looks like you. I do keep an eye out for different races and ethnicities, and I think I do an okay job. But I would really love to see more people different sizes and abilities. I think we all have to work together to be more welcoming, and I would love to see a wider variety of people at the shows. It would be very refreshing.”
Michael Dumler, @on_abbotkinney “I have tried to find the words on how I feel about the recent article written in The Cut, but after many attempts at responding to the questions for this article, I’ve decided I can't answer them. We know racism exists in fashion and everywhere else. We know the standards of beauty are skewed and unhealthy. We know that ‘street style’ is not honest and is mainly used as commercial advertising. We know that ‘fame’ overshadows ‘style’ in many instances.
“I don't know what the right questions are. I imagine we could start with the designers and brands asking themselves who can wear and fit into their clothes? Is this design inclusive or exclusive? Perhaps if we start there, the rest of the industry can start to follow. Instead of falling victim to the plight of online blaming, let’s actually try to have a conversation and listen to one another. This doesn’t have to be a polarising moment for fashion — it can be an opportunity to make lasting and positive change.”
Photographed by Michael Dumler.
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Even if you're a Love Actually hater, there's one scene in the film that's undeniably moving. When Karen, played by Emma Thompson, realises the necklace bought by her husband Harry, played by the late Alan Rickman, wasn't for her, she excuses herself to the bedroom and lets it all out. She puts on Joni Mitchell and cries, before wiping away the tears and putting on a smile. It's heartbreaking — and it turns out, it was also influenced by a real experience.
"I've had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom," Thompson said at a fundraiser Sunday, according The Telegraph. "Then having to go out and be cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer."
Oof. One of Thompson's most public breakups was with actor Kenneth Branagh. The two separated in 1995 after he allegedly had an affair with Helena Bonham Carter on the set of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Fun fact, all three of these actors went on to be in the Harry Potter series, but you'll notice you never see them on screen together.
"I had my heart very badly broken by Ken," Thompson continued.. "So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn't meant for me. Well, it wasn't exactly that, but we've all been through it."
But, don't worry. She's not still broken up about it. In fact, she has a really refreshing attitude towards Bonham Carter.
"That is all blood under the bridge," she added. "You can't hold on to anything like that. It's pointless. I haven't got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago. She's a wonderful woman."
Let's hope Thompson's character in Love Actually eventually found this same peace.
It’s been 44 years since Laura Dern made one of her first appearances on the big screen in Martin Scorsese’s award-winning Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Granted, Dern was seven years old at the time; her mother, Diane Ladd, was one of the movie’s stars; and her role as Girl Eating Ice Cream Cone went uncredited.
But the actress’s career since has been fruitful and varied, with her most iconic characters reading like a resume of dream jobs: acclaimed paleobotanist (in Jurassic Park), Vice Admiral of Organa's Resistance (in Star Wars: The Last Jedi), real-life mentor to rocket scientists in October Sky.
And yet, surprisingly, there's one role the Big Little Lies star and longtime David Lynch muse has yet to step into: the face of a beauty brand. Now, at 51, Dern has signed on for her first-ever beauty campaign for Kate Spade's new fragrance, In Full Bloom. The digital and social-media campaign also features Tavi Gevinson, 21, and Sasheer Zamata, 31, in a clear push for age diversity, with the refreshing mission of creating a fragrance that women can connect to at all different stages in their lives.
"We focus on a psychographic instead of a demographic," Brian Vander Meyden, vice president of global marketing and prestige sales at The Premiere Group, the distributor of Kate Spade's fragrances, told WWD in an interview. "To have women of three different ages speak to what in full bloom means to them makes [the fragrance] unique."
Each woman recorded a "love letter" to herself as part of the campaign's initiative, and Dern's is predictably perfect: funny, dry, and totally frank. If wearing In Full Bloom can help us channel at least a little bit of the actress's signature wit and intellect, we are all in... though we should probably wait until the fragrance's official launch tomorrow to give the fresh, modern rose scent a sniff before passing judgment.
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If only there were X-ray vision for TV shows. That way, behind each episode of Scandal, or Girls, or Orange is the New Black, you could also see the all-night writing sessions, arguments with studio executives, and rallying cries it took to make that episode. You could see the woman showrunner at the helm of each of those shows, implementing her vision and creating the kind of characters that TV gatekeepers long had excluded.
Stealing the Show by Joy Press, out February 27, effectively is that X-ray vision. The drama of this fascinating, fast-paced book isn’t what’s on the many shows Press, a writer and former culture editor for Salon, discusses– it’s what’s behind them. Press turns writing room dynamics into plot points, and the showrunners bringing women’s stories to TV into three-dimensional protagonists.
In addition to being a blast of a book (Press includes behind-the-scenes tidbits so juicy they feel like gossip), Stealing the Show delivers an important narrative. The book proposes that women showrunners have been instrumental in creating TV that reflects and understands the modern era. The Golden Age would only be possible with creators like Shonda Rimes,Jenji Kohan, Roseanne Barr, Tina Fey — and the list goes on. We spoke with Joy Press to discuss the role have women had in revolutionising TV, and the challenges they faced along the way.
Refinery29: Before reading your book, I had no idea that a showrunner was a superhuman. Can you explain the qualities that make a good showrunner?
Joy Press: "The showrunner is an enormous job. It involves setting the creative vision for the show, it involves hiring, it involves often being the head writer, but not always – sometimes there’s a separate person who runs the writers' room. It involves liaising with the studio and network, dong a lot of the business conversations. It’s a crazy job for someone who almost always starts out as a writer. It’s a really unique set of skills that is required to be a successful showrunner. You have to be really driven, aggressive enough to be able to communicate your vision, and be able to motivate people and make them feel good about the project they're doing."
All the women you wrote about in your book had big visions, and also the wherewithal to implement them.
"It was interesting to see how they navigated an industry where often any kind of female assertiveness could be taken for being difficult, or being a bitch. I talked to a lot of these showrunners and various writers about this issue. Some women were very aware that they were not navigating it as they were doing it. They were very careful about how they moved about the world. Other women said, ‘Fuck it. This is who I am.’ Amy Sherman-Palladino was very clear about herself, and said, 'This is the way I am. If you don’t like me, fire me.' She talked very openly about struggling, struggling with male directors initially. Struggling with [the] studio and really feeling like, I’m not going to sand down my edges. She had a difficult journey through the industry for that reason."
Speaking of the curse of being branded difficult. What are some challenges that are unique to women showrunners?
"There are probably more challenges that male and female showrunners share. It’s a difficult job no matter what. But certainly, there are a lot of expectations that are placed on women in the workplace and unconscious biases."
Often, executives would push back on female characters and say, this character's not likeable enough, or this character’s too old. Or even when they were pitching shows — 'We don’t want to have a 40 year old woman who doesn’t have children. That’s not relatable.' The kind of restrictions that female showrunners were facing as showrunners, they were also hearing these same criticisms for their characters."
A lot of the kind of discrimination and differences are invisible. And it’s impossible to know what could’ve been. In general, the number of amazing shows, pilots, pitches that these various women put together over the years and couldn't get on the air is staggering to me. Lots and lots of shows don’t get on the air. Every great TV writer has a list of shows that didn’t work, or pilots that didn’t go. It’s hard to tell what the gender component or the race component is. But considering the talent of these women and the number of their shows that got flushed down the toilet, it seems fairly likely that it was more difficult for women to get their shows on the air, because the gatekeepers, until fairly recently, were white men who were deciding what was interesting and what was funny, and were convinced that they needed to have something that would appeal to what they saw as a really important demographic of fairly young men."
The irony is, by letting in creators who hadn’t been allowed to create before, we got to see different characters — and characters there clearly was a craving for.
"It’s indisputable that some of the most exciting, innovative shows that are on the air in the last five years, certainly the last few years, have been made by women and people of colour because their voices hadn’t been heard. A show like Broad City, or Insecure, or Atlanta — these shows were made possible by a changing TV landscape in which those white male gatekeepers have loosened up the reins a bit. You have these platforms that don’t necessarily require a mass audience. It’s a different curation of the TV experience."
How did you choose which creators to include in the book?
"It was really difficult. I had more, originally. I ended up consolidating because I really wanted to be able to tell a story. I built a chain of people who were connected to each other. Someone could write a book with a dozen other female showrunners and tell a story. In a way the hardest part was where to start. Going further back, the history of the very small number of women in early TV is very fascinating. I hope someone else writes the book."
You started writing this book in 2015. Could speak to how current events changed your imagining of the book’s narrative, and how you incorporated current events as you kept writing?
"It actually makes me feel a little bit nauseous to think about it. I was probably two thirds of the way done when the election happened. When I started the book, I felt it was very clear that history was going in a specific direction, and that the explosion of great female talent and voices in television was the culmination of history moving in this direction. A lot of the woman I had interviewed had directly been supporting Hillary [Clinton]. It seemed obvious that she was going to win, and Hillary seemed very much a piece of the book. By the time the election happened, I realised that things looked very different.
My book starts with Murphy Brown and the era of the ‘80s culture wars. I was steeping myself in that period and thinking, ‘We’re in such a different place. It’s so historically interesting to go back to the Dark Ages.’ Then the election happened. In that aftermath of the election, the conversations were echoing the exact news stories."
We are back to an echo of the culture wars of the ‘80s. I feel like these female showrunners are very much on the front lines of trying to push the boundaries of what is allowed in the female imagination, what is allowed in the American family, in the American workplace. It was a weird thing to have to finish the book, realising that everything I took for granted as I was writing the book was wrong, and that something else had happened, and what these female creators were doing was almost more important. To create this space for female experience at a moment when it was really, really being endangered. Suddenly it seemed much more important."
Now women creators are back to being revolutionaries, of a kind.
"Yeah. I don’t know that most of them would want to be considered revolutionary. Very few of them would say they were driven by politics. To a certain degree, some of them are aware — Jill Soloway is aware the role [her] show plays in the culture and feels a real pressure. But I’m not sure that was true at the very beginning. At the very beginning it was a personal story."
Speaking of Transparent — it’s interesting to see how that’s become wrapped up in #MeToo. Transparent has become a focal point for many different discussions we’re having.
"I had finished the book in the middle of 2017, long before the Harvey Weinstein revelations happened. Having gone back in and rewritten after the presidential election, I then had this second zigzag of the explosion of #MeToo.
When I talked to these showrunners, we had great conversations about discrimination, about the struggles they’d had, but the conversation about sexual harassment was a very tricky one, and something that really no one would have talked about before this moment. No one. If anybody said anything, it was off the record. It was fascinating. This was absolutely locked in a box in their hearts, because it was impossible to talk about and keep working in the industry. That would make you a troublemaker. And the weight that I feel has been lifted off a lot of these women is tremendous. It was just something that you knew was happening, and you just kept going. I think that’s true for most women, as we discovered with #MeToo. Everybody had something in the lockbox in their heart. I had women tell me about bosses that swore at them. or didn’t understand their show, or ripped them off. But the conversation about that interaction really did not happen."
Earlier you were talking about how we’re back in the culture wars. And aren’t we? In a Twilight Zone twist, Murphy Brown and Roseanne are coming back. How do you foresee those shows functioning in 2018 and dealing with politics?
"It really is a Twilight Zone. If you had told me when I started the book that Murphy Brown and Roseanne and One Day at a Tim e were all going to be back on the air, I would have laughed. It’s super weird. It certainly makes sense for Roseanne and Murphy Brown to be back. At the time, both of those shows functioned in different ways in regards to politics. Murphy Brown was always a show that tussled with the issues of the day. They had enormous fun with it. I think that will be more difficult now because news moves so quickly. But I have high hopes that Diane English can make that work. I think that there’s absolutely room for a show that very intelligently interacts with political culture, and certainly people are really excited to have a kind of female avatar of fury out there, lambasting political bozos.
Roseanne was very different in its approach to politics. They didn’t talk politics. They just embedded them in the lives of this very working class family, and very realistic struggles they were having with work and unemployment and trying to get by in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s America. My sense is that they're going to do that, but making the family pro-Trump."
TV is a less uniform medium than when Murphy Brown and Roseanne were on the air. I wonder if, with the changing TV landscape, and the advent of internet-based shows, that’ll affect women creators’ opportunities.
"I think this’ll be an interesting, pivotal year, and it’ll give us a hint of what is going to happen as we go forward. It feels to me, anecdotally, the changing landscape and the introduction of a lot of streaming options and more cable channels has allowed a lot of female voices to get shows made. But if you look at the statistics, they haven't changed very much. There’s still a small percentage of shows on streaming that are made by women. It looks to me this year, the number of pilots being made from female creators is way up. Shows that have female leads is way up. But we don’t know if those pilots will get made. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s actually changing.
The female TV writers that I talk to are telling me that they feel a huge shift. There’s a lot more openness to their projects. It would be crazy if things didn’t change because there’s a hunger for characters and perspectives and stories. I’m optimistic."
If you needed one more reason why smoking cigarettes is bad for you, consider your vagina. In addition to harming pretty much every organ in your body and causing several diseases, smoking cigarettes can actually negatively impact your vaginal health — and, in turn, your sex life.
Research has shown that when people smoke tobacco, nicotine compounds can later be found inside their cervical mucous, says Caroline Mitchell, MD, director of the vulvovaginal disorders program at Mass General Hospital. "So, [tobacco byproducts] are absolutely there," she says. As you can imagine, having even minuscule amounts of nicotine inside your vagina is not great.
Vaginas are delicate ecosystems, and smoke compounds can "change the immune profile of the cervix and vagina," Dr. Mitchell says. In other words, your immune system may be less effective at fighting certain infections, including human papillomavirus (HPV), she says. On top of that, studies suggest that smoking can damage the DNA of cervical cells, so women who smoke are twice as likely as non-smokers to get cervical cancer.
Besides cancer and HPV, people who smoke have a much higher prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV), Dr. Mitchell says. It's hard to draw any surefire conclusions about exactly why this is, but she says it's "totally plausible" that smoking could change the bacteria inside your vagina. BV typically comes with a range of uncomfortable symptoms, like itching and vaginal discharge with an odour, so it can be pretty annoying to deal with. And when you have BV, you're usually advised to hold off having sex until the infection passes. If you're a smoker who happens to get BV a lot, then stopping may keep infections at bay, Dr. Mitchell says. "We have so few tools [for curing BV] that quitting smoking is an excellent intervention to decrease risk for recurrent BV," she says.
When it comes to sexual function, the effects of smoking are a little hazier. Studies suggest that people with penises who have erectile dysfunction may benefit from quitting smoking. See, smoking cigarettes causes your blood vessels to constrict, which could also make it harder for blood to flow to a person's penis and cause an erection. This phenomenon hasn't been examined on people with vaginas, although it makes sense that decreased blood flow could change vaginal lubrication or make sex less comfortable, Dr. Mitchell says.
You may have heard (or discovered on your own) that smoking marijuana has an aphrodisiac effect and can actually increase your sex drive. So, does smoking weed have the same effect on your vagina as tobacco? Unfortunately, this hasn't been studied yet, so it's unclear whether the same is true for non-tobacco products. "Medical marijuana is sometimes used for vaginal pain, so I sure hope not," Dr. Mitchell says.
Ultimately, there are tons of very solid health concerns that give you reason to kick your nicotine habit. But if you are currently trying to quit, keep in mind that a healthier vagina — and possibly better sex — is one more thing waiting for you on the other side of the horizon.
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This is the way most conversations with Tasha Gear, a 25-year-old photographer based in New York City, start. Tasha, who’s half Black and half white, has been fielding questions about her background since she could talk. “People barely say two words to me and then ask what I am,” she says. And hers is not an isolated experience.
These young men and women — and the love they were born out of — should be cause for celebration. But in more cases, their experience is fetishism (every rapper on the top 40 list talks about bagging a “foreign” chick), speculation ("but what are you, really?”), or even a dismissal of identity within their own cultures.
In their own words, five multi-ethnic young people explain why they’re rejecting the “what are you?” question to explain who they really are.
Sebastian Rosemarie, 21, Model
I am Black and Puerto Rican. I grew up in a white neighbourhood, but my mum and my grandpa grew up in the projects. I felt very distant from where I grew up and the kids I was forced to associate with. They didn't like me. I was made to feel like my difference was a bad thing — that being multicultural was something not to celebrate.
I was definitely bullied. A lot. I had my hair pulled, I was pushed down steps. Elementary, middle, and high school weren’t great. It was really when I got out of a school setting that I started to thrive and discover myself and my creativity. I got heavy into reading feminist literature, and started volunteering with other queer youth. I got scouted when I was like 15 or 16, but I wasn't embracing myself at the time. I didn't get booked for stuff because I was very much in my shell. It wasn't until I was 18 that I felt like I could express my creativity more.
So when I was 18, I shaved my head. I used to have really long hair, but I got the cut to almost stop those questions. I still get them a lot in medical settings, though. I have mental health stuff I deal with, so I'll go in for depression and they'll be like, "Oh, but you're too pretty to be depressed." I exist as a queer femme walking through places as Black and Latina every day, so it's something that you desensitise yourself to, but it's also something that still reoccurs.
Every time I go on set or have to go to a casting or meet a new person, I get asked about where I’m from originally. “I'm from Brooklyn. I'm a New York native,” I say. Then they're like, "No, where are you really from?" It makes me uncomfortable. I would be fine if it happened casually, like on a date or something. But at work, it feels weird.
I definitely get professional opportunities, but my career isn't where I want it to be right now. I want Black girls to have opportunities that white girls in the industry do. We just don't get booked for the same jobs as often. I've gone to shoots and literally had to shave my head after because they scorched it. It's still a process. The industry is becoming more open, but it's not there just yet.
Who I Am: I'm a sex educator. I'm polyamorous. I'm very open with my feelings. I'm affectionate and being around people makes me happy, although it might not look like it, because I have a very shy demeanour. I just want people to stop judging so fast. Talk to someone and get to know them first.
Ashley Javier, 19, Student
I'm Dominican. Eight out of 10 times when I meet a new person, I get asked about what I am because of the colour of my skin. I’m Afro-Latina. Growing up, I didn’t know that was a category, especially in middle school: You were either visibly Hispanic or Black — one or the other. Because I looked this way, I was too Hispanic to identify as Black and too Black to identify as Hispanic.
By the time I was eight years old, I was already the designated Black friend. Back then, if you were dark, then you were considered ugly — so I was kind of ignored. Guys would come and talk to my best friend, who was light skinned with curly hair and blue eyes… the epitome of beauty. And then there was me. I remember spending summers on the beach with my dad, who lives in Virginia. My mum was still in New York, because my parents are divorced. Over the phone, she told me I couldn't sit in the sun because I was going to get blacker. It got to the point where I would leave my dad's house early because I didn’t want to get darker.
I didn’t see people who looked like me until I got to the High School of Fashion Industries in New York City. Because there was more diversity there, I found more people that I could identify with. In school, my friends would get so defensive whenever someone asked what I was. At that point, I grew more comfortable, especially because we had such a diverse group.
Once, years later, I met a girl and told her my background. She told me to speak Spanish for her because she didn’t believe me. I was like, Do I look like a science experiment to you? To me, that's an insult, like I have to prove myself. Why do you need to hear these words coming out of my mouth to know?
It bothers me. It's to the point where I don't really mingle with Spanish folks anymore because I'm always the odd one out, and sometimes they make me uncomfortable with Black jokes and things like that. They feel like it's okay, but Dominicans are still Black. It's not okay.
Who I Am: Just saying I'm Dominican doesn't do me justice. I do love my heritage and my country; I also identify very strongly with my Black side. And not even just that... there are many other parts of me. I like to model. I like to sit all day and watch Netflix. Being Dominican isn't my only thing. People see you and that's the first thing they want to know.
Nali Henry, 19, Artist
I’m Jamaican and German. A couple of weeks ago, I was in Union Square and this guy came up to me because he couldn't place me. I asked him what he thought I was, and he said I just had to have some white in me. I wasn't Black, so I had to be Latina. I had to tell him that he was completely inaccurate. As a biracial child, I felt like I was in the middle of both my whiteness and blackness. To come into my blackness as an adult and appreciate it has been something that has taken me a long time.
I've always been aware of my racial standing, but I never really thought about it until I was hanging out with a bunch of white friends. In middle school, an old friend signed on to my AIM and forgot to sign out, so I saw she was talking about me. She was like, Do you really think that that white boy is going to like her? Doesn't he know that she's Black? That was the first moment where I realised that maybe this is a black-and-white, colour-blocked world. My parents always told me that I'm a celebration of my blackness and my whiteness. Suddenly, that was all taken away from me and I felt like had to choose.
Funnily enough, being light skinned has made me feel uncomfortable. At times, I felt like I didn’t have a right to own my blackness because I didn’t get some of the treatment that a lot of Black people in the community do. My light skin excused me from that. But just because I'm light-skinned, that doesn't negate my blackness in any way.
Who I Am: I'm an artist. I'm a dancer. I'm a kind and empathetic person. And I'm a dreamer.
Jheyda McGarrell, 20, Student
I am Guyanese and Mexican. Within that, it's Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese. For a while, I felt like I had to be super duper pro-Black to the point where I would ignore my Latina identity. No one in the Latino community sees me as being one of them, so I felt excluded from being able to join in on issues and being able to make commentary on my culture. My mum got really offended and told me I didn't want to be Mexican because I don't speak Spanish. It's also hard to identify with Mexican culture sometimes, because I find that there's a lot of deeply-ingrained racism and colourism in Latino communities. It made it hard for me to identify for a long time.
Most of the questions are from other Black people. I'm a darker-skinned person. Black people say I’m not Black because of my being Latino. I get confused because I'm like, What constitutes blackness to you? Just having a looser curl and a different shaped nose makes me not Black?
In high school when I was remarking on a Black issue, someone was like, Why does it matter? You're not even Black. Your dad is Caribbean. People from the Caribbean aren’t Black. Do people know the African diaspora? It makes me upset that people only think of Blackness as darker skinned people with 4c hair and whatever other features people associate with Black people. Even in Africa, people look different with every region.
But when I visited Cuba, everyone was so nice to me. They accepted me and it felt okay to be both and identify as both. I am a Mexican person. I am a Caribbean person. I am a Black person. I can be all of these things and not have to separate all of them and feel forced out of my own community because of someone else's opinion of me and my appearance.
Who I Am: I am a photographer. I go to NYU, I'm a junior there. I'm from California. I like to write and try to make music for myself. I love gold jewellery. I'm really secretly into ghosts.
Tasha Gear, 25, Photographer
I’m half Black and half white. The “what are you?” question doesn’t really bother me, but for some reason, strangers feel the need to ask it. I guess they're just curious. Sometimes I do hesitate. Why does it matter? I've never felt the need to ask someone what they are. If it comes up, it comes up. People assume that I'm mixed or Black or Spanish. They know that I'm something. I always answer the question really honestly. However, I don’t like when it’s the first question that’s asked of me, especially when I’m meeting new people.
My identity was questioned a lot when I was growing up. I never really felt like I fit in anywhere. My mum's boyfriend, who’s basically my stepdad, is Black. My white friends’ parents wouldn't have a problem with me, but when they saw my stepdad, they wouldn’t let their kids come over anymore. And in middle school, I was called Medusa, Oreo, and a mutt.
Today, I still get the whole “ Oh, you're not really Black” thing because I'm light-skinned… and probably because I pass as white. Because I grew up with my white mum and I'm light-skinned, people will invalidate the fact that I'm Black. But I think being multiracial is its own thing. I'm not white and I'm not Black. I'm both.
Who I Am: I'm a photographer. I make my own skin care. I'm honest. I feel like I'm constantly changing, trying to figure it out. It's funny when people ask what I am, because it's like… I don't know, what am I? My identity is constantly changing.
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Deciding whether you'd like to remove your body hair or leave it au naturel is easy. The hard part comes after you've made that choice, when you're presented with a world of hair-removal options, none of which sound particularly appealing. Waxing, threading, lasers, and good ol'-fashioned shaving are all perfectly acceptable methods, but if none of them are really doing it for you, there's one more technique you should consider: sugaring.
Sugaring uses a mixture of melted sugar, lemon, and hot water to pull hair out directly from the root. Unlike waxing, the sugar-based formula doesn't have to be heated, and there is no double dipping. What makes sugaring so different from other hair-removal methods is that its only tool is a ball of sugar rolled continuously over the skin, against the direction of your hair's growth. When the sugar is torn off the skin, it removes the hair in its natural direction, so the results are long-lasting and reduce the risk of ingrown hairs.
The sensation of sugaring is often compared to that of waxing — just minus the scalding hot temperature. Additionally, sugaring requires a specific hair length for a successful removal (about 5-7 days of growth post-shaving). However, unlike waxing, you don't have to worry about scarring or potential burns, because the sugar paste can't adhere to your actual skin cells. In fact, sugaring even works to gently exfoliate the surface of your skin — leaving it not only hairless, but silky smooth.
To get a closer look at the hair-removal process, we tapped aesthetician and sugaring specialist Danielle Correia, owner of Sugaring L.A., to show us how this under-the-radar treatment works. Click the video above to see sugaring in action.
March is the month when spring officially begins. The days get longer and there's a bounty of culture out there to enjoy, as well as the warmer weather.
Our March goals include seeing and doing more, whether that means watching all the Oscars Best Picture contenders in the cinema, bingeing on the latest from Netflix (Marvel's brilliant Jessica Jones and Annihilation starring Natalie Portman) and taking part in some of the events around International Women's Day on 8th March (the Southbank Centre's Women of the World festival lineup is impressive).
There's also something gorgeous happening in Paternoster Square, London, from 1st-11th March. To mark the launch of the Great Daffodil Appeal, a #GardenOfLight with 4,000 illuminated daffodils, each representing a person Marie Curie will support this month, will be open to the public and literally brighten up your day.
Oh, and if you're free on 6th March, we're taking over Bethnal Green's Working Men's Club for a night of comedy. It'll be very good fun. Details are here.
Click through to see the gigs, events, films and shows we're looking forward to in March.
Jess Commons, Health & Living Editor
GIRL BOSS at Mortimer House, 9th March Come and hang out with R29 to celebrate IWD at Mortimer House where I'm hosting a panel with Bloom & Wild featuring some of the biggest female names driving tech today: Amy Thomson, founder of Moody; Gemma Rolls-Bentley, private sales at Artsy; Michelle Kennedy, founder of Peanut; and Sara Gordon, brand & creative director at Bloom & Wild. It's £5 to attend and all ticket sales will go to Smart Works, the brilliant charity helping women in need succeed with job interview coaching.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 5, E4,8thMarch I love Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This sitcom about a fictional police precinct headed up by Andy Samberg is the perfect example of how even laugh out loud, silly TV shows can make important political statements when it's needed. Oh, Terry Crews for president please.
Sarah Raphael, Editor At Large
Women of the World Festival (WOW), Southbank Centre, 7th-11th March WoW is Southbank’s festival about women, and all the issues we face. This year’s programme is packed with hot topics, with talks and panels covering everything from #MeToo to the gender pay gap to healing after trauma, and the wonder down under (a guide to your vagina), which I’m delighted to be chairing!
Fantastic Woman, in cinemas 2nd March Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, Fantastic Woman stars Chilean actress Daniela Vega, who is a trans woman living in a country that doesn’t allow trans people to officially change their gender. This weekend marks the UK release of the film, which looks spectacular. And Daniela will become the first openly transgender person to present an award at the Oscars, also taking place this weekend.
Natalie Gil, News Writer
Love Season 3, on Netflix from 9th March Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) and Gus (Paul Rust) are back for the third and final season of Judd Apatow's Love, in which they’ll apparently attempt "a real, adult relationship". The last season saw Mickey grapple with her demons and some real highs and lows in their relationship, so let’s see if they’re able to move things forward. If the trailer is anything to go by, it’s going to be a slog.
Dvsn at the O2 Kentish Town Forum, 17th March This Canadian R&B duo, signed to Drake’s OVO Sound, have been my tonic since their second album Morning After dropped in October. Thanks to their provocative lyrics and silky smooth vocals, the pair feature highly on many people’s sex playlists, so I’m curious as to how this racy vibe will manifest IRL. The show is sold out; they’ll be massive in the UK in no time.
Katy Harrington, Managing Editor
HeForShe, Small Things Theatre and ThisisWIRED at VAULT Festival, 9th March Our very own editorial director will be hosting an animated debate about how men, women, businesses, organisations and those who find themselves in positions of power can help enable change by highlighting how we can break damaging behavioural habits and take steps to alter negative attitudes towards women. Following the talk there's an incredible lineup of female artists, including Croydon-born rapper Nadia Rose. See you there.
"Motionhouse unearths the science behind the beating of our hearts and the memories we make, as six performers use dance and acrobatics to expose the charge that sparks human life in this new multi-media show tracing the story of energy in our lives." That sounds pretty incredible to me. Tickets from £15-£29.
Louise Whitbread, Editorial Intern
Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18 at The Design Museum, from 28th March Memes, posters and placards do more than just make people look. The Design Museum's latest exhibition, through 160 objects and installations, explores how graphic messages are influencing, shaping and altering defining political events. Personally, I’ll be looking out for the creative insults held high on protest signs during the Women’s March of 2017.
Jane, National Geographic Channel, 12th March at 9pm If you didn't see it in the cinema, do not miss the chance to catch the UK television premiere date for JANE, a National Geographic documentary film about the truly incredible and trailblazing Jane Goodall. The woman should be as well known as David Attenborough and this BAFTA-nominated doc should get her some of the recognition she deserves for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees. It's one of the best things you'll see in 2018.
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Vice President Mike Pence once again made clear the priorities of the Trump administration by predicting that legal abortion would end in "our time." Pence made the remarks while at a luncheon hosted by the anti-abortion organisation Susan B. Anthony List & Life Institute on Wednesday.
“For all the progress since 1973,” Pence said, referring to the year of the Roe v. Wade decision, “I just know in my heart of hearts that this will be the generation that restores life in America.”
He added, "If all of us do all we can, we can once again, in our time, restore the sanctity of life to the centre of American law."
However, ending access to legal abortion is the Trump administration's ultimate goal, as Pence implied. Organisations like NARAL Pro-Choice America National pushed back against the vice president's remarks.
"The comments today made by Mike Pence, who lives and breathes an anti-choice agenda, are indicative of how much this Administration is trying to ‘normalise’ the idea of a world in which women don’t get to decide their own destinies or control their own bodies," Kaylie Hanson Long, communications director for NARAL, said in statement provided to Refinery29. "This is the future that Mike Pence envisioned today, and it’s a future that the majority of Americans reject. We look forward to when Mike Pence’s tenure in the White House ends, which will most certainly be ‘in our time.'"
The beauty industry's latest fixation doesn't start with your skin, but with your gut. One of the less glamorous body parts, sure, but recently brands have outlined a strong connection between the health of the stomach and the appearance of skin. Whether it's digesting probiotic food, drink and supplements, or topically applying products that promote good bacteria, your quest for problem-free skin should begin in the belly.
First things first: Probiotics are live bacteria or yeast that live in our digestive tract and help with digestion. Lacto-fermenting is the method of introducing lactic acid-producing bacteria (lactobacillus strains) into foods. Although our stomachs already do this to break down sugar and carbohydrates and turn them into energy, Carla Oates, aka The Beauty Chef, who has been exploring gut health for some time, says: "Often, we are stripped of these microbes through environmental sterilisation and eating foods that have no microbes because they've been washed and sprayed with pesticides."
Oates started with lacto-fermenting foods after reading several academic papers that made the connection between the gut and the skin. "It's where the centre of your immune system lies, it's where we make nutrients, metabolise hormones, neutralise pathogens, make neurotransmitters... Everything from our skin to the way we feel, our energy levels and overall health, our weight, blood sugar levels – it really starts in our gut." Looking to miso in Japan, kefir and sauerkraut in eastern Europe, and kimchi in Korea as examples of fermented foods that are eaten to preserve gut health, she says the results were astounding. "My skin was glowing, my tummy felt better, my toilet habits more regular, nails stronger, hair more lustrous; I felt a better energy and overall wellbeing," she says. "It was my 'aha! moment' where it all just came together."
As well as introducing these foods to your diet and supplementing any extra probiotics we may have lost through eating processed foods and living in urban environments, Oates suggests cutting out dairy. "It's highly inflammatory and hard for your digestive system to cope with," she says. "It can contribute to leaky gut, which is where you have a permeability in the lining of your gut wall and toxins and undigested food particles will go straight into your bloodstream, causing inflammation and allergic reactions. In turn, that also puts incredible stress on your liver, and we want our liver to remain extremely efficient to be able to get rid of excess hormones and all of the toxins in our environment and food."
Founding The Beauty Chef in 2009 with her first product, GLOW, Oates decided to take her personal experience to the masses, hoping to help others discover clear skin under eczema, acne, and other issues. Containing 24 organic, bio-fermented and probiotic superfoods, the supplement can be added to smoothies, cereal, or mixed with water. Now, her offering includes bio-fermented probiotic elixir tonics for fighting environmental aggressors, collagen shots, and detox powders – all of which contribute to her cult following.
Bursting onto the beauty scene more recently is Gallinée, founded by French pharmacist Marie Drago. After being diagnosed with pyoderma gangrenosum and Crohn’s disease, and following a three-month antibiotic course, Drago tried a probiotic diet in an effort to relieve her digestive symptoms, having read a study that appealed to her inner scientist. While her digestive symptoms did indeed ease up after around 10 days of eating gut-friendly food, she presses the fact that she isn't advocating a 'miracle cure' for any kind of illness or disease; she's only sharing her personal experience. “Everyone is different and something that worked for me doesn’t mean it can work for everyone, but for me the changes were quite dramatic,” Drago explains. “I also found it had a very positive impact on my anxiety.”
Like Oates, when Drago looked further into microbiomes – bacteria-dwelling areas of the body, like the gut, the skin, and the vagina ("Think of them as your own personal rainforests: huge, fragile and still being explored") – she came to realise how much we were tampering with them through the trappings of modern life. From antibiotics to pollution to over-cleaned vegetables, she found that "our modern lifestyles might be destroying a very important part of our own ecosystem, with serious consequences".
At an adult acne panel talk hosted by Cult Beauty recently, Oates referenced a group of studies exploring what is known as 'the farm effect'. "They sampled children who grew up on organic farms and had been exposed to soil, and found that they had incredibly rich microbial diversity," she explains. "They were really healthy, robust children who had less allergies and less skin problems. Then they took samples from children in urban environments like London, living on a very conventional English diet, and they had very low microbial diversity with a much higher rate of allergies, eczema and skin issues." While Oates isn't suggesting we all run out to our nearest city farm and eat the soil there, both she and Drago founded their brands on academic concerns linking modern life and an unhealthy gut.
Rather than exploring digestibles, Drago worked with a French university to test products on the skin, and Gallinée was born. Like Oates' lacto-fermentation, “probiotics used in cosmetics tend to come from the lactic acid bacteria family (lactobacillus). They have a soothing effect on the skin, as they seem able to modulate inflammatory response from the skin,” Drago explains. “So they will be good on sensitive skin, or to prevent ageing. It’s all due to the anti-inflammatory effect of probiotics, that seems to reduce inflammation mechanisms triggered by the immune system overreacting. Less inflammation means less skin damage, so in effect preventing skin ageing.”
Having launched a select range of products, from a super soothing and calming hydrating face cream to a cleansing bar that works wonders at reducing redness for those with acne and rosacea, Drago also believes a probiotic diet is key. “I think it’s a nice combination when using my skincare.” She's teamed up with nutritionist Antonia Magor to create a gift set that includes Magor’s cookbook, comprising 25 pro- and prebiotic recipes, plus a trio of Gallinée products.
While we've seen results from both Gallinée and The Beauty Chef's GLOW (one read through the online reviews will give you a good indication of people's experiences with both brands), microbiomes and pro- and prebiotic health are still relatively young topics in scientific research. Of course, what works for one person may have no impact on another, and no one here is claiming to heal autoimmune illnesses or cure longstanding diseases. But with probiotic foods having proved a healthy gut staple in many cultures across the world for thousands of years, and our contemporary urban environments giving rise to a larger number of skin issues, balancing the 'rainforest' that lives in your gut – and on your skin – could well lead to the glowing, clear complexion you've been striving for.
Now the razzle-dazzle of party season is well and truly over, we have to admit that we welcome with open arms the antidote to all that sparkle: knitwear.
While winter can be overwhelming, with its dark mornings, short days and cold climes, knitwear feels like a cup of tea and a big hug in one. The problem is, we still have to live our lives, abundant with work meetings, dates and dinners. This means that dressing like we'd rather be in bed, while ideal, often isn't an option. Lucky, then, that with the knitwear of AW17 you can feel both comfy and cool at once.
Three key threads came through in the knitwear of the season, with a style to suit a variety of tastes. Click through to find our favourite knitwear trends from the shows, and the pieces to shop this season.
The rollneck continued to reign supreme this season, with chunky knits and finer pieces being worn under slip dresses, oversized shirting, and floral tea dresses. Paired with frothy skirts at Dior, given contrasting colours at Hermès, and styled as part of red-to-toe get-ups at Max Mara, there are 101 ways to wear your rollneck knit.
We like the structured fit of this COS knit.
COS High-Neck Cashmere Jumper, £135, available at COS
Ultraviolet will be ubiquitous this year, and this Ellery knit is the best place to start.
Ellery Mescaline Ribbed Stretch-Jersey Turtleneck Top, £495 £248, available at Net-A-Porter
This Chloé piece is fabulous, and not least because of its pockets.
Chloé Cashmere Turtleneck Sweater, £900 £540, available at Net-A-Porter
If traditional rollnecks aren't your thing, add a sporty element with a zipped front.
Whistles Rib Zip Front Chunky Knit, £129, available at Whistles
Part Breton top, part oversized jumper = the perfect casual weekend knit.
Finery Marble Blue And White Striped Mohair Jumper, £99, available at Finery
This khaki is perfectly paired with mustard velvet trousers. This is what smart cosy looks like.
Victoria Beckham Ribbed Wool Turtleneck Sweater, £795 £398, available at Net-A-Porter
Next up are accentuated sleeves, seen at Joseph, Pringle, Chloé and Sonia Rykiel, to name but a few. Look for sleeves that inch past your hands, feature bows and ties, and incorporate balloon-puff shoulders. Who said knitwear had to be boring?
Not only is this pastel going to see you through to spring (ice cream shades will dominate next season), but the puffed-up sleeves on this knit are dreamy.
& Other Stories Cropped Mock Neck Sweater, £59, available at & Other Stories
Flamenco dancer sleeves just so happen to be making their way into our wardrobe.
Claudie Pierlot Layered-Sleeve Wool And Cashmere-Blend Jumper, £143.40, available at Selfridges
The layering potential of this jumper is endless.
Monki Oversized Knit Top Strawberry Crush, £35, available at Monki
Stella's knocked it out of the park with this tie-detail. All you need is a trusty pair of jeans and some mules.
Stella McCartney Tie-Sleeve Cashmere Blend, £690, available at Selfridges
The knitwear we've been lusting after for some time, Ganni has brought this sweet detailed knit out in several colours now. Snap it up.
Ganni The Julliard Mohair Bow Pullover, £330, available at Ganni
A surefire way to boost your mood in January? Bold, bright, brilliant knitwear. Sure, there were plenty of sand, nude and camel cosies on offer this season, but we'd much prefer a more striking foot-first into the new year. Look for inspiration in Zadig & Voltaire's electric-blue ribbed knit, Au Jour Le Jour's zesty orange jumper, and Ryan Lo's fuchsia and violet grungy number.
Gucci brings the geometric detail to a colourful knit.
Gucci Cube-Intarsia Striped Wool-Blend Knit Sweater, £895, available at Matches Fashion
Sunshine yellow in January to combat the lack of vitamin D we're getting.
H&M Oversized Mohair-Blend Jumper, £59.99 £25.99, available at H&M
A forever piece, the timeless shades on this striped knit will see you through season after season.
Missoni Roll-Neck Striped Wool-Blend Knit Sweater, £880 £352, available at Matches Fashion
Who knew lime could be so wearable?
Diane Von Furstenberg High-Neck Cashmere Jumper, £395, available at Selfridges
Perfectly styled with vinyl trousers, this Kitri knit also looks wonderful with white jeans.
Kitri Scout Cowl Neck Sweatshirt, £55, available at Kitri
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Seashell necklaces, once a nostalgic '90s holiday souvenir staple, are now the must-have accessory for spring and none other than Miuccia Prada is at the helm of this throwback trend. Models strode down the AW17 catwalk adorned with oversized, mismatching shell necklaces and bangles in clashing colours and textures, paired with '70s corduroy and angora knitted skirt suits.
Back on our shores, seashells have graduated from reminding us of our favourite Polly Pocket or summer-holiday flirtations with the local surfer boys to become the latest accessories addition for spring. Pandora Sykes and Leandra Medine have also championed the trend, sporting gold door-knockers and decked-out chokers.
Right now, we're mastering the art of multilayered jewellery, wearing two or three necklaces at a time, whether they're peeking through crisp white shirts or sat atop dark knits. Keep hair tied back to allow eye-catching clip-ons to stand out, and sleeves rolled up to show off embellished bracelets and dainty rings. Cast your doubt aside as ahead we show you how we'll be styling them for spring. A throwback Thursday if there ever was one.
Avoid plastic pieces and opt for silver or gold, like this seaside charm from Alex Monroe. The engraving reads: "I Must Go Down to the Sea Again, To the Lonely Sea and the Sky."
Alex Monroe Engraved Shell Necklace, £165, available at Alex Monroe
You can't go wrong with a drop pendant, with added fringing for a burst of colour.
Mango Shell Pendant Necklace, £5.99, available at Mango
A subtle nod to the seashell trend. Be a modern mermaid in these beauties from Anna + Nina.
Anna + Nina Coral Shell Earring Brass Goldplated, £48.54, available at Anna + Nina
If oversized bangles don't take your fancy, look to this seashell ring cast from a real shell.
Phoebe Coleman Sound Of The Sea Shell Ring With Beaded Bead, £125, available at Phoebe Coleman
We'll be teaming these with a high neckline and and an even higher ponytail.
Albus Lumen X Ryan Storer Shell-Drop Earrings, £138, available at Matches Fashion
Keep it simple with a single off-white seashell.
Isabel Marant Shell-Embellished Bangle, £65, available at Matches Fashion
A shell pendant hailing all the way from Captiva, Florida; we'll be wearing this over a navy knit.
Harry Rocks Saba Shell Necklace, £70, available at Wolf & Badger
Show these off with swept-back hair teamed with a white shirt dress.
Kenneth Jay Lane Gold-Plated, Crystal and Faux Pearl Clip Earrings, £90, available at Net-A-Porter
An effortless day-to-day piece, wear this intricately detailed necklace with an open-collared blouse.
Isabel Marant Shell-Pendant Necklace, £55, available at Matches Fashion
We love the lobster-claw fastening on this shell-embellished bracelet from Isabel Marant.
Isabel Marant Shell-Embellished Bracelet, £90, available at Matches Fashion
Mix it up with these mismatched yellow-gold earrings from Albus Lumen’s collaboration with jewellery designer Ryan Storer.
Albus Lumen X Ryan Storer Shell-Embellished Earrings, £155, available at Matches Fashion
Keep things subtle with a simple, single shell earring. Designer Alison Chemla looked to her favourite pasta following a holiday in Italy as inspiration for the piece.
Alison Lou Yellow-Gold Shell Single Earring, £128, available at Matches Fashion
Don't shy away from colour, this genuine merco shell finished with a dark-blue lacquer is our new favourite accessories staple.
Aurélie Bidermann Merco Shell & Yellow-Gold Necklace, £370, available at Matches Fashion
A playful update on a classic hoop, courtesy of Sarah & Sebastian, whose materials are all ethically sourced.
Sarah & Sebastian Shell 9-Karat Gold Earrings, £185, available at Net-A-Porter
Update your neckline by layering up pieces like this over crisp white shirts.
Ottoman Hands Small Gold Shell Necklace, £29, available at Wolf & Badger
Dainty and delicate, this is going straight in our shopping basket.
Lee Renee Mini Shell & Pearl Necklace Gold Vermeil, £72, available at Wolf & Badger
Make it a set with the matching ring.
Lee Renee Shell & Pearl Ring Gold Vermeil, £75, available at Wolf & Badger
Our payday treat will be these statement drop earrings.
PORCELAIN Crystal Star Porcelain Seashell Earrings, £108, available at Wolf & Badger
Whoever said patience is a virtue clearly wasn't thinking about the agony of waiting a full week in between episodes of your favourite TV show. Call us greedy, but there's no greater creature comfort — especially when it's freezing outside and the sun's set before you've even left the office — than diving deep into a new series and indulging that impulse to say, "Just one more episode before bed".
Binge-watching makes it easy to breeze through a series, so we're always on the lookout for fresh content — whether it's a critically acclaimed new release that's backed by major buzz, or that underrated gem our friends have been raving about for years. If you've got a Prime Video account through Amazon, you're in luck: There's plenty of both ready to stream right now.
Below, we've rounded up the shows — some new, some less so — that deserve to be on your pop culture playlist, and not simply because each and every one is dominated by female leads. And if you decide to sacrifice sleep and social commitments in favour of gulping down a full 10-episode series in one go, you'll get no judgement from us. Some shows are just too good to sit on.
All shows featured are available to watch on Prime Video.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Even if you haven't yet caught The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, you've no doubt heard about its rave reviews and pile of awards — including Golden Globes for Best Musical or Comedy TV Series and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series for lead Rachel Brosnahan. And did we mention that it comes from the creator of Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino?
Set in late '50s New York City, the charming and quirky show stars Brosnahan as Midge Maisel, a picture-perfect Jewish housewife and mother who rocks the boat when she decides to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. The bold move kicks off a lot of controversy, but it's impossible not to root for Midge as she crashes the male-dominated ranks of comedy and interacts with fictionalised portrayals of real-life comedic legends.
Photo: Courtesy of Prime Video.
The Bold Type
The fictional women's glossy Scarlet is the backdrop for this soapy story about three twentysomething friends who are making major girlboss moves in the magazine industry. Jane (Katie Stevens) is a newly promoted writer who wants to be the next Joan Didion but needs to be nudged out of her creative comfort zone; Kat (Aisha Dee) is the fearless social media director who will go the extra mile for a story; and Sutton (Meghann Fahy) is the longtime assistant who's torn between financial prudence and the pursuit of her fashion editor dreams.
Also in the mix: Relationships, work dramas, and the age-old struggle of trying to find your footing — and your voice — when you're just starting out in your career.
Photo: Courtesy of Prime Video.
Outlander
If you've got a soft spot for time travel, star-crossed romance, historical fiction, and men in kilts, ye cannae go wrong with Outlander, the small-screen adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's hugely popular book series of the same name. Having just wrapped its third series, the drama follows the story of Caitriona Balfe's brilliant and brash Claire, a feminist former World War II nurse who finds herself transported to 18th-century Scotland and the loving embrace of hunky Highlander Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). One catch: She's already married to a nice English chap who's been left behind in 1946.
Political intrigue, vicious battles, and some of the steamiest bedroom scenes known to man ensue. Scottish history's never been more fascinating — or sexier.
Photo: Courtesy of Prime Video.
Casual
Valerie (Michaela Watkins) is a soon-to-be divorcée with a teenage daughter who loves to push boundaries (Tara Lynne Barr's Laura) and an emotionally stunted younger brother (Tommy Dewey's Alex) who has let them take over his LA bachelor pad.
Though the dramedy, which will air its fourth and final series later this year, is ostensibly about Valerie and Alex's co-dependent forays into the hilariously shallow and, sadly, totally relatable LA dating scene, the dynamic between mother and daughter fosters the meatiest moments. While Valerie struggles to rediscover her sexual self in the wake of her marital breakdown, headstrong Laura grapples with slut-shaming, sexual experimentation, and other coming-of-age conflicts.
Photo: Courtesy of Prime Video.
UnREAL
If you're a sucker for dating shows but always wonder just how much of reality TV is actually real, have we got the show for you. Having just unveiled its third season, UnREAL offers a juicy behind-the-scenes look at the fictional set of Everlasting, a ratings hit in the vein of The Bachelor.
Turns out, the path to reality romance is strewn not with rose petals but with pushy producers, edited footage, and manipulation. Trust: The cutthroat tactics of producers Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn King (Constance Zimmer) and on-set intrigue will guarantee that you never watch a reality show the same way again.
Photo: Courtesy of Prime Video.
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This morning, somewhat unexpectedly, the British fashion house announced that Riccardo Tisci, the creative director at Givenchy from 2005-2017, will direct all Burberry collections and present his first for the brand in September. He will be based at Burberry’s headquarters in London.
Riccardo Tisci said in a press statement: “I am honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry as its new Chief Creative Officer and reuniting with Marco Gobbetti. I have an enormous respect for Burberry’s British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand.”
Marco Gobbetti, who was appointed CEO at Burberry in July 2017, previously president and CEO at Givenchy between 2004-2008, added: “I am delighted that Riccardo is joining Burberry as Chief Creative Officer. Riccardo is one of the most talented designers of our time. His designs have an elegance that is contemporary and his skill in blending streetwear with high fashion is highly relevant to today’s luxury consumer. Riccardo’s creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury.”
With over a decade's experience designing everything from haute couture to streetwear-inspired womenswear and menswear collections, as well as leather goods and accessories at Givenchy, the industry and Tisci's cult following will eagerly await the new direction and vision he brings to the quintessentially British brand, so well known and loved for its iconic trench and recognisable check.
For the past 17 years, Burberry has been intrinsically linked with music, with artists such as Tom Odell, Benjamin Clementine and James Bay performing at fashion shows. Riccardo Tisci has collaborated with some of the world's biggest artists, including Jay-Z and Kanye West, Rihanna and Madonna. The countdown to September begins, when a whole new image (and potentially sound) to Burberry will be unveiled.
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