Latest news with #Aciman
New York Times
7 days ago
- General
- New York Times
The Most Affordable Packing Tool Is Also the Best
Although even the most haphazard fill-'em-and-squish-'em technique will help you save space, there is an art to making each parcel as small as possible. Roughly three days' worth of clothes. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter While it might not be advisable to squish down some of these items, such as the denim shirt, here are those same three days' worth of clothes in a small, backpack-ready parcel. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter While it might not be advisable to squish down some of these items, such as the denim shirt, here are those same three days' worth of clothes in a small, backpack-ready parcel. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter Roughly three days' worth of clothes. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter After a few trips, I've learned that these bags work best when I haven't egregiously overstuffed them. For example, you can save more space in your suitcase by splitting up 10 T-shirts into two bags with five shirts each rather than putting all 10 into one bag. Overstuffing can make it hard to get all the air out, which defeats the purpose. I've also learned that it's easier to compress these bags when I don't mix categories of clothes — socks, for instance, compress into tighter parcels with other socks than when packed with underwear and T-shirts. I've come to rely on the various sizes for different tasks, too. After an airline lost my suitcase in 2019, I became somewhat paranoid about being stuck in any one place without a change of clothes in my carry-on. I now use the very smallest size of compression bag (about as big as a gallon-size freezer bag) to pack an extra day's worth of clothes into my backpack. Compressed, this parcel comes out to the size of a banana. I like to use one of the extra-large bags as my dirty-laundry bag on longer trips. Finding ways to pack dirty clothes at the end of a trip can be a hassle, but compression bags make easy work of it. I neatly fold every dirty item of clothing flat into a single bag, which I then compress at the end of my trip. The mega bag of laundry fits perfectly into my suitcase and also quarantines the dirty from the still-clean. (Having extra bags also makes it easy for me to pack clothes I might have purchased while on vacation.) And if you, like me, are paranoid about bedbugs, having vacuum-sealed dirty laundry allows you to dump your clothes straight into the dryer when you get home, minimizing the risk of letting critters loose in your home. Thanks to these compression bags, eight days' worth of clothes fit neatly into one half of my smaller Away Carry-On. Alexander Aciman/NYT Wirecutter These bags have one major downside: wrinkles. Fabrics such as thick cotton knits, polyester, and merino are fairly good at shedding creases on their own, so they weather the bags well, but I definitely wouldn't recommend using these bags for thinner, finer fabrics or any formal clothes you might want looking crisp ahead of an event, especially if you won't have time to iron. A dress shirt or dress would most definitely come out of compression looking rumpled. The other, smaller inconvenience is that unlike packing cubes, which have a defined shape, compression bags can often shrink into irregularly shaped parcels. As a result, they don't necessarily fit neatly into a suitcase, and it may take some Tetris-ing to figure out the right layout. However, they are pliable, and you can fold them or lay them flat depending on which way they'll fit better into your suitcase. These compression bags have not solved all of Vacation Alex's afflictions. I am still generally (though less) afraid of bedbugs. I still become overly maudlin upon departure from basically anywhere. I still completely fail to track my spending when using foreign currencies, even (or especially) those with unfavorable exchange rates. I still manage to catch zero hours of sleep on any red-eye, and I still cannot keep myself from bringing home half a dozen books. Most notably, I still end up filling my suitcase with stacks of clothes I will probably never work up the nerve to wear, even half a world away from my usual routines. But that is okay. It is the dream of wearing them that matters most — the act of packing visions of a different self into my suitcase with the hope that it will blossom far from home. Usually, the place for dreams in my suitcase is superseded almost entirely by essentials, such as sunscreen and underwear. That is no longer the case. Now, my vacation dreams are bigger and more unfettered than ever before. And so is my bag. This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder. The simple, well-built Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set is our choice to keep your luggage organized for either a week or a weekend. If a free carry-on isn't included in your ticket, don't pay extra for it. Here's how you can pack a personal item for a weekend trip. Struggling to pack for your weekend away? The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L fits so much more than you'd expect.
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Shoppers spot Lululemon item dupe at Costco for $108 off… they even have the same zipper
Shoppers can save $108 on a Lululemon pants dupe at Costco. The Lululemon ABC 5 Pocket Pants are a beloved product which come in various sizes and colors. However, customers have to shell out $128 per pair at the athletic apparel retailer. The next best thing in shoppers' eyes is Costco's Kirkland Signature Men's 5-Pocket Performance Pant. Like the Lululemon bottoms, they come in various sizes and colors and have also received positive reviews from shoppers. Customers can snag one of the Kirkland-brand pants right now for only $20. 'When I held these two pairs of pants and inspected their construction, they looked almost identical,' wrote Alexander Aciman of the New York Times. Aciman managed to find some significant similarities between both pants, including their zippers. A substantial similarity is that both bottoms have a gusseted crotch, a small diamond-shaped patch replacing a traditional one that makes pants more comfortable to wear. Aciman pointed out that it can also help improve range in motion, which is convenient for flights or standing for 12 hours. 'The crotch is a defining feature of Lululemon's pants (ABC stands for Anti–Ball Crushing),' he revealed. 'The previous-generation Kirkland performance pants lacked this feature, and its inclusion in the latest version brings these pants much more in line with the ABC pants.' The shopper found that the Kirkland pants had the same kind of YKK zippers, a reinforced button, and seams sewn with about 11 to 12 stitches per inch. 'On most pants, this flat felled seam results in a flap of fabric inside the leg of the garment,' Aciman explained. 'Lululemon stitches this flap down, presumably for comfort; Kirkland's pants have the same sewn-down flap.' Geometric pattern similarities include watch pockets and a zippered back pocket that's 'too shallow for a regular-size wallet or a passport...,' according to the expert. But Aciman managed to tell the difference between the pants through their fabric. 'Lululemon's Warpstreme fabric is made from 53 percent elastomultiester and 47 percent recycled polyester, and Kirkland's is made from 74 percent polyester and 26 percent elastomultiester,' he said. 'That might sound similar, but the fabric is where Lululemon really sets itself apart.' Aciman admitted that he preferred the Lululemon fabric and claimed his Kirkland pants 'swished like old-school gym shorts.' Kirkland Signature Men's 5-Pocket Performance Pant No need to shell out the big bucks for Lululemon pants when you can pick up a lookalike pair from Costco for a fraction of the price. Beautifully designed to fit like a dream while providing all-day comfort coupled with peak performance, these bottoms are available blue, black, and grey. $15.99 Shop He insisted the Costco bottoms had a great design aesthetic and were comfortable to wear, but they still made him 'feel more like a schlub.' 'As a man who loves Costco, loves a deal, and has made a hobby of hunting down the factories that white-label clothing for designers, every fiber of my being wanted the Kirkland pants to be as good as or better than the Lululemon pants,' he said. 'My inherent skepticism of athleisure brands with flashy reputations left me with a hunger that could be sated only by the thought that a $20 pair of pants was just as good as pants retailing for six times that.' After weighing out the pros and cons, Aciman concluded that the pants were similar but 'definitely not the same.' Customers have been debating which pants are better for months on Reddit. 'Honestly thought the Kirklands were the Lulus at first,' a user wrote on a thread dedicated to the subject. 'Might just be my opinion but one thing I've found with Kirkland is that the cut just doesn't fit as nice and I can see it here too,' another customer wrote. 'It just looks a lot tighter and uncomfortable in the crotch area.' 'Costco definitely an option but I'll stick with my lulu. 'The difference is in the details,' another fan chimed in.
Express Tribune
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Jeremy Allen White to star in Netflix's bisexual romance drama ‘Enigma Variations'
Jeremy Allen White is confirmed to star in and executive produce Netflix's limited series adaptation of André Aciman's novel, Enigma Variations. The project, currently in development, will mark the second screen adaptation of Aciman's work, following the critically acclaimed Call Me by Your Name. White will portray the lead character, Paul, in the series that explores themes of love, desire, and identity. The story follows Paul's lifelong journey of fleeting yet consuming relationships, from a childhood crush on a cabinetmaker in Italy to anonymous encounters with men and enduring passion for a girl he reconnects with over the years. The narrative delves into the complexities of love, desire, and self-discovery. Amanda Kate Shuman (The Wheel of Time) is attached as the writer, showrunner, and executive producer, while Oliver Hermanus (Living) will direct and executive produce. Aciman and White will also serve as executive producers, with Media Res producing the series. Jeremy Allen White, best known for his Emmy-winning role in FX's The Bear, brings significant star power to the adaptation. His other notable credits include Shameless, The Iron Claw, and the upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere. For Media Res, this is one of their latest Netflix ventures, following the recent announcement of their Silicon Valley corporate thriller Thumblite starring Rosamund Pike. The series will offer audiences a rich exploration of human connections and emotional depth, adding another highly anticipated adaptation to Netflix's slate.
