Latest news with #Dots
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
18 Elevated Zara-Style Pieces That Are Flying Off Amazon Shelves — Starting at Just $9
Zara's summer collection is particularly swoon-worthy — especially the tops, blouses and dresses. But if you're on a budget, there are alternative spots to get a similar look for less, like say, on Amazon. After all, a few pieces at Zara can easily turn into a thousand-dollar venture. Luckily, we found some stellar Amazon picks that won't break the bank, starting at just $9. There is a wide selection of linen-looking tops, silky button-up blouses and billowy dresses that scream "old money" on Amazon right now. We rounded up 18 of the best, most Zara-looking pieces to give you an effortlessly put-together look wherever you go. By the way, several picks on this list are on sale, so snap them up fast! 1. CEO Energy: This double-layer chiffon blouse comes in endless colors and patterns, giving you a millionaire aesthetic. 2. Silky Satin: You'll want two (or three) of these chic button-front blouses with a plunging V-neckline and a classy lapel collar. 3. Yacht Wife: Stripes, cap sleeves and knit materials are a few telltale signs of a yacht wife aesthetic. Give all the signals in this comfy tee! 4. Halter Tank: Everything about this high-neck tank is classy. It features bow tie, pleated detailing and a luxe-looking material. These 18 Tummy-Hiding Sundresses Channel a European Boutique Aesthetic for Less 5. Layering Essential: Look no further for a fitted cap-sleeve top that makes your waist and arms appear slimmer. 6. Pretty Princess: Embroidered material and ruffle sleeves make this cotton top a must-have for brunch, barbecues and everything in between. 7. Classy Grandma: Button-front sweaters are ultra-trendy for transitional temps and cool summer nights. However, the gold buttons definitely give this pick an elevated look. 8. Trendsetter Alert: Puff sleeves, a relaxed fit and a creamy beige hue are just a few highlights to love from this sophisticated knit top. 9. Modest Lace: This lace-embellished shirt pairs beautifully with a tank top, white jeans and strappy sandals for everyday errands and dinners alike. 10. Hamptons Boutique: Hey there, Miss Confident! This knee-length dress looks expensive with its embroidered material and banner hems. 11. Classy Act: Get ready to be the center of attention while wearing this solid-colored short-sleeve maxi. It has puff sleeves and a billowy, tiered skirt that flows nicely as you walk. 12. Everything Outfit: Look no further! This simple and dainty dress is perfect to throw on when heading to the office or patio parties. 13. Swiss Dots: This ultra-flattering mini dress has lantern sleeves, a square neckline and designer-like ruching. Hidden pockets are just a bonus. 14. Center of Attention: Don't be surprised if heads turn. You'll look model-tall and extra expensive in this sleeveless satin maxi. 15. In Tiers: We're grabbing this versatile stretchy tank maxi in two colors (with a third in the cart). 16. Delicate Era: Give your upscale aesthetic a boho twist with this flutter-sleeve midi. 17. Tummy-Hiding Design: Have you ever seen such a flattering dress? This casual mini has a front tie detail to discreetly cover your midsection. 18. Wedding Guest: Ruffles, pleats, bows, oh my! This cocktail dress will have you glowing from the inside out. Channel European Style in These 17 Loose Blouses That Are Surprisingly Under $20 Us Weekly and Yahoo have affiliate partnerships. We receive compensation when you click on a link and make a purchase. Learn more!
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Paul Kelly's Post at 40: the album in which a future star found his voice
In 1984, Paul Kelly packed up his few belongings, borrowed his father-in-law's Holden and made the 13-hour drive from Melbourne to Sydney. He had barely a dollar in his pocket and no place to lay his head. Don Walker, who was taking a breather from the music business after the breakup of Cold Chisel, offered him a temporary refuge in his Kings Cross double-storey terrace. He had a white grand piano in the front room. Not quite 30, Kelly wasn't even on his last chance. In industry terms, he was done. He'd made two failed records with his band the Dots, long since disavowed. Michael Gudinski dropped him from Mushroom and washed his hands. Still, the grand piano called. Inspired by a Lovin' Spoonful song, Never Going Back, and Robert Johnson's From Four Until Late, a sad goodbye-to-all-that song tumbled out on the keys. It was From St Kilda to Kings Cross. Kelly played it to Walker when he came home. 'You've got your own thing now,' Walker told him gruffly. For Kelly, it was a watershed. 'I'd found my own little patch of ground, was hoeing a row nobody else was,' he reflected in his memoir, How to Make Gravy. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning The song would open his third album, Post, released 40 years ago this month. The album didn't chart. But it recouped its smell-of-an-oily-rag recording costs, paid off Kelly's debts and provided the launchpad for everything that followed. After dossing with Walker, Kelly moved in with Dragon's keyboard player, Paul Hewson. Hewson had songwriting fingerprints on that band's big early hits, April Sun in Cuba and the notorious Are You Old Enough? Hewson and Kelly swapped songs and stories. Both addicts, they occasionally went out and scored. Kelly was unsteady on his feet, but his confidence was growing. Guitarist Steve Connolly and drummer Michael Barclay soon followed him to Sydney. Barclay wouldn't end up playing drums on Post, though. The songs were spare and haunted, supported only by Barclay's high-harmony singing and Connolly's beautifully understated leads. Usually, he just added minor embellishments to the vocal melody. The trio gained a residency at the Strawberry Hills hotel in Surry Hills. The Sydney rock scene was obsessed with the ghost of Radio Birdman; all raised fists and leather jackets. Standing in front of such an audience with an acoustic guitar and no drummer took some nerve. Many of the songs on Post dealt with addiction and its consequences. On the first side were Incident on South Dowling, White Train and Blues for Skip, a lyrical description of writer's block featuring a shiver-inducing lead break from Connolly. The second side further blurred the line between art and autobiography. There was Adelaide, an ironic kiss-off to Kelly's old home town (which annoyed his family), and Standing on the Street of Early Sorrows, a song to an adolescent crush named Julie. There was also (You Can Put Your Shoes) Under My Bed, which rhymed 'spastic' and 'fantastic'. A music publisher in Nashville thought the song had potential, in the hands of the right country singer, if only Kelly could change that line. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion He never did. Not because he thought it sounded any better back then than it does now – it just stuck. 'You get a lot of bad or boring rhymes pass through your mind while you're writing and you do your best to weed them out, but sometimes an awkward one muscles its way in, hunkers down under the song-skin and won't be removed for love or money,' he wrote in his memoir. And there was the final track, Little Decisions, a homily that celebrated the virtue of putting one foot in front of the other in hard times. Kelly's voice was simultaneously at its world-weariest and warmest: Work a little harder Keep your mind on death Get your things in order Take a deeper breath Shortly after recording was complete, Paul Hewson left Dragon, then at the height of their success courtesy of the album Body and the Beat and its massive single, Rain. He died of an overdose on 9 January 1985. Without a deal, Kelly began shopping Post around. Michelle Higgins, Gudinski's trusted PR at Mushroom, locked herself in the Sebel Townhouse on Mushroom's credit card until her boss re-signed him. Gudinski relented, releasing Post on a Mushroom subsidiary, White. The album's title alluded to the series of farewells embedded in the songs: to St Kilda, to Adelaide, to the Dots, to drugs (though that would take a while longer), to Kelly's first marriage, and to Hewson, to whom the album was dedicated. On release, Post was a stiff. Kelly's then-manager, Stuart Coupe, wrote in his book Shake Some Action that Gudinski's reticence seemed to have been vindicated: 'To all intents and purposes, Paul Kelly had delivered his third commercial dud.' But word spread, and better times were ahead. Connolly and Barclay would form the core of Kelly's new band, the Coloured Girls (later renamed the Messengers). With them, he would re-record full-band versions of four Post songs for his next album: the sprawling Gossip. That album would take Kelly from the margins to the mainstream. Post, though, was the essential backstory. It's the album on which Kelly found his voice – the one that established him as arguably the foremost Australian singer-songwriter of his generation.
