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Washington Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Millennials went wild for Outdoor Voices. Can it become cool again?
In the 2010s, millions of millennials made the lurch into adulthood, bringing with us our famed earnestness and idealism as well as our gently tasteful Millennial Aesthetic. Declared immortal in 2020, pronounced dead 2021, said Aesthetic washed out our homes and gathering spaces in dusty pink and sage green, with soft arch-shaped accents and big, groovy plants. It wiped away maximalist commercial culture to replace it with pleasing, Instagram-friendly sans serif fonts and ad campaigns starring models with freckles. A totem of this particular time: the undyed canvas Outdoor Voices tote, bearing its 'Technical Apparel for Recreation' tagline in a bubbly blue font. It bobbed around city blocks on the shoulders of women who sometimes also wore the brand's distinctive, pale-pastel-color-dipped leggings, or its tennis-adjacent Exercise Dress, or the baseball cap that bore its tail-waggingly cheery slogan, 'Doing Things.' By the end of the decade, you could route yourself to almost any major metro area's liveliest postgrad neighborhood just by Googling directions to the local Outdoor Voices. Parsons School of Design graduate Ty Haney founded Outdoor Voices in 2013 at the age of 23. The former track athlete quickly rose to fame alongside it, a trajectory common to a whole class of young, stylish female founders of the then-burgeoning direct-to-consumer movement. Haney was pushed out of the role in 2020, but the company came under new ownership last year and announced last week that Haney had returned to the helm. (Also, as it happens, a common development lately for said class of female founders.) In the week since the announcement, a flurry of TikTok videos have materialized celebrating the return of 'Ty,' with whom fans seem to be on a parasocial first-name basis. The first collection of her second stint dropped Tuesday. Outdoor Voices 1.0 was earnest, it was friendly, it made the pursuit of health feel fun. It was, in many ways, an ur-millennial brand, free of irony and determinedly welcoming. But it worked the first time because it was — to borrow a then-buzzword — disruptive. Now Haney faces the tricky assignment of once again standing out in an athleisure market over which Outdoor Voices has undeniably exerted an influence. Back in 2013, workout gear was 'like, shiny black Spandex and superhuman-looking,' Haney told me this week. 'I wanted to go the other way, with neutrals and texture, things that would integrate nicely into your daily wardrobe.' So in the early years, Outdoor Voices' matte color palette largely consisted of light, creamy hues called 'oatmeal' and 'ash' and 'beach' and 'white sand.' Even the more saturated tones had names such as 'dandelion' and 'evergreen,' and the high neck- and waistlines of most OV garments gave even their body-hugging high-compression workout sets a sweetly modest affect. Today, if something gets described, or derided, as 'millennial-coded,' chances are it looks like Outdoor Voices: 'It definitely set the tone in a lot of ways for that era, in terms of, like, 'clean and simple,'' Haney said, then added, laughing, 'and sans serif.' At the time, its conviction that exercise didn't have to be punishing — Haney fondly remembers an ad campaign built entirely around dog-walking — won over legions of shoppers. More came into the fold when the brand began offering community events such as group hikes and fun runs. And still others, myself (25 at the time, married only to my gym membership, regularly washing sweaty yoga clothes to the point of disintegration) included, got converted just by the shocking durability of the clothes. Technical apparel for recreation, indeed. In some ways, 2025 America might seem like a perfect climate for the return of OG OV. Gen Z women are carrying their Owala FreeSip water bottles (gentle colors, sans serif font) to the Pilates studio after work instead of meeting up for happy hour. Now, though, the athleisure market is flooded with Exercise Dress copycats and candy-colored two-piece compression sets. (And the latter feel 'a little tired,' Haney quipped.) Not to mention brand-sponsored run clubs and yoga events. After the announcement of Haney's return, Outdoor Voices released the first preview image of her new collection: a black zip-up hoodie with a cursive, bedazzled 'Doing Things,' a notion that would have sounded like parody — or blasphemy — in 2015, given Outdoor Voices' famously understated look at the time. But a decade later, as Gen Z gleefully revives the gaudy, goofy styles of the early 2000s, the concept feels on-trend, if not on-brand. ('What in the Juicy Couture Y2K is going on right now,' replied a chorus of TikTok reaction videos.) Among the other new offerings are looser-fitting variations on the Exercise Dress in black and white, shorts and workout bras in vibrant canary yellow, and grass-green and pastel cardigans made of a cotton-cashmere blend. The collection's single style of leggings is a similarly Y2K-invoking black capri. This new Outdoor Voices has 'more details' and is 'more fashion-driven,' Haney said. 'I think the whole ecosystem of activewear brands has gotten a little bit boring and plain and bland.' In Haney's absence, Outdoor Voices was displaced from dominance by brands such as Alo and Vuori, whose workoutwear is frequently photographed in settings that suggest $300-a-month fitness club memberships and luxe beach getaways ('I am somewhat shocked that the '[fitness as] recreation' path is still so wide open for us to own,' Haney mused) and tend to offer a surfeit of earth tones alongside one or two bolder accent colors. Their muted 2020s color palettes, arguably, are a downstream effect of Outdoor Voices' muted 2010s color palette, though 2010s OV looks Lisa Frank-esque in comparison. Haney wants the brand to once again lead athleisure in a new direction. So rhinestones and capri pants and loud fabrics may be what's required for Outdoor Voices 2.0 to stand out in a post-Outdoor Voices 1.0 world. Still, a certain subset of women might be content to order those 1.0 staples from Haney forever if she were to keep making them, buying back pieces of their youth. 'Outdoor Voices is making a comeback. And it feels like 2019 again,' one New Yorker rejoiced on TikTok. In Los Angeles, another user mimed blowing cobwebs off a blue 'Doing Things' cap. And one woman who had posted in jubilation in response to 'Ty' 'rising from the ashes' posted again a few days later: 'Just dusted off this vintage, archival, authentic Outdoor Voices exercise dress,' read the caption. In a polka-dot version, she posed whimsically for a moment before slurping her iced coffee and pushing a bassinet stroller out of frame.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Single women are using Hinge to get their furniture built by matches — for free: ‘It felt like getting the boyfriend experience on a first date'
Move over, Mr. Right — Gen Z gals are looking for Mr. Fix-It. Savvy single ladies in NYC and beyond are treating the dating app Hinge like a handyman service —updating their profiles on the trendy pair-off platform to say they can be 'won over' by a man who can help them install, well, hinges. Dinner and drinks? Later for that — these practical women on the prowl say the ideal 'first date' includes hex keys and hammer drills. 'I feel like guys need a little job or mission, and then they feel so happy. They're like a golden retriever [dog] — they accomplished something and are happy to help,' Hinge habitué Storm Halestrap, 24, of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, told The Post of the 'Bob the Builder' trend. The professional photographer participated in the handyman-hustling Hinge hack on social media, posting a video —albeit a cheeky one — back in April that showed a man crouched on the floor assembling a wooden table with a drill. 'POV: You get your Hinge date to build your new TikTok shop furniture,' the caption read. It turns out that the man featured is her current boyfriend, whom she did meet on the popular app, Halestrap told The Post, though she didn't nab him while looking for Mr. Fix-It. However, the impetus for her video was that she previously had multiple successes meeting similarly service-minded suitors on Hinge. During her senior year at Parsons School of Design, Halestrap matched with a finance bro shortly after moving to Midtown — and casually mentioned that her dark, tiny bedroom needed some sprucing up. 'I remember telling one of my Hinge matches about this and how I wanted plants to brighten up my room, and he said, 'Well, I think we have to do that for our first date — I'll buy you all the plants you need to fill your room,'' she recalled. The two got drinks to loosen up, then stumbled into Home Depot on the Upper East Side, where he filled her cart with greenery and helped haul it all back. A year earlier, while living in the East Village, she invited a different guy over who zeroed in on her bare bedroom walls and immediately offered to hang her frames — even insisting on buying nails and a lamp to brighten the space. 'I thought it was funny how I brought this guy into my bedroom, and his first thought was to start fixing things and telling me what I needed to fix in my room,' Halestrap recounted. Experts say the chivalry-tinged trend taps into a post-pandemic shift: ladies want utility — not just chemistry. 'It mimics the most traditional dynamic — the man fixes, the woman asks for help,' Dr. Jennifer Gunsaullus, a sociologist, speaker and founder of The Center for Courageous Intimacy, told The Post. 'The men get to impress through action — not just words — and show off problem-solving skills right from the jump,' she explained. Hinge declined to comment when contacted by The Post. The stories are popping up all over TikTok these days — with allegedly satisfied users showing off everything from built bed frames to hung cabinets. And after a Post reporter added a call for shelf-and-curtain-rod removal to their own Hinge profile, offers of help came hammering in — with get-it-done guys declaring their willingness to work before, during or after a date. 'I think this trend is super cute and nice to know that the guys want to help out. It shows that they're a good sport about it and the kind of person they are,' Teana Heys, 23, of Seattle, told The Post. Heys' TikTok telling of her own experience went viral last September, showing her former roommate in Phoenix and a Hinge match getting down to business — with a power drill. In the clip, the man is seen preparing to mount a TV on their wall as the cheeky caption declares: 'We're just girls utilizing our resources.' Heys told The Post that the roomie had proudly listed 'looking for a handyman' in her Hinge bio — and was met with enthusiastic prospects. 'A lot of guys actually responded to it, asking her what she needed fixed,' she said. Another Seattle resident, Rimika Banerjee, 24, had similar success reaching out for help after a recent move. 'I was anticipating having to build all the furniture myself — it was stressful,' Banerjee told The Post. 'I remember thinking, 'This is a situation where it would be nice to have a boyfriend,' but I didn't, so I just went straight to Hinge.' Banerjee said the handyman hook was her hottest Hinge prompt yet — racking up more matches and messages than any flirty one-liner ever could, resulting in her ideal meet-up. 'He helped build my bed frame and was one of the nicest guys I've met on Hinge,' she said. 'It felt like getting the boyfriend experience on a first date.' Banerjee said building furniture together took the pressure off, created instant chemistry, and helped break the ice — and even though the pair didn't end up dating, it made what would have been a chore into a happy experience. 'These tasks can be annoying, but if you have an attractive guy around, they can be more fun,' she explained. 'It mimics a real-life partner situation.' But while relationship expert Gunsaullus applauded the 'authentic' nature of the DIY dates, calling them 'refreshing,' they're not without risks, she warned. 'Letting someone into your home on a first date is serious. You should ask yourself: Do I really trust this person?' she said, recommending at least a few meetups — preferably three — before inviting anyone in for a home project. Gunsaullus also raised concerns about men feeling exploited, particularly if they're unaware they're being filmed for social media clout. 'I would hate for a man to just feel used … like he was handy and social media fodder,' she said. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Turkish Accessory Brand Serena Uziyel Opens Store In Manhattan
Gold clutches from Serena Uziyel While the retail storefront scene in Manhattan as a whole seems like there shouldn't be this many, a few years post-COVID-19 shutdowns, one place that doesn't have a lot of retail space left to rent is buzzy Manhattan (the former Barney's New York excluded). Now adding to the mix is luxury accessories brand Serena Uziyel, who recently opened her sixth store there, with three in Turkey and now three in America. The single-brand retail space openings expand a customer base and point to the growing trend of brands focusing on DTC in their retail spaces, whose locations are easily determined based on online data. New York is a full circle moment for accessories designer and brand Serena Uziyel. The founder and namesake brand director got her start in New York. After studying at Parsons School of Design, where she garnered crucial work-study experience with luxury brands Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Moschino, Uziyel worked for Zara in Spain. After two years, she moved on to Sanayi313 in Istanbul, where she created the multi-disciplined label's shoe and bag collections. Accessories on offer at Serena Uziyel's new boutique. When she launched her brand in 2019, she looked to the craft of ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylon, and Persia, thus infusing each design with a rich heritage that incorporates storied techniques of looms, crochets, and filigree. She applies these artisanal practices to shoes with techniques and shoe-crafting skills she learned from Florence-based master cobbler Giuseppe Joseph Amolo. Much of these inspirations are found in the family's manor. Uziyel also focused on the DTC business model by opening her first store in Istanbul in 2019. Her next store was in Bodrum, followed by another in Turkey. With her third US store, Uziyel joins the post-pandemic migration to Madison Avenue, which resembled a luxury ghost town immediately following the COVID-19 shutdowns. Serena Uziyel sandals with signature chain detail. The 3,500-square-foot space is between 66th and 67th. It encompasses Uziyel's vision for her lux accessories and design aesthetic, emphasizing female artisans and elevating its craft heritage to a sophisticated modern style. The new location will debut the Catena accessory group. The handwoven Catena chain detail, which alludes to unity, connection, and interconnected links of women, was initially used on footwear and has expanded its language to include day-to-night occasion handbags, chain-motif jewelry, and belts that feature the signature detail as well as a range of news interpretations of the décor which sits across the top of the foot on shoes. To celebrate that bond, Uziyel invited a dynamic group of New York women, such as Mary Leest, Moraya Wilson, Natalie and Dylana Suarez, and Kristina Askerova, to celebrate the new store with an intimate dinner at New York's Casa Tua.
