Latest news with #that
Vogue Singapore
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Why a 'Lorde Summer' is already influencing what we wear
'What—was— that !' If you're anything like us, you simply cannot get Lorde's new banger 'What Was That' out of your head. Her song of the summer (is it too early to declare that?) is building up major hype for her forthcoming album, Virgin , out on June 27th—her first full-length record in four years. Sure, summer 2024 may have been Charli XCX's Brat Summer, but fans are officially declaring 2025 a Lorde Summer—and a sartorial vibe shift is already afoot. It all traces back to Lorde's new music video for the track, which was released back in April. In the new clip, the singer parades around New York city on a bike wearing a very normcore outfit: A crisp white dress shirt, baggy jeans punctuated with a carabiner and keys, and taped-up clunky shoes. At the end of the video, she unbuttons the mensy top to reveal a shiny black patent bra top, as she dances and performs for her crowd of fans assembled in Washington Square Park. We can't stop thinking about her outfit. It's rather basic—bland, even. And yet, it feels fresh, and also reflects exactly where fashion is headed. Take a look at the recent spring 2025 runways. That normcore Lorde look—a simple dress shirt, loose-legged jeans—was all over the high-fashion catwalks. At Balenciaga, a striped polo was paired with baggy jeans (Lorde even wore this exact look recently); At Tommy Hilfiger, an extra-long dress shirt was also paired over slouchy denim, while Casablanca showed a printed bra top with its swishy jeans. If summer 2024 was all about sexy and raunchy dressing (very Brat!), 2025 seems to be much more sober in aesthetic—a deliberately plain and classic mood. It is both rigid (dress shirt), yet undone (baggy jean)—a combination of finance bros meets Lower East Side creatives. Balenciaga spring 2025. Isidore Montag Tommy Hilfiger spring 2025. Courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger Casablanca spring 2025. Daniele Oberrauch Bottega Veneta spring 2025. For Lorde, the new look mirrors where she is creatively and artistically. In a recent interview, the singer said she is 'in the middle gender-wise,' adding, 'I'm a woman except for the days when I'm a man.' Her 'What Was That' outfit reflects this intentionally: It blurs the lines of masculine and feminine, and plays up a more androgynous feel. Of course, one could also look at the political and culture landscape of the moment to inform such a choice of fashion, too. With many human rights under threat with our current administration—including LGBTQ+ rights and resources for trans youth—a more nondescript and label-free uniform can act as a form of protection, or even a form of rebellion. In other words: Maybe it's not just about wearing a dress shirt and jeans, but about resisting something bigger—a form of armor. A Lorde-esque street style look. Getty A Lorde-esque street style look. Getty Lorde Summer may just be kicking off, but we have already seen the nondescript uniform appear on plenty of street style stars during Fashion Month. (The combo is also everywhere in New York City; I saw four iterations of the look on my commute this morning alone.) And when Lorde kicks off her tour in September, we are calling it now: One can expect plenty of Lorde Outfit cameos there, too. The good news is, the outfit is easy to replicate, should you be a fan of the movement. Get a classic button-up (or steal one from your partner), and throw on your baggiest pair of jeans. Voila! (But don't forget the carabiner adorned with keys and charms.) This article was originally published on
The Herald
30-04-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Will it be third time lucky for the Madibaz?
Besides the obvious prize of top-tier rugby in 2026 for Mandela University, the coach also sees it as an opportunity to get a team from his province back into the cup. To do that, they will need to upstage UJ in terms of physicality, intensity and speed. 'This is a Varsity Cup team; they are big men and strong in the set piece with a powerful maul. They are used to the intense pressure of the game at that level,' he said. Manuel said the Joburg side also had several young players who thrived in the chaos produced by playing at pace. 'They don't mind taking quick taps and taking on their opponents in broken play.' The Madibaz lost to Varsity College in the Shield final on April 11 and have spent the intervening time on recovery and preparation. While mildly disappointed with the result, Manuel stressed how proud he was of the squad's growth this season after the departure of 10 senior players at the end of last year. 'That sort of contingent makes up the spine of the team, so these young players had to stand up and fill those gaps,' the coach said. 'They weren't ready for the first game (which they also lost to Varsity College) but as the season progressed, they grew immensely.' Thorough preparation and each player's understanding of his job within the team are key to his coaching strategy. 'These guys latched on to those lessons and kept growing throughout the season, so I'm massively impressed.' Seven wins from nine matches — including big victories over powerhouse teams UWC (twice) and CPUT — speak volumes in this regard. Manuel acknowledged the contribution by skipper and No 8 Leon van der Merwe, who was named the 'Player that Rocks' three times. 'He has been our man of steel and epitomises the type of player we want to produce through our elite rugby programme,' the coach said of their inspirational leader whose Varsity Shield career will, win or lose, draw to a close next week. 'Leon has been such a great leader. 'He doesn't speak a lot but knows when to say something. 'His tenacity and consistency, whether we are up or down, has never faded. 'He has been such an example of how to balance semi-pro rugby with academics. 'I definitely believe he can go places.' Kickoff is at 11am.
Irish Independent
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Champagne taste on a lemonade budget: How to thrift for your home in high style
Thrifting may be the latest trend in interiors, but it describes the age-old practice of buying other people's items for a fraction of the cost of buying new. Laurel Harry, who lives in Utah, USA, posts about thrifting on Instagram under 'The House that DIY Built'. Her talent is in finding interesting items and integrating them into a stylish interior. 'Are there a lot of thrift stores in Ireland?' she asks, when we talk on the phone. She has three thrift stores right by her house but also travels to out of the way places. 'The smaller and less popular the shops, the better things I find.' Harry's favourite discoveries include a brass cactus, about 90cm tall. 'It was very cool looking and it lived in our house for a long time – maybe three years – and then I wanted to switch things up and I decided it was time to sell it. I took it to a holiday market at Christmas time, and someone bought it. I was a little sad but I'm not missing it.' Thrifting has everything going for it – it's enjoyable, sustainable and cheap. It satisfies the urge for novelty in a non-wasteful way. Objects you're tired of, or that no longer match your decorative style, can go right back into the circular economy. The key is knowing when to let go. 'You get that high from the treasure hunting – but my house can't fill it all – now I have room to get more pieces!' Harry says. Later, she sends me a link to an Instagram reel about the cactus. It shows her taking the cactus on a picnic, bringing it to the playground, and tucking it up in bed (all to the tune of You're My Best Friend by Queen). It's very funny but also makes an important point. Old pieces have personality. They become part of our story and we become part of theirs. Several of Harry's posts address the interesting theme of making thrift store items less ugly. In this, she's naming the elephant in the room. Inexpensive second-hand items are often hideous. This is why I dislike the smug and often inaccurate term 'pre-loved'. If its former owners loved the thing so much, why did they give it away? Maybe they loathed it. Like any skilled thrifter, Harry can see the potential in unprepossessing objects. 'I found a brass stand with an ugly crackled glass vase inset. I didn't like the glass – it looked so dated – but it was the simplest thing to reimagine it. I took the glass out and turned the brass piece into a planter. Now it's on my mantelpiece.' Catherine Carton of Dainty Dress Diaries is a DIY enthusiast and dedicated thrifter. 'I purchased a sofa and a mattress,' she says. 'Everything else in my house is second hand. I paid €50 for my bedframe on Adverts. It was your typical orange pine, but I sanded it back and repainted it.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Last weekend, she went to a car boot sale in Balbriggan. 'I heard you had to get there early so I arrived at 7am and it was really busy. That's when you get stuff cheapest.' Thrifting is time consuming. A day spent in charity shops or car boot sales may yield nothing and there's no guarantee of success. This is why the best thrifters are those who enjoy the process. 'You have to love the thrill of the hunt,' Carton says. 'It's not as instant as going to Ikea. I enjoy a good rummage. That's the nosiness in me.' Often, she finds herself confronted by an object that she'd like to learn more about: 'I'd always take a picture of it and do an image search on Google. It'll bring up images of that item that might be for sale elsewhere. It's a handy little hack to get a bit more info on an item and you can also find out if someone is over-charging. "For example, I bought a random cat teapot at a market for 50 cents and discovered it was a Chinese Luck Cat teapot from the 1960s.' To discover car boot sales, vintage fairs and markets in your area, she recommends Collect Ireland: 'It's a really useful resource!' 'I've always had an eye for turning the unloved into treasure,' says Sarah Twigg Doyle, an interior stylist and designer based in Bray, County Wicklow. 'And I hate the idea of furniture going to skips.' While skip-diving was once a niche pursuit, she feels the tide is changing. 'Some of the older generation still like having everything new, but that's to do with history and not having had money in the past. The younger generation are ready to embrace thrifting. They're totally on the ball.' Programmes like The Salvage Squad – a makeover series on Virgin Media Television – feed into the thrifting zeitgeist. Twigg Doyle works on the show as the stylist on reveal days and also behind the scenes. 'I'm buying and sourcing things for the show,' she says. 'It's all about having champagne taste and a lemonade budget!' Her top tip is to carry a notebook and a measuring tape everywhere you go. If you're looking for something specific, it's prudent to be organised. People go wrong when they fall in love with something, buy it, and then find out it's not the correct size for the space.' She also cautions against buying something just because it's cheap: 'Think about the quality of a piece. If it's a little bit broken, do you have the skill to fix it? Do you know someone who does? If it's a wooden piece, double check it's not been munched by our woodworm friends.' Twigg Doyle is not afraid of woodworm. 'I know it can be treated and I kind of like the holes, they add to the character of a piece.' Her favourite finds include a mahogany cabinet, now in her sitting room. 'It was on a zero waste page on Facebook and absolutely free. It was a little bit damaged so I painted it in Annie Sloan's Olive, with gold detail on the scrolling, and sanded it back so it looks like it's always been there.' Currently in pride of place on the cabinet, a stylish looking lamp once cost her €20 from Pete's Antiques. 'It had an awful shade and flower relief detailing. I'm sure it was someone's idea of beautiful… I used Polyfilla over the detailing to fill in the gaps, and a mixture of sand, bicarbonate of soda and paint to give the texture of rough plaster.' The shade is new and came from Distrikt by Mia in Wicklow. 'For an interior to be successful there has to be a balance – that friction of old and new together.'
