Cost of living were here to help

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Students are asking for ‘practical’ presents this Christmas as the cost-of-living crisis bites, including electric blankets, money towards energy bills and even toilet roll. A poll of 1,000 undergraduates found they would much prefer everyday essentials rather than designer clothes and shoes this year. And with 51 per cent feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, 49 per cent would rather have shampoo and tins of food bought for them, so they don’t spend the money on it themselves. Others intend to ask loved ones to gift them underwear, bath products and hot water bottles. However, 33 per cent are still hoping for an average of four expensive gifts from their parents this Christmas. Recommended Beauty advent calendars 2021: Our guide to this year’s … [Read more...] about Students hoping for ‘practical’ Christmas presents amid cost of living crisis

By her early 20s, Jen Glantz had been a bridesmaid almost a dozen times. One night, two distant friends asked her to be a bridesmaid for them, and she found herself venting to her roommate. "My roommate said, 'Duh, Jen, that's because you're good at it. You're like a professional bridesmaid or something,'" Glantz told Newsweek . Her roommate's words sparked an idea: If she could be a bridesmaid for distant friends, why not for strangers? That night she posted an ad on Craigslist offering her services as a hired bridesmaid. In just 48 hours, Glantz received over 300 responses and booked her first client. Today, Glantz, the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire and author of Always a Bridesmaid for Hire , offers brides a hand to hold on the biggest day of their lives. "Strangers hire us to be their bridesmaid for the day," Glantz said. "But the job is much more than that. We do all the things a bridesmaid would do—walk down the aisle, wear the dress, give a toast, dance on the dance … [Read more...] about Inside life as a professional bridesmaid: “Bride locked me in a room”

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The process of shaping thick disks of clay into dinner plates takes seconds using a roller tool, a machine on which revolving hunks of clay are pressed into symmetrical circles one by one. After the plates are pressed and travel through a dryer, the edges are deftly hand trimmed as they spin around on a different machine. The pieces are then fired in a kiln, glazed and fired again. These dinner plates , which cost $46 each, are among the ceramics made by East Fork at a factory near downtown Asheville that the company has operated since 2018, roughly 10 years after its founders started the business on a farm about 20 miles outside of the city in 2009. In East Fork’s earlier days, when production was largely reliant on potter’s wheels, output ranged from 80 to 120 pieces a day. At the factory, up to 2,000 ceramics can be made a day using one machine alone. When the potter Alex Matisse, 38, started East Fork with his wife, Connie Matisse, 37, and the potter John … [Read more...] about Shaping the Future of a New American Pottery Company

Meghan Markle has described the time around her engagement to Prince Harry as an "orchestrated reality show”. The third episode of the Sussexes' new Netflix show, Harry & Meghan, which dropped this morning, opens with archive footage of the pair being interviewed about their engagement. Reflecting on the 2018 interview, Meghan describes it as an "orchestrated reality show", before adding: 'It was rehearsed,' and elaborates on how the couple were prepped and told what they had to do. It then cuts to footage of various royals, including Kate and Camilla, talking about how happy they were at the engagement, and Harry and Meghan describing William and Kate as 'wonderful' and helpful. It then cuts to the couple being interviewed now, and Meghan adds: 'My point is, we weren’t allowed to tell our story because they didn’t want…’ and Harry adds: 'We’ve never been allowed to tell our story,’ to which Meghan replies 'That’s true….until now.’ The couple announced their … [Read more...] about Meghan Markle says engagement to Prince Harry was ‘orchestrated reality show’

Coronavirus culture entered a new age of chic this week with British tech firm Dyson announcing it will soon be selling a set of noise-canceling, air-purifying headphones in March of next year. Unveiled in earlier 2022, the headphones were originally set to go on sale in autumn of this year but were subsequently delayed into March of next year. Prices will be starting at $913 USD. “The headphones come with active noise cancellation to cut out noise around the wearer, and a detachable visor that pumps out filtered air,” reported the Daily Mail . “The visor sits over the wearer’s nose and mouth and pumps out filtered air to help cut exposure to air pollution.” The Dyson Zone headphones will first be available for sale in China (where coronavirus restrictions continue) come January 2023 and will then be sold in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, and Singapore in March. Dyson reportedly created the headphones in response to data that showed “one in five people in … [Read more...] about Dyson to Sell Noise-Canceling, Air-Purifying Headphones