When it comes to building an outfit, some proportions and pairings just make sense. Take a high-waisted pant and a crop top, for example: one picks up where the last left off. Or, think about a midi dress and ankle boots — what's not to love about that perfect sliver of exposed lower leg?
But when it comes to over-the-knee boots, you may feel like you're restricted to micro-mini skirts, short-suits, or oversized sweatshirts (sans pants) because you've gotta show off your shoes. Right? Well, not always. Since last fall, we've been seeing taller boots get paired with longer dresses, offering a look that feels as rooted in Bohemia as it is modern. And it's not as much replacing the whole lampshading thing as it's offering up a solid alternative for people who don't want to dress like Ariana Grande.
Since dresses + boots = one of the best outfit formulas fall has to offer, you may as well get a few of the styling options down pat. Because whether you pair your over-the-knee boots with a party-ready mini or a printed prairie dress, you'll no doubt get some significant mileage out of them this season. Here's just a few to wear this sometimes-tricky, but always worth it, fall style combination.
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For some people it's a no-brainer to dress up as the most popular characters from summer's top blockbusters or their favorite icons ripped from the tabloid headlines. But for others who've graduated on to more sophisticated Halloween costume pastures where cleverness trumps popularity and more importantly, palsy budgets trump those $100+ costume sets, you might what to look towards your favorite fast-fashion shops. If the likes of Topshop and ASOS aren't on your list yet, you might be missing out.
While they're not bereft of their own cheesy Halloween items like skeleton bodysuits and fake vampire teeth, some of our favorite fast-fashion shops have pretty stylish Halloween edits. And unlike whatever elaborate monstrosities you've put together in the past, you can actually wear these Halloween buys again and again.
This year, celebrate Halloween in style and shop fast-fashion stores ahead for some fashion friendly haunts.
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Someone you know probably has a fear of going to the dentist. Hell, there’s a good chance that someone is you. The Journal of the American Dental Association reports that as many as 75 percent of Americans have dental anxiety. But you know who you never hear anyone say they’re scared of? Dental hygienists.
Think about it: Dental hygienists are like angels that visit you right before the dentist goes in for the more daunting stuff, putting you at ease and giving your mouth that “wow, I forgot what really clean teeth actually feel like” experience. Even more so than angels, they’re like the estheticians of the dental industry, more or less performing tiny facials on your teeth to ensure your smile is healthy and radiant. And they love what they do.
“It gives me a sense of purpose knowing that I was a part of coaching, guiding, and educating my patients,” says Alexandra Ochi, a dental hygienist at Silicon Beach Dental in Los Angeles. “Having a healthy smile instills confidence in people, and I am proud to say I help contribute to that.”
But even though dental hygienists are equipped to clean your teeth far better than you ever could on your own, that doesn’t mean you couldn’t be doing a better job — and they’re the ones who know exactly how. We spoke to Ochi and several other dental hygienists from around the country to find out which over-the-counter products they’re obsessed with, both for their patients and themselves.
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Welcome to Unfiltered, where we give our honest, no-B.S. reviews of the most buzzed-about beauty products, brands, and services on the market right now.
The older we get, the less creative and imaginative we become. Growing old means growing up, right? Author William Blake called it a fall from innocence. John Mayer says it's like being on a train without any stops. The Breakfast Club 's Allison Reynolds summed up that post-Neverland feeling as your heart dying (figuratively, of course).
Sure, the growing pains of adulthood aren't as dramatic in real life as in pop culture, but there's no doubt our delight in no-shame fun fades as we age. You've probably already come to terms with the fact that mandatory naps and eating dirt will never be in your daily routine ever again (for better or for worse), but that doesn't mean you have to leave every old habit in the past. In fact, one of our childhood arts and crafts staples is back in a big way. Enter: glitter.
Glitter was the antidote to everything boring and dull in our youth. Yes, it made the sort of mess that could only be solved by arson, but it also turned dried pasta into priceless jewelry — and that was pretty magical, right? Now, thanks to brands like Lemonhead LA, it's possible for gainfully-employed adults to wear glitter without looking like toddlers in daycare, and the brand has a ton of Hollywood fans like Margot Robbie, Priyanka Chopra, and Emma Stone into fans.
Makeup artist and Instagram stans alike say this glitter is a step above the rest because of its water-resistant, no-fuss, clean-freak-friendly formula. We'd say it's worth putting to the test — so, we did. We asked nine R29 staffers to try the sparkliest formulas from the brand (choosing from three different types of glitter: Spacejam, Spacepaste, and Glowjam) to decide whether or not glitter really can keep us young forever. Their thoughts, ahead.
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It may sound odd, but hair color is like nail polish in a lot of ways. It looks fresh and shiny when you walk out of the salon, but dulls fast, leaving you jonesing for a refresh after just a few weeks. There's only one problem: Salon appointments are pricey and time-consuming. You can (and probably should) opt for the recommended Olaplex treatments and fancy color-safe shampoos, but there's an underappreciated way to live in the fresh color space for a lot longer. Enter: DIY hair gloss.
Most salons offer quick glossing treatments, which are amazing for rebooting the vibrancy of your dingy highlights or all-over color, but that requires time and extra cash. Luckily, in talking to a few hair experts, we discovered that that an at-home hair gloss can be just as effective at extending the life of your color. Think of it like a top coat nail polish for your hair.
The pros break down the best hair glosses on the market, ahead.
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Imagine strolling out of the hair salon on a sunny October Saturday after a long-awaited appointment with your favorite colorist. Whether you spent six hours taking your dark brown hair to shiny platinum, or went in for a quick caramel highlight around your face, you're probably on cloud nine, running your fingers through your new hair and smiling as you catch your reflection in a storefront window.
While the allure of fresh, glossy color knows no season, fall really is the best time for a refresh. Why? You're likely at a yearly low for environmental stressors like sun and salt, it's when most of us have fun switching up our wardrobes, and holiday party invites are just about to flood your inbox.
Have we convinced you to try something new yet? Ahead, we're breaking down the seven chicest hair trends sweeping through New York City this season. From rich red to cinnamon blonde, there's a shade here that will have you calling your colorist, booking the next available appointment, and experiencing your own brisk afternoon new hair flip moment.
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As the YouTube beauty world explodes with influencer feuds and never-ending drama, Rihanna —being the beam of light that she is in the industry — has come to the rescue by dropping a video we never knew we needed until now.
The beauty mogul released her first YouTube tutorial for Fenty Beauty in celebration of her new holiday collection, Chill Owt, that dropped last week. While RiRi has given us makeup tutorials before, via Instagram stories andVogue, this is her first time filming a full-length YouTube video for Fenty Beauty. The best part? This is only the first of more to come. "Get ready for Tutorial Tuesdays with Rihanna where she shares a new makeup tutorial every week," wrote the brand on YouTube. (And just like that, we've marked our calendars.)
For her first post, Rihanna focused on one product from the holiday collection: the Killawatt Foil Palette, which features seven different highlighter shades. She starts off the video pointing out the variety of shades offered in the palette, then explains why it's an all-around, multipurpose product. "You can use it on your cheeks, on your eyes, on your body. In so many different ways. It's such a flexible product," she says. Proving that point, Rihanna gets right into her tutorial, showing us how to use the highlighter palette seven different ways.
First, RiRi dusts highlighter all over her lids to create a glitter eyeshadow look, and follows with a lighter shade on the inner corners of her eyes. She sweeps another shade on the high points of her cheeks, and then things get even more interesting. Rihanna takes the tip of the same brush and sweeps highlighter on the higher edges of her ears, explaining that it gives the area "life" when you're wearing a ponytail. To finish it all off, she glides the cream-to-powder formula on her collarbones and adds a metallic lip shade from the Snow Nights Lipstick Set, which is also included in her holiday collection.
So, there you have it folks: Like most things, Rihanna works hard to earn that glow. As we wait on the rest of Tutorial Tuesdays, we have our fingers crossed that we'll learn more inside tricks from the busiest woman in beauty (and music, and film...)
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I come in at a staggering 5"1', so I'm not going to lie about liking a few extra inches. I'm the type who could probably run a marathon in heels, solely because of how much practice I've had. Whenever people make a comment about my shoes being on the higher side, I'm all, "Oh, these old things? These are nothin'!" Pretty much, I'll take a chunky heel over a flat any day.
My obsession likely explains why I'm unsurprisingly drawn to a boot with a bit of a platform this fall. I love how they give me a little more height to play with when it comes to sweater dresses, high-waisted trousers, and wide-leg jeans. Because in a season that's all about oversized silhouettes, chunky knits, and soon, puffer jackets, an equally badass shoe is a must. Plus, most of these chunkier boots boast a nice, sturdy tread-sole, so you can bet I'll be wearing them when it snows, too.
Click on to take your boot game up a notch — erm, an inch — or two.
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Recently terms like "digital nomad" have entered the vocabulary of professionals and freelancers everywhere. The phrase, which refers to people who work remotely from foreign countries, often in digital and creative industries that afford flexibility, sounds great in theory. But how do you make it work?
According to FlexJobs' annual survey wanting to travel is number four in the top reasons people work. Even so, most employees are lucky to get 10 vacation days a year, which, for someone with a travel bug, simply doesn't cut it. And a lot of people have jet-setting on their mind lately — whether they're looking to escape the current administration or live on a tropical beach (or both).
Though working remotely isn't reserved for any specific industry, there are certain types of jobs that make it a lot easier to travel frequently or live abroad. Increasingly, employers are offering more flexible options, from unlimited vacation time to work-from-anywhere offerings. Many of these arrangements mean that, basically, it doesn't matter where you work as long as you get your job done. But where can one find these elusive jobs that allow nearly unrestricted travel?
Remote.co put together a list of current job listings that offer some or complete freedom to travel. These positions will get likely get filled quickly, but they offer some insight into the types of gigs you may want to look into if you're thinking of trying the digital nomad lifestyle on for size.
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Oversized puffers, sweaters, blazers, even pants, are purposely being made two or three sizes too big. After the long reign of "skinny" everything (jeans, leggings, the works), we're ushering in a new, very baggy, reign. And while we hold a special place in our hearts for all things supersized, we never considered that would translate to our trench coats. But it seems that big sleeves, drapey fits, and extra-long hemlines all combine to make one hell of a fall jacket.
And it's not just about looks. Oversized trench coats are seriously practical. Stuck in the rain? Need more pocket space? Want a coat that's light but also perfect for layering? These XL styles have it. Not to mention that by supersizing these coats, you can now essentially wear anything out the door and no one will know. (Bring on the all-day loungewear!)
If you're still not convinced that bigger is better, take a look at the 15 styles ahead. When it comes to coats this season, more is definitely more.
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At some point or another, we all became a teensy bit afraid of color. During the recent wave of minimalism, the idea of wearing any tone other than white, black, gray, or tan could act as a one-way ticket to outfit panic mode. A subtle navy blue or hunter green? Sure! But mixing in anything in a pastel hue or highlighter shade gave us a little pause. But now, it seems like tones sitting on the opposite end of the no-color-allowed spectrum have taken over. (Lest we forget the impact of millennial pink's overnight success story.)
We've reached a time where color is the name of the game and with each new month comes a new trending hue set with its own quippy nickname (Gen Z Yellow, Melodramatic Purple). With fall in full swing, we thought we'd highlight the color that's being groomed for the number one spot. Say sayonara to the days where lime green reminded you of gross cafeteria lunches and the worst of the Skittles flavor (you know it's true!), and say hello to its new and improved, straight from a Tyra Banks/Jay Emmanuel makeover day alter ego. From puffer coats to slip dresses, this trend isn't for the faint of heart. But if you're ready to tackle this season's next color, check out 15 of our favorite lime green pieces to date.
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Days after it was announced that she and Pete Davidson had broken up, Ariana Grande said that she would be saying "bye bye" to the internet for "just a lil bit." In a since-deleted Instagram story, she wrote to fans, "time to say bye bye to the internet for jus a lil bit. it’s hard not to bump news n stuff that i’m not tryna see rn. it’s very sad and we’re all tryin very hard to keep goin. love u. and thank u for bein here always."
It's unclear if the "news" she mentions is specifically about her breakup, but it can actually be a good idea to take a little social media break after a relationship ends.
Susan Bartell, PsyD, a psychologist who works with couples, says that the internet can definitely make it harder to get through a breakup, especially if you're still following your ex on social media.
"I tell everybody that when you break up with someone, you have to block them on all your social media," she says. "Do whatever you can so they're not seeing you, and you're not seeing them."
That may sound harsh, but Dr. Bartell says it's ultimately for the better.
"It's not just hard if you see them moving on with their lives, it's hard for you to know that they can see you [moving on]," she says. "Knowing that they're watching you makes you feel like you have to behave in a certain way."
You might be tempted to keep following someone in the hopes you'll remain friends, but Dr. Bartell says you should avoid social media landmines even if your breakup was friendly.
"Even if you end it on good terms, there's still a loss, and there's going to be pain if you see them start to date someone else, or put anything on their social media that makes it look like they might be dating someone else," she says. "The other thing is that it keeps you so engaged with the other person that it's harder for you to move on."
Of course, if you really are trying to be on good terms and be friends again someday, it might be good courtesy to give the person a heads-up if you want to block them. You can try something like, "Hey, just so you know, I'm going to block/unfollow you on social media, and it's not because I hate you, but I need time to heal."
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Sen. Heidi Heitkamp came under fire this week after her campaign included the names of survivors of domestic and sexual violence in a newspaper ad without their permission.
The ad, in the style of an open letter, was addressed to Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer, who is challenging the North Dakota Democrat. During the confirmation battle of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Cramer callously defended him against the sexual assault allegations and dismissed their gravity. He also said that the women in his family are "prairie tough" believe the #MeToo movement was a "movement toward victimization."
The remarks were offensive to Heitkamp, who prosecuted sexual assault cases as North Dakota's attorney general and whose mother was a survivor of sexual violence. Per the senator, Cramer also ignored that the state has a large Indigenous peoples population, and Indigenous women are two-and-half times more likely to be sexually assaulted than other groups.
The ad, which included the names and locations of 127 women, was meant to counter the narrative that sexual violence survivors are weak, as Cramer implied. But the campaign made the damaging mistake of including survivors' names without their permission or misidentifying women as survivors when they aren't. It was not immediately clear how many names had been erroneously added to the ad.
Amy Barasch, executive director of the New York-based legal nonprofit organization Her Justice, told Refinery29 that survivors' confidentiality is of the utmost importance. "When you work with someone who's been victimized, you want to be really careful with their information because they should have control over their own destiny and control over how the world perceives them," she said. "With intimate partner violence there can be specific risks, whether it's sexual violence or domestic violence. One risk might be that the partner might see this information and wouldn't be happy about it, so [the survivor] would be in actual physical danger because there might be some form of retaliation."
Barasch added that it poses a risk for friends and acquaintances to see that someone has been outed as a survivor, because they might have a relationship with the abuser or in the case of sexual violence, be the assailants themselves. "Most victims of sexual violence have been attacked by either their partner or acquaintances. It's very common that they know the person who attacked them," she said. "They might be in a safe place now and they might have decided they don't want their [assailant] to be outed ... maybe they don't have interest in going after the person who hurt them or might feel they'll be at risk if that person is revealed."
Making someone relive their trauma by outing them could be another damaging outcome, Barasch added. In the case of mothers, she said these women might want to protect their children from knowing they were victims of intimate partner violence.
"There are all sorts of risks. When a victim is deciding whether or not they want their name to go public, these are things they would think through before making that decision," she said. "If you release their name without their permission, you haven't given them [that] opportunity ... I can't imagine how startling it might be to see your name in a newspaper ad for which you haven't given permission."
Heitkamp, whose re-election race is seen as critical for who gets to have control of the Senate, apologized to the women affected in a statement.
"Our campaign worked with victim advocates to identify women who would be willing to sign the letter or share their story. We recently discovered that several of the women’s names who were provided to us did not authorize their names to be shared or were not survivors of abuse," she said. "I deeply regret this mistake and we are in the process of issuing a retraction, personally apologizing to each of the people impacted by this and taking the necessary steps to ensure this never happens again."
Like father, like daughter: Just as the president loves doling out adjectives like "great," "tremendous," and "unbelievable," Ivanka Trump apparently has a penchant for exaggeration of her own.
A sweeping new report from ProPublica, the result of an eight-month investigation in partnership with WNYC, has found "patterns of deceptive practices" in Trump family business deals across the world, including Ivanka highly overstating sales numbers on several properties, as well as her own involvement in sales.
The properties include projects in Toronto, Canada; Baja California, Mexico; Panama City, Panama; and Soho, New York City. "Their statements, typically made in the midst of sales drives, tended to overstate the number of units under contract or the Trump Organization’s equity stake in projects scattered around the globe," says the report, which we highly recommend reading in full.
Ahead, read about Ivanka's most egregious grifts overstatements from the story.
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Sex sells! It’s the central cliché of modern capitalist culture. Brands sell an aspirational and heteropatriarchal vision of a sexy, a new and improved future you, and promise to propel you toward its ultimate accolade, the compliment that "women want to be her, men want to be with her." It might seem old-fashioned (and it is), but it’s still used to praise successful women, from Rihanna to Blake Lively to Priyanka Chopra.
Fashion has long embraced the power of sex and the profits of serving the male gaze; working on the principle that, as John Berger memorably put it, "Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at." In the mid-'70s, there was fashion photographer Helmut Newton’s iconic book White Women, followed by Big Nudes in the '80s. Tom Ford went nuclear with his hyper-sexual aesthetic at Gucci in the '90s, scandalizing public morality with Terry Richardson-lensed ad campaigns and achieving bankruptcy-averting success for the then-ailing Italian brand. And in the '90s, Bruce Weber shot his provocative series of ads for Versace Jeans and Versus. (Richardson and Weber both being 'risqué' photographers who have since been accused of multiple instances of sexual assault by models.)
But the rules of selling sex in fashion have changed. You might not know it from the hugely popular Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, with its multimillion-dollar bras and pop megastar bookings. Or from LOVE magazine’s ongoing advent calendar, a controversial festive video series of near-naked models. But these have become the exceptions. In a post-Weinstein world, under the microscope of the #MeToo movement, brands are being forced to rethink how they sell to women. Even Tom Ford understands, telling The Cut in 2017: "The sex thing’s a little bit old at this point. Been there, done that."
The Washington Post 's fashion critic Robin Givhan describing Stella McCartney’s collection as "frumpy" would, previously, have been parsed as serious shade. But for fall/winter 2018 — with sex conspicuously absent from the runways — Givhan was actually praising McCartney's roomy overcoats worn with faded denim jackets and bootcut jeans, paired with sneakers. "It wasn’t especially exciting, but it was reassuring," she wrote. "It was not sexy. Or hot. It was a little bit frumpy. Purposefully so."
But Stella McCartney wasn’t the only one. For several years now, across seasons and continents, fashion has, purposefully, been in a protective, near-puritanical mood: high necklines and low hems; loose outerwear and cocoon-like layers; a focus on unfussy, practical garments. The #MeToo had something to with it, but it didn’t account for all of it.
The seemingly endless, dystopian newsreel of Trump’s America, and the rise of the 'alt-right ' all contributed to a more protective mood. A mood not simply characterized by self-care, but more so by a forceful womanhood and the defiant refusal to be reduced to a mere figment of the male gaze. In a post-MeToo world, fashion brands that relied most on the economy of the male gaze had to tone it down for propriety — and the designers who genuinely speak to women’s desires saw our fury and determination to frog-march the world into working for us. Even Milan — the home of molto sexy dressing — caught the covered-up bug: Versace women wore layers and coats; Roberto Cavalli dropped hemlines to the floor. Commentators began to wonder: Does sex sell fashion anymore? But not for very long.
Enter Hedi Slimane, who, having taken the reins at Celine, reassured everyone that his "goal" was "not to go the opposite way of [former designer Phoebe Philo’s] work" — before doing exactly that. Slimane replaced Philo’s grown-up womenswear with the super-tight and extra-short look that has been his signature since he popularized the skinny jean in the early '00s. New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman spoke for many when she described the collection as "pouty" and "infantilizing." If Slimane’s collections for Saint Laurent (where he infamously dropped the 'Yves') in the early 2010s are anything to go by, his debut for Celine will likely sell very well indeed. But fashion is about more than just pushing product (though that is one vital aspect of it) and the critical reception of the "new" Celine demonstrates the immense cultural capital he has lost.
So why, all of a sudden, is sex all over the runways? It’s nothing new, in the grand scheme of fashion history, but it does represent a serious about-face from the earnest, activist, practical, and protective mood that has dominated for several years.
Take Ashish, for example. London’s sparkliest designer held a somber spring 2017 show that responded to the rise in post-Brexit hate crimes and took his bow in a T-shirt with the word 'IMMIGRANT' proudly emblazoned across the chest. A year later, his spring 2018 show presented a resistance force of queer disco witches. But at his most recent show, there was no overt political messaging. Androgynous, sweat-drenched clubbers were errantly dressed in wisps of iridescent sequins, propelled down the runway by slamming techno music and supported by an inclusive cast of couples kissing in corners. The only slogans were 'SEND NUDES' and 'S&M Sex and Magic' in diamanté grid lettering on cozy, post-rave hoodies. Had one of our most engaged creatives sold out his politics in order to sell sex?
"Everything is political," designer Ashish Gupta told Refinery29 backstage after the show. It might sound like a cop-out, but as you would expect from one of fashion’s most emotionally honest designers, there's much more to unpack. Yes, the show was sexy, sweaty, and scantily clad, but it was also a celebration of diverse bodies, genders, sexualities, relationships, and lovers. It was about going out and letting loose, having fun and feeling free. And perhaps most importantly, it was about feeling sexy, rather than conforming to the tired clichés of the male gaze in an anxious quest to look sexy.
"I think a dose of hedonism is required in these times of regressive right-wingism," Gupta says via email. "It’s also perhaps a reaction to the growing culture of 'Eat clean! Meditate! Mindfulness! Don’t drink! Do yoga! No sugar!' — modern life ideals that are all about restraint and self-control," he says. "Sex feels almost like an act of defiance in the face of all this self-control, not just in the way we are constantly told to live, but also in the political climate of crumbling liberalism and democracy." Unlike previous collections, Ashish’s latest was not a funeral or a fight — it was a celebration of liberal values, freedom, lust, and love. He presented a radical vision of self-sensuality.
This radically sexy mood had also captivated Gareth Pugh. In recent years, Pugh has titled a show 'Corporate Cannibals,' set one season in an underground bunker, and created a gory, disturbing film about destruction and brutality (with the radical performance-sculptor Olivier de Sagazan). For spring 2019, however, he returned to the confident dramatics of club kid style that made his name in the early '00s. Reviving his signature star print in graphic red and black, Gareth’s models were creatures of the night. Stomping the fresh earth (literally) of the runway to a heavy club soundtrack, the diverse line-up wore monster boots and power coats, high-cut bodycon leotards that covered the face, kinky muzzle-like face-thongs and other haute fetish wear made in collaboration with Bordelle.
Pugh dedicated the show and its amazing drag ball after party to legendary London creative Judy Blame, who passed away earlier this year. "Judy was uncompromising, ungovernable and fiercely anti-establishment. He was a creative extremist," Pugh said in the show notes. The collection was a celebration of "outsider society" and "of London as a cradle of creative extremism — a place where anything can happen." Yes, he referenced kinky sex, but it was also about queer bodies and creative communities, with the nurturing 'House Mothers' of the ballroom scene as a key influence.
Marta Jakubowski’s confident, carefree beach babes (inspired by the designer’s trips to Ibiza this summer) had a more casual vibe: easy tonal day dresses slashed in horizontal sections to flash glimpses of skin, and slinky black evening gowns built from modular sections held loosely in place by spaghetti straps and crossed fingers. There was a lazy-day sensuality to the collection, but Jakubowski had women’s practical needs in mind, too. Teaming up with lingerie brand Chantelle, the models wore their 'soft stretch' line as a comfortable base layer, and one model, who is a mother, walked wearing an Elvie Pump, the world’s first silent wearable breast pump. "A lot of women around me have changed the way they’re dressing," Jakubowski tells Refinery29. "They seem to be more confident and celebrate their body, which I think is a great movement. Women dress for themselves these days...I think it’s a new way of power dressing."
It was at Richard Malone’s spectacularly well-crafted show that London’s powerful new mood found its mantra — delivered, fittingly, by Cher. In a short audio clip from 1996, the star recounts her legendary response when her mother urged her to marry a rich man and 'settle down:' "Mom, I am a rich man!" Embodying this proto-BDE spirit, models stormed the "trashy Paris wine-bar" runway in knee-high lace-up platform boots, skin-baring demi-couture tailoring in luxe satins, and tight '60s-style micro-minis. As the show notes concluded matter-of-factly, they were "dresses to get laid in."
In the immediate darkness following Trump’s campaign and election, Weinstein’s fall and the raw power of the #MeToo movement, it makes sense that women desired to be both protected and ready to fight. But the danger that men pose — individually, structurally, and geopolitically — shouldn’t dictate how women present themselves. "I’ve always thought that fashion should be sex-positive. It should empower, not exploit or demean," Gupta says. "The #MeToo movement has (I hope) pushed it in the right direction. I don't want sex to become a dirty word, but rather the message should be one of a healthy, consensual experience."
Living a radical, empowered life doesn’t only mean fighting for your rights, but also enjoying your body, your experiences, your identity, and your community. Fashion for the male gaze has surely been canceled, but not the desire to feel sexy and have fun. And some designers are responding to what women and non-binary people really want. It's a new vision of sexy: not tacky or infantilizing, not cliché, and not vulnerable in a violent way, but a tender one. Powerful in our bodies, in our desires, and, importantly, in our diversity, fashion is all about sex on our own terms. At last.
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Between securing a venue, arranging for a gluten-free-vegetarian-friendly-kosher caterer, and saying yes to a gorgeous (but still affordable) wedding dress, there's nothing easy about planning a wedding. But while you might be stressed to the point of abandoning ship and eloping with your S.O. in Vegas, there are a few fun things that make the planning period a worthwhile experience — including picking items for your wedding registry.
But before you get overzealous and fill your registry with over-the-top products you'll likely only use once, take a minute to think about what you want and need. To help you create your best wedding registry, we teamed up with Bloomingdale's for a complete guide to the most useful home goods: from a coffee maker that whips up a cafe-worthy latté with the touch of a button to a textured silverware set that will last for all the happy years to come. There's no question whether or not you'll use these buys. Grab your spouse-to-be, and click through to check out 12 of our must-haves.
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Every year when fall comes around, I am awash with a post-summer longing for school. But alas, my days of schlepping a duffel bag up a hill into a musty dorm room on move-in day are over. The part that I miss most: the first day of class, where I would crack open a fresh academic planner that I'd treat as my bible for the first few weeks of the semester and then inevitably get too lazy to keep up with.
I love planners: the month-at-a-glance grid, the daily breakdown, the blank lines for one-off reminders, the inspirational quotes at the start of each month. I mean, what's a new school year without bullet pointed lists jotted down in your planner's margins during drop/add period?
Whether you're into planners of the uber-structured variety where everything has its designated space, or fancy yourself a minimalist and prefer more doodle room, check out this roundup of 2018's cute and useful college planners at a variety of price points.
Kylie Jenner has made a fortune over the past few years — $900 million, to be exact — and a lot of that has to do with her lips. But before the Lip Kits, the unsafe YouTube challenges inspired by said attribute, and the Forbes feature, Jenner was just a girl looking for a bigger pout — and at just 17, that's exactly what she found.
Soon after, the secret was out: Jenner's Lip Kits were good, but they didn't perform magic. The then-teenager admitted that it was true: she had lip injections. For several years, Jenner maintained her signature, plump look. Then, six months after having her daughter, Stormi, Jenner revealed on Instagram that she was taking a break from fillers. "I got rid of all my filler," the 21-year-old wrote in the comments in response to a fan who said Jenner looked like her old — pre-injections — self.
Alas, that didn't last for too long. Jenner posted a selfie on her Instagram story a week ago confirming that her lip fillers were officially back. "Thanks @Pawnta for coming through late last night with a lip touch up," she wrote on the image. Our interest piqued (again). So, we decided to go straight to the source, Pawnta, the registered nurse behind Jenner's latest procedure, to ask her everything. Like most things involving Jenner's life, the gritty details on her appointment were kept on the DL, but that doesn't mean we didn't ask exactly what a filler touch-up entails, what to expect after, and exactly how legit the Jenner Filler Effect really is.
But first, a very necessary note: Dermal filler can be a great solution for adults looking for facial volume and is viewed in the medical community as relatively safe. But like many procedures, it also has some major risks you might not have heard of, from non-healing sores to loss of skin to blindness in very rare cases. Check out this article, then keep scrolling for the interview with Pawnta. Ready? Let's jump in.
Your Instagram says you're an "advanced injector," what does that mean? "I'm a registered nurse at Motykie Med Spa, but I also train new practitioners who want to get into the prosthetics field. I've been doing injectables for over 15 years."
Kylie Jenner recently gave you a shout-out on Instagram. What procedure did you do for her? "Just a small touch-up on her lip fillers. She doesn't do anything else, just lip fillers."
They look really natural. Was this intentional? "My philosophy has always been 'less is more.' We're more of a conservative, natural practice, but the size does depend on the patient. Some people like to go really big and some people like to keep it natural.
"We went the natural route for [Jenner's] touch-up since she's so naturally beautiful and a new mom. A lot of people get fillers because they're getting older and losing the hyaluronic acid in their lips, but she's so young that it has nothing to do with aging. For her, it's just about adding a little pout to her lips."
What are your lip fillers of choice? "I like to use Juvéderm for the lips because it's made from hyaluronic acid. That means it retains and absorbs water, so it's specifically great for lips."
How do you handle a situation when a patient doesn't want a natural look? "I would still tell them to start out slow with the injections. I would never use more than one syringe of Juvéderm in one appointment anyway, even if they want bigger lips. I'd recommend them to come back to really build up the look. If it's a touch-up, we might only use half a syringe, but it depends."
How long does a lip filler touch-up last? "The longevity of the actual product depends on your metabolism, but normally lasts somewhere between four months to a year."
How long does a touch-up take — and, be real, does it hurt? "The actual procedure takes 30 minutes. We'll numb the patient for 10 to 15 minutes, then the actual procedure is about another 15 minutes. Some practitioners could take longer, but it depends.
"Again, it depends, but for the most part, it's very comfortable. The Juvéderm comes with lidocaine, a numbing pain reliever in it, but I always use numbing cream for my patients, too."
Is there downtime after a touch-up? "There's usually a little bit of redness, maybe some bruising and swelling for two to three days after the procedure. For such a small amount of filler used in a touch-up, there are hardly any side effects."
Do you find it to be true that a lot of younger women are getting lip fillers? "We see people of all different ages come through the Motykie Med Spa for different procedures, but I definitely have younger people, especially women between 21 and 30, come in for the lip fillers. If someone has had small lips all their life, was teased in high school, and are looking for a safe cosmetic procedure to boost their confidence, this is it."
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It's officially been 14 years since Aaron Samuels asked Cady Heron what day it was. Ever since, the month of October (specifically the 3rd) has become the unofficial holiday for Mean Girls fans everywhere — with people celebrating with memes, fetch puns, and tributes to iconic quotes from the film via Twitter. Another way to show your appreciation, though, would be to use this moment to prep for your Halloween costume.
In case you didn't already know, The Plastics were the pinnacle of 2000s beauty. Besides the Burn Book, the group of frenemies left behind some of the most memorable trends of the decade, like glossy lips, kohl liner that covers the circumference of the entire eye, and overplucked eyebrows. (If you disagree, you have the Broadway show to prove you wrong.) Not only does that mean makeup from 2004 is still pretty cool, but your costume practically makes itself.
Just in case you still need some help putting a Cady, Regina, or Janis look together, we've rounded up the best beauty tutorials that will lend a hand. We can confirm that every single one is the groolest.
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When it comes to planning your big day, there are a lot of decisions to be made. Destination wedding or local? Open bar or closed? Veil or no veil? Bridesmaids dresses, flowers, honeymoon, cake. And then there's the dress. A year might seem like a long time to plan, but in the end, something always gets forgotten until the very last second. We're here to say, don't let it be the shoes.
When you walk down the aisle, it's not just about the dress — you also need one hell of a pair of shoes. But, unlike that gown, you can wear your choice of footwear after you say "I do" — especially if you opt for a style that will not only complement your wedding-day ensemble but the rest of your closet, too. So to take one task off your never-ending wedding checklist, we've rounded up 15 options ahead that will accomplish just that. Don't wait until the day before the big day to find your perfect wedding shoes.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
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