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As the colder months approach, scarves have returned as a saving grace to many of our otherwise bland outfits. With each year new styles are worn, but over time I’ve noticed one pattern continuously worn as a favourite: tartan.   Whilst closely associated with the Scottish Highlands, the pattern’s history does not lie only there. The earliest tartan-like samples date back to ancient China approximately 3000 years ago, following their discovery in the ‘Qizilchoqua tombs’ containing mummified remains wrapped in tartan-like cloth. It is suggested by some historians to be a branch of Indo-Europeans, a population carrying European physical characteristics who lived in this region up to around 4000 years ago, however there is no direct link to Celtic heritage from this group. Tartan designs were also found in Celtic regions in Europe, migrating to a denser usage in Scotland. The earliest surviving Scottish sample of tartan dates back to the 16th century.  The pattern is understood t...

Heels, hair and HOT! The secret formula that the Victoria Secret producers just recently rediscovered for their runway. October 2025 saw the second return of Victoria’s Secret, following 2024’s disappointing attempt: largely due to the lack of bombshell blowouts, glittery stages and intricate wings. Though some just used this as an excuse to propagate hateful body image ideals… but safe to say pretty much everyone was disappointed in one way or another.  Background on the shows: The first show took place in August 1995, intimately hosted at New York’s Plaza Hotel. Its aim was to promote the brand and make lingerie more mainstream — breaking down the stigma around the sales. There was however, a conscious effort to illustrate the line as high-end, slightly unorthodox for what is ultimately, a ‘mall brand’.  To gain a brand however, Victoria’s Secret had to introduce their ‘it factor’: taking form in their infamous angel wings. The first pair were worn by Tyra Banks in 1998, due...

  A famous quote from fictional character Nina Sayers in 2010 film ‘Black Swan’ perfectly encapsulates the inner monologue of every professional dancer. The strive for perfection in their art form, but is this exclusively in the context of the physical sport?   Ballet in particular has demonstrated an emphasis on perfection beyond the realms of precision in the movements, but also in the petite presentation of the body. We’ve heard what the industry can drive people to do when feeling as though they face no alternative to achieve this ‘requirement’ — so I’m left a little confused as to why we glamourise the grit?  I’m not talking about the pink bows, the shrugs and the leg warmers. I’m talking about the frame in which they have to fit. The aesthetic wasn’t intended to be pink, but intended to be perfection.  Backstage wasn’t always the glamourous girlhood we now have access to see, but another hidden exploitative pool of young girls.  Some background on backstag...

As people head back to school or work this September, there’s a flurry for new wardrobes, new looks, and new stationary to accessorise your ‘upgraded self’. This was always an unspoken thing each year, like clockwork, in whatever way possible, girls would ‘upgrade’ their working self. Because as Edith Head said, “You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it”. But now, we see this becoming an actively advertised attitude towards young women. We see it in the bayonetta glasses, the wine red kitten heels and the grey pinstripe suits, redefining the items that were often left untouched in Zara’s sales before.   So why have we glorified the everyday?   It’s no secret that this conversation is largely centred around working women, so for the majority of this piece, that is who this conversation will be on.  I asked my followers on instagram what they thought of trends such as the ‘office siren’ and received a mix in responses.  One said “I think tha...

  I really struggled with coming up with a topic for this month’s post. I was so focused on finding a ‘summer’ piece, but struggled to find much substance in a lot of the topics I initially tried to write about.  This post was inspired by a repost of my mutuals ‘talklacemagazine’ (instagram) and ‘cutipiekitties’ (TikTok) of a video by ‘e.cxhi’ on TikTok about how wearing Vivienne Westwood is innately anti-government. Since writing my piece on ‘Politics in Polyester’, I’ve been involved in more conversations about politics in the fashion industry and so thought it’d be interesting to take the same topic in a slightly different route.  I’m sure we’ve all seen behind the scenes filming of The Devil Wears Prada 2,    and in this conversation I can’t help but think of that scene in the original where Miranda’s team are choosing between two ‘identical’ belts according to Andy. Miranda then proceeds to critique Andy on her ‘choice’ of sweater that arguably wasn’t her o...

How have we become so focused on personal style but can’t seem to appreciate authenticity? I thought I’d turn my screen time into something more productive with this blog, and discuss one conversation I’ve seen across social media these past few weeks: how Asian culture has once again been rebranded in the West, this time in clothing. This blog will focus predominantly on examples from Southern to Eastern Asia.   I was recently looking for a dress for a formal event, and came across loads with a matching scarf or shawl, draped in various ways across the model’s décolletage. After having seen Lady Diana’s 1987 Blue dress at Cannes film festival, I had always loved the style.  So after further research, my algorithm had identified my interest in it and pushed more options to me, including discussions surrounding it. I hadn’t realised this was a ‘trend of the summer’ so was amidst heated discussions online.  The trending scarf, or as some had inaccurately labelled it ‘Scandi...