Let's be honest, Caesar runs the salad game. It's zesty, creamy, and always crunchy thanks to crouton add-ins (if you don't crouton, let's talk) — in short, it's the boss of lettuce in bowls. But sometimes regular old Caesar can seem a little played out. So when you feel like you've been there done that with the diced up romaine dish, we've got eight curve balls to throw your way and change things up. From sandwiches to tacos and even pasta — crunchy croutons included.
Ahead find a handful of recipes that are fast, fresh, and unexpected — all while staying true to their classic Caesar roots.
It's only been a week since Valentine's Day, and we've already turned our attention to how relationships end. Call us morbid, but we're just trying to be prepared. Everyone deals with breakups in their own way, but the spiritual world has a few suggestions as to how we can make a clean transition from coupled to single life.
If you've never considered getting over a breakup to be a spiritual process, think again. Many forms of spirituality put an emphasis on the self and its well-being, which absolutely encompasses matters of the heart.
Regardless of how or why a breakup occurs, it's just about a given that it left some serious feelings in its wake. We're here to show you how you can resolve those feelings while still making a clean break from your past relationship. Now that's what we call winning a breakup.
Click through to discover five ways you can recover from a breakup from the inside out.
Write it all out — then let it go.
There's a good chance you left a few things unsaid between you and your ex. This is your chance to get everything out without having to worry about censoring yourself. Write a message to your ex on a scrap of paper or dedicate an entire journal entry to your relationship's demise. Either way, putting your feelings into words will force you to think through what happened.
Once you've aired your grievances, scribble them out, throw the paper away, or even bury the pages in your yard. This final gesture represents your willingness to move on. And, though it may feel cliché, it just might help to burn the thoughts you've put to paper, too. There are whole rituals you can follow — and, of course, you can consult this iconic scene from Friends.
Photographed by Winnie Au.
Get the right kinds of crystals.
Regardless of your needs, there's probably a crystal for that — and your breakup isn't an exception. You've probably heard that crystals like rose quartz and jasper can foster feelings of love, but there are stones that can help prepare you for new beginnings, too. Pick up a moonstone, phantom quartz, or pink opal if you need a little energetic boost to move on.
We recommend using a couple crystals with these general properties and creating a grid with all of them. Crystals are an especially helpful cleansing method if you shared your room or home with your ex. Keeping the crystals near your bed and the entryways will make the space feel like yours again.
Photographed by Winnie Au.
Redo your bedroom.
If sex played a role in your breakup, your bedroom's energy might be due for a tuneup. As feng shui expert and consultant Janice Sugita told us, it's surprisingly simple to arrange your bedroom for better and more fulfilling sex.
Make sure your room isn't too messy or over-decorated. It may be time to simplify your color scheme or upgrade your sheets' thread count. These are just a couple tweaks you can make to your room that are in keeping with feng shui principles. If anything, you might find some of your ex's old stuff while tidying up — and we leave it up to you how you dispose of it.
Photographed by Mindy Best.
Go outside.
No catch here — seriously. Just getting out of the house, breathing some fresh air, and seeing some green can be immensely helpful. Not only will a brisk stroll help you blow off some steam, getting back to nature will remind you of the world outside of you and your love life.
Nature's restorative properties have been well-documented, and they can work wonders on your spiritual and emotional well-being, too. And, if you live near any public parks, there's a chance you live near an open-air labyrinth. If there's ever a time to practice some silent meditation, it's after a breakup.
Photographed by Alexandra Gavillet.
Take time for self-care — and self-love.
Much like a full moon, a breakup can seriously affect your emotions (and compromise your control over them, to boot). With that in mind, take plenty of time for yourself, whether that means starting a therapeutic bath regimen or embarking upon a 30-day masturbation challenge, that is up to you.
Photographed by Megan Madden.
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In a world saturated with brands making absurd (and sometimes literally impossible) claims about what its product and its product alone can do for your skin, GlamGlow keeps it real. The best-selling line is stacked with consistently sold-out formulas that do exactly what they say on the label.
The latest installment — two tinted versions of the celebrated GlowStarter Mega Illuminating Moisturizer — is guaranteed to become an instant hit. After all, what self-respecting person is immune to the allure of a product beloved for its ability to hydrate, prime for makeup, and impart a luminous, realistic glow?
In addition to the original Nude Glow shade, a flattering rosy beige that lends medium to olive skin a healthy warmth, you’ll now be able to choose from Pearl Glow, which looks great on fair skin, and Sun Glow, a gold highlighter ideal for dark skin. Use them to highlight, contour, moisturize — whatever you feel at that moment. And as promised, the formula is an excellent source of hyaluronic acid and rich, nourishing emollients like jojoba oil and shea butter. (Check out the ingredients list so you know it’s real.)
You can shop the two new variations straight from GlamGlow right now for $49 each. We didn't want to believe the claim that they instantly "flood the skin with hydration" — but honestly, that's not far from the truth.
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Nothing says "Happy 43rd Birthday!" like body-shaming strangers on Instagram!
Everyone's favorite food blogger is in some hot water after coming out as a verified Internet troll — and during his own birthday week, no less. Jonathan Cheban, friend of Kim Kardashian, spent the better part of his birthday weekend leaving mean comments on an a fellow food blogger's page, Sophisticated Vegan. The trolling saga has made headlines because of Cheban's incredibly rude, immature, and sexist comments to the complete stranger.
Here's what happened:
Six days ago, The Sophisticated Vegan (Nancy Sidley) left a not-so-nice comment on a photo of Cheban on Instagram, calling him a "fur hag" because he, along with the Kardashian fam, is a consumer of real fur. In retaliation, Cheban started perusing Sidley's page and leaving disrespectful comments on her pictures, which she preserved via screenshots below. His ruthless body-shaming is so gross.
A post shared by Sophisticated Vegan Official (@sophisticatedvegan) on
Then, a few days after that, social media caught wind of the garbage comments Cheban was taking the time to leave on the blogger's page. He responded to one such tweet by claiming that Sidley was thrilled to get attention over the insults he virtually spewed at her. (Which, yes please, Cheban. PLEASE mansplain why a woman is UPSET THAT YOU REPEATEDLY MADE FUN OF HER APPEARANCE.)
A post shared by Sophisticated Vegan Official (@sophisticatedvegan) on
Anyways — things just kept getting more viral, especially after ONTD shared the story, via Roast Kardashian Instagram. Meanwhile, Cheban continued to upload pictures of himself posing with various items of food.
Then, on February 20, The Daily Mailpicked it up, because Cheban is definitely more famous in England than he is here. The site unhelpfully claimed that Cheban has had rhinoplasty surgery and even shared an unrecognizable old picture of the former PR worker when he was in high school in New Jersey. He also made his Instagram private during this time. Why? Because he, in a twist of events, tried to become the victim by saying HE was the one getting trolled. Really, dude? You were getting trolled because of what you said! Sigh.
So, fast-forward to today, February 21 — the blessed day Cheban was born, 43 years ago. He unblocked his Instagram, surely to ensure his fans could wish him a happy birthday.
As of yet, Foodgōd has not offered an apology to The Sophisticated Vegan, because he is doing birthday things. But he probably never, ever will. She will just remain blocked from his life, because that's just what he does.
(Yes, I am also blocked by him. No, I never fur-shamed him.)
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At Nicholas K, Aube Jolicoeur went for the silver (and gold!), complementing her dyed shaven 'do with an oversized earring and shimmery eyeshadow.Photo: Peter White/Getty Images.
One thing was crystal clear as New York Fashion Week came to a close: designers didn't play it straight. In fact, models of color with closely-shaved styles and the fluffiest 'fros imaginable conquered the runways all week. And we're not just talking twist-outs here. Color and curls of all shapes and sizes were seen at the top shows. (Even two-tone box braids!)
Aside from a huge dose of inspo, these styles also served as a very important indicator: that a once-whitewashed industry is opening up to making inclusion the new norm. Yes, missteps still happen. But hopefully, we'll be able to discuss those in past-tense, just like the all-white shows of yesteryear. Scroll on to see our favorite natural hairstyles of the week.
Model Wallette Watson wore her natural curls styled with a side-part at Anna Sui.
Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.
At Pyer Moss, the Metro Look NYC hair team assembled this full head of gray-spiked box braids in two hours flat!
Photo: Brian Ach/Getty Images.
A Jenny Packham model's velvety skin was perfectly framed by her short, auburn strands.
Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images.
Model Aube Jolicoeur went for the silver (and gold!) with statement jewelry at Nicholas K — but it's her platinum 'do that comes in first place in our book.
Photo: Peter White/Getty Images.
These ringlets at Tracy Reese couldn't be any dreamier — or more enviable.
Photo: Anna Webber/Getty Images.
A perfectly-round Afro complemented the graphic cat-eye at Prabal Gurung.
Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.
Can we steal Kelly Gervais' lush, jet black locks from Pyer Moss? Please?
Photo: Amber De Vos/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images.
"Gold and goddess vibes," is how model Maria Borges described her look at Ralph Lauren — and we'd agree.
Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.
Model Grace Bol's closely-shaven 'do lets us marvel at that skin, those cheekbones, her dangling gold earrings...need we go on?
Photo: Desiree Navarro/WireImage.
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Over the past year, alt-right author, speaker, provocateur, and self-described "virtuous troll" Milo Yiannopoulos has made quite a few headlines. He has been widely protested, criticized, and was permanently banned from Twitter for harassment. Most recently, Simon & Schuster cancelled Yiannopoulos' book deal, and he subsequently resigned from his post as editor at Breitbart News — all in the aftermath of released recordings in which Yiannopoulos seemed to condone pedophilia, saying that "relationships between younger boys and older men...have helped those young boys," and that "pedophilia is not a sexual attraction to somebody 13 years old who is sexually mature."
So who is this guy and how did we even get here? Here are the main Yiannopoulos controversies you should know about.
He was banned from Twitter in 2016 after his abuse of actress Leslie Jones.
Yiannopoulos led a group of racist Twitter users in horrifying attacks on Jones that led to his (permanent) ban from the platform. The incident also inspired Twitter to update its anti-harassment policies.
"People should be able to express diverse opinions and beliefs on Twitter. But no one deserves to be subjected to targeted abuse online," Twitter said in a statement after banning Yiannopoulos. "We know many people believe we have not done enough to curb this type of behavior on Twitter. We agree. We are continuing to invest heavily in improving our tools and enforcement systems to better allow us to identify and take faster action on abuse as it’s happening and prevent repeat offenders."
Nevertheless, he landed a book deal with Simon & Schuster.
Many, including Jones herself, spoke out against the publisher's decision to work with Yiannopoulos. Jones argued that giving a publishing platform to the alt-right is essentially helping them "spread their hate to even more people."
Simon & Shuster originally argued that it has "always published books by a wide range of authors with greatly varying, and frequently controversial opinions." But after Yiannopoulos' recorded statements regarding pedophilia were released, S&S canceled the publication of his book, Dangerous.
He's been removed from university campuses more than once amid protests.
Yiannopoulous' scheduled appearances at both UC Davis and UC Berkeley were canceled last-minute amid protests from students and faculty alike. Although Berkeley administration rightfully condemned the violence that took place during some of the protest activity, the university admitted that "Yiannopoulos’ views, tactics and rhetoric are profoundly contrary to our own."
His appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher caused one guest to cancel — and another to clap back.
Journalist Jeremy Scahill was scheduled to make a return appearance on Maher's show but canceled when Maher also booked Yiannopoulos. Scahill said Milo was likely planning to use HBO to “legitimize his hateful agenda.”
When Yiannopoulos did appear on Real Time, he and Maher seemed to get along fine. But Yiannopoulous clashed with Maher's panelists — most notably with comedian Larry Wilmore.
“I just think it’s sad," Wilmore said on the show. "Because the same arguments that were used against gay people — treating them like aliens who just wanted to fuck anything that moved and that’s why we should avoid them at all costs — [are] being used [against trans people].”
When Yiannopoulos (who is gay) continued to make unfounded, transphobic remarks, Wilmore had had enough. He told Yiannopoulos, "you can go fuck yourself."
He quit Breitbart in hopes of preserving its right-wing reporting.
"It would be wrong to allow my poor choice of words to detract from my colleagues' important reporting, so today I am resigning from Breitbart, effectively immediately. This decision is mine alone," Yiannopoulos said Tuesday in a statement. Although even his Breitbart boss, editor-in-chief Alex Marlow, called Yiannopoulos' comments on sex with children "appalling" and "absolutely indefensible."
Yiannopoulos has since called pedophilia a "vile and disgusting crime" and told CNN he was "guilty of imprecise language" in his initial statements on the matter.
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It's official: Skin is in. We’ve known it for a while, but now there’s no avoiding it: ‘Less is more’ has taken precedence in our makeup and skin-care routines. And, as we wear less makeup — or opt for textures that are sheerer, lighter, and more breathable — having smooth, clear skin has nudged its way to the top of our beauty priorities. Skin care can help, but it's light therapy — LED, lasers, and IPL — that can really overhaul the texture, clarity, and tone of skin without going down the invasive route. And with new treatments and destinations that offer the quickest, safest procedures yet, it’s no wonder we’re going mad for lights.
LED Light Therapy
The gentlest of the light family, LED (Light Emitting Diode) therapy was first discovered in the '70s when scientists at NASA found that plant growth flourished when exposed to it. Fast-forward a few decades and now light treatments are found just about everywhere you might go for a skin reboot.
But how does it work? “The LED lights stimulate certain sensors within the skin which boost cell activity and trigger the production of certain chemicals,” says London super-facialist Debbie Thomas, whose famous DNA treatments use both LED and lasers. “The result is dependent on which color is used, but it can be everything from stimulating a healing response to destroying acne-causing bacteria or plumping fine lines.”
There are myriad colors in the light spectrum but the two most popular are red, which has a calming effect on skin, reduces inflammation, and can help tackle rosacea, and blue, which destroys P.acnes, the bacteria that grow inside pores causing blemishes, making it a great choice for problem skin. Other colors include yellow, which is said to energize the skin’s outer layer and green, which treats pigmentation; however, there is far less evidence on these, so the jury’s out as to how well they work. It’s not unusual for different colored lights to be used together to tackle a variety of skin issues and in conjunction with other treatments, too, like peels.
The beauty of LED therapy is that it’s completely pain-free, making it an obvious precursor to heftier light treatments, and it’s suitable for everyone. “LED lights are gentle, so they’re fine for compromised or young skin or for those on strong medications,” says Thomas. The only drawback, she points out, is that you need several sessions quite close together to get the best results — she recommends four to eight sessions taken twice a week and monthly top-ups thereafter — although you do see a difference in radiance after just one.
Used to treat everything from pigmentation, fine lines, acne, rosacea, those irritating purple spider veins and uneven skin tone in general, IPL is a great option for those who want to make significant, long-lasting changes but don’t want or need to go the whole hog with laser. Be warned that this isn’t one for those with olive and darker skin tones, due to increased pigment, which can over-lighten with exposure to this light.
In a nutshell, light beams dart towards pigment within the skin and attack it, kickstarting the skin’s natural repair mechanisms and resulting (once healed) in the kind of skin dreams are made of. That’s not to say that you can see this damage. It happens beneath the skin’s surface, which means that, aside from a little redness, there is no downtime.
IPL isn’t a quick, lunchtime treatment. In most cases, a numbing cream will be applied all over the face before the treatment (which takes around 40 minutes to do its job), then the therapist will zap your whole face at least twice. It can feel uncomfortable — especially around the nose, eyes, and mouth — but it’s more than bearable and feels a little like an elastic band flicking across the face.
And don’t expect to see results straightaway. The skin’s repair processes take time, but you tend to see an increased radiance and firmer skin around two weeks after treatment. For a noticeable difference, a course of around five or six treatments at four to six-week intervals is suggested.
Laser
“Lasers are used for more targeted skin-care concerns, as well as those that are more stubborn or advanced,” says Thomas, “I use them in treatments to zap pigment spots, remove skin tags, treat acne and acne scarring, and slow down the aging caused by sun damage.” Lasers are the most powerful light therapy and, much like IPL, target specific structures in the skin and induce controlled wounds, encouraging the skin cells to repair them. But while IPL comprises multiple wavelengths of light, laser has just one, so though it will feel more uncomfortable, you’ll see supercharged results after fewer sessions, and you’ll need them less frequently, too.
The range of lasers out there can be confusing. There are approximately 10 different laser technologies available but, as Thomas highlights, for each technology there are numerous brands creating their own version, making it a minefield for the uninitiated. Fraxel is one of the better known, mainly due to its famous fans (Kim Kardashian included) but is itself just a brand name — the technology inside is an Erbium laser. Erbium lasers are great for skin resurfacing, helping to bust acne scars, fine lines, and wrinkles; they are a better option for all skin tones, too. That said, speak to your dermatologist about different options, especially when considering this kind of harder-hitting treatment.
For the perfect gateway to laser treatment, look no further than Skin Laundry. Here, they use YAG lasers that efficiently kill bacteria, vaporize grime and pollutant particles, improve texture, radiance, and clarity, and help firm up skin. It’s a big promise, but in one session you see noticeable results — namely tighter, brighter skin — and founder Yen Reis is so sure of its efficacy that your first treatment is completely no-catches-at-all free. You do your laundry once a week (right?) and the idea here is to do the same with your skin; once a week for healthy, clean skin. It makes sense, when you think about how often you wear it.
Illuminage Skin Smoothing Laser
Alternatively, consider an at-home device. Iluminage makes a brilliant ‘Skin Smoothing’ laser that’s FDA-approved and clinically proven to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Use five times a week on clean skin (evenings are best, after you’ve cleansed and before applying serums and night cream) and wait for the magic to happen.
SPF
With each and every one of these treatments — particularly laser and IPL — it’s paramount that you wear an SPF of at least 30 after and between appointments, because these lights create such sensitivity that your skin will be much more susceptible to sun damage (meaning you’ll need more laser treatment in future).
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Sometimes, a snarky remark warrants an equally snarky response. (Just take the piping hot burns served up by Lush and Wendy's r ecently, all in good fun.) But the latest company to clap back at customers found itself in serious hot water when the "jokes" went a little too far. It all started when makeup brand Z Palette promoted its new product, Z Potter, a heated machine that de-pots eyeshadows for you. Users commented on the post, which is now deleted, complaining about the steep $85 price tag. What resulted was a series of odd replies from Z Palette, that veered into serious bullying territory. Among them: "It's not that it's expensive, it's that you can't afford it," and, "You look like a cheap date, but we're not messing with you."
One Twitter user reposted the deleted comments to Twitter with the caption, "Y'all okay?" If the outburst wasn't strange enough, the brand released a rambling open letter to the public explaining its actions, before quickly deleting that also. (Though Cosmopolitan later found the statement on Imgur.) "[Z Potter] was a personal journey for us; it was a challenge to see if we could help others de-pot easily and safely, and to see if we could build this machine," the letter started. "And so we take it very personally when people dismiss it, or talk badly about it, and treat it as a joke.... We take every comment seriously, like we take our machine seriously. Many times we adopt the face of the 'company:' stoic and implacable in the face of harsh 'commentary.' Sometimes we do not."
Suffice to say, makeup fans were not happy with the "apology," and are calling for a boycott of the brand.
Retailers that carry Z Palette, including Boxycharm and Makeup Geek, have taken to social media to stand up against the bullying. A rep for Ulta Beauty, another Z Palette retailer, tells us: "Putting our guests first is always our top priority and a priority we share with our brand partners. We expect all guest concerns to be taken seriously and addressed courteously. We are reviewing the matter at this time."
We have reached out to Z Palette and will update this story when we hear back.
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Anyone else feel like tequila compels you to tell everyone within a 10-foot radius what happens before "Part B" ? Well it turns out there is some actual scientific basis for why different types of alcohol — sugary margaritas especially — affect you differently. But it doesn't have anything to do with the drinks.
As we've discussed before, all types of liquor contain the same alcoholic ingredient: ethanol. So there's really no chemical reason why different drinks might affect you so differently. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Instead, our expectations about the way our drinks will make us behave seem to have just as much power over the results as the drinks themselves.
In fact, in a 2003 study published in Psychological Science, researchers were able to make their participants act drunk — without giving them any alcohol — just by telling them they were drinking vodka tonics (complete with limes dunked in actual vodka for good measure). Specifically, participants who were told they'd had alcohol showed memory impairments that we normally associate with drinking, but none of them actually had any liquor. And, in 2012, research published in Addictive Behaviors showed the same was was true of the positive effects we attribute to alcohol, meaning that participants who thought they were getting alcohol acted more confident, for instance.
So if you go into your night out expecting things to get wild — say, you're planning to go out for margaritas and you think tequila makes you turnt — they're more likely to go that way. Yep, the placebo effect is a powerful thing.
Then there are the aftereffects of a night that's heavy on the margaritas. Does drinking fishbowl levels of sugary drinks make you feel even worse the next day than if you'd stuck with other beverages? Science says yes — but don't blame the sugar. One factor is that, with cocktails, you're likely consuming more alcohol more quickly than if you were sticking to a single-liquor drink, and more booze is a recipe for a hangover whether or not you're mixing liquors. And, of course, sugary mixers — we see you, Jose Cuervo — mask the taste of alcohol. That could encourage you to drink more without realizing just how much alcohol you're really consuming, which is something we kind of suck at estimating anyways.
Luckily, the ol' placebo effect also holds true for hangover cures. Whatever works for you, stick to it tomorrow morning.
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Céline Dion finally gave us a look at her upcoming accessories line — and while we'll have to wait until September to shop the collection's 200-plus items, the performer announced she'll be releasing a special capsule collection in less than a week.
Following an overwhelming response to word of Dion's design foray, the singer decided to host a pre-sale for four bag styles, one from each theme of her collaboration with Bugatti.(These include Cavatina, Vibrato, Octave and Pizzicate — all of which are inspired by music.) These selected styles will be made available on February 27 on Dion's website, and will range from $88 to $298.
Check out Dion's designs in the slideshow, ahead.
This story was originally published on February 2, 2017.
Céline Dion is a forever-favorite of ours. However, in 2016, we fell in love with her all over again thanks to her new, daring approach to personal style, courtesy of Zendaya's stylist, Law Roach. Soon enough, she was sitting front row at haute couture, warming our hearts (that'll forever go on) in Titanic -inspired Vetements, and overall crushing it at off-duty dressing. Now, her transformation into full-fledged fashion influencer comes full circle, as she announces her first-ever fashion collaboration, per WWD.
Talk of Dion-branded fashion items first surfaced last summer, when Billboard reported that the performer had inked a licensing deal with Epic Rights to create a lifestyle brand around her image. (After seeing her live her best life at Fashion Week, we want a piece of that, please.) The first collection to result from the pair-up is a capsule with Canadian accessories brand Bugatti, on a line of handbags and luggage due out in September, per WWD. Alas, it's not merch — but it'll tide us over for now. Plus, you can now add another type of Céline bag to your wardrobe bucket list.
It may be the first collection, but Dion's thinking big: WWD reports that the inaugural range consists of over 200 pieces, offered in a range of price points. The specific figures aren't available yet, but here's hoping that this collaboration is Céline we actually can afford.
We'll be keeping our eyes out for a first glimpse of Céline Dion x Bugatti. But our best educated is that the handbags will pair quite well with some custom Off-White.
Céline Dion Collection Octave, $298, available on February 27 at Céline Dion.
Photo: Courtesy of Celine Dion Collection.
Céline Dion Collection Octave, $298, available on February 27 at Céline Dion.
Photo: Courtesy of Celine Dion Collection.
Céline Dion Collection Pizzicato, $108, available on February 27 at Céline Dion.
Photo: Courtesy of Celine Dion Collection.
Céline Dion Collection Cavatina, $88, available on February 27 at Céline Dion.
Photo: Courtesy of Celine Dion Collection.
Céline Dion Collection Vibrato, $268, available on February 27 at Céline Dion.
Photo: Courtesy of Celine Dion Collection.
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We already appreciated McDonald's coffee for not breaking the bank, but it looks like the menu item is about garner even more fans. According to Grubstreet, starting April 1, you will be able to get any McCafé beverage for just $2.00. And, this epic deal includes lattes and blended frappés, if you can believe it.
Coffee drinks aren't the only beverages getting a discount this spring. Any size soda will run for $1.00. You can also get a smoothie for $2.00.
Fortune reports that this promotion is McDonald's most recent attempt to lure customers back in since all-day breakfast didn't pan out as planned. Seeing as Starbucks is expected to soon dethrone McDonald's as the world's most valuable restaurant chain, discounting drinks is probably a good idea. Maybe even cheaper deals is the ultimate way to make skeptics want to try out McDonald's coffee.
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Anyone who's seen "dog whisperer" Cesar Millan do his thing knows he's all about energy. Specifically, he preaches the importance of projecting the calm and assertive energy of a true pack leader. But even the pack leaders among us have their challenges. In his new book, Lessons from the Pack: Stories of the Dogs Who Changed My Life, Millan recounts difficult experiences from his life, and how dogs consistently taught him skills he needed to deal with those challenges — including with his battle with deep depression.
"All the great things that people look to find in humans you can find in a dog," Millan tells R29. "I learned to be calm because of the animals. I learned to confident. I learned the importance of trust and of respecting myself." Through working with animals (and the humans that love them), Millan says he discovered how helpful it can be to talk through vulnerabilities.
Below is a condensed version of our conversation with Millan (whose new show Dog Nation premieres next month) about his book, his dogs, and self-acceptance.
Why did you decide to talk about your experience with depression now?
"I find vulnerability extremely masculine, sexy, and helpful. I find that speaking about your weaknesses, your downs, your moments that you don't know how to deal with is very helpful to other people. Especially when I'm in a position where I talk about leadership and confidence, yet I feel vulnerable to situations where I have no control — and I never have that feeling with dogs.
"A lot of people have depression, or anxiety, or resentment, or they feel isolated from a family. And when you don’t know how to deal with things, you can go into being very angry or very sad. Nobody stops you if you don’t stop yourself. You can end up on this roller coaster of depression to the point where you find no happiness, joy, or motivation to continue because you feel so absorbed by [the depression].
"So I wanted to share how I rehabilitated myself, how I opened up to the love of [other] people, to remember what I love the most, and how I came back."
How does it feel to be talking about depression openly?
"You have to show your strengths and your weakness and be proud of both. People will celebrate your accomplishments, but be more inspired by you sharing your weaknesses. That’s what we have to heal. We have to get rid of our negativity, but how [are you supposed to do that] if nobody talks about it?
"For me, because I want to help dogs so much, [that's why it's so important to me]. If the human doesn’t consider healing his emotions, then the dog can never be happy. So how do we help a dog? The human has to talk about his weakness. By talking, healing begins. For me, [using my platform to talk about these issues] is a way to trigger a conversation with people so they see that this guy also has weaknesses. But the difference is I talk about it.
"It's important to celebrate the victories and talk about the weaknesses and support each other. Once you feel alone, that’s the worst place to be. But once you know other people are in the same scenario, you don't feel alone."
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It's a lot easier to be a home cook in 2017, and not just because of Trader Joe's. I already knew how much we rely on dishwashers and pre-heating ovens, but it wasn't until I tried whipping cream by hand that I realized just how much we owe to new innovations. There's at least one piece of old-school technology, though, that has more than stood the test of time: cast iron cookware. It's good at retaining heat, is crazy-durable, and naturally nonstick. So why aren't we all cooking with it all the time?
Even the most seasoned cooks (cast-iron pun intended) can be intimidated to start cooking with a cast iron skillet. After all, it requires much different care from your normal pots and pans, and, if not properly cared for, can easy rust and become unusable. But it's not as scary as it sounds. I talked with Mark Kelly, head of P.R. at Lodge Manufacturing, a company that has been making cast-iron cookware in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, for nearly 120 years. He allayed my fears with a few simple tips on the care and keeping of cast-iron cookware. If you follow them, you, too, can be a (cast) iron chef in no time.
What Is Cast Iron?
There's a good chance that your great-great grandmother, wherever she was from, cooked with cast iron. Humans have been using it, in one form or another, for over 1,000 years. A fairly low-tech product to make (its a mix of iron and steel poured into a sand mold), it was originally used in China for military weapons. The reason we're still cooking with it a millennium later? Cast-iron cookware heats evenly, retains heat well, and is naturally nonstick.
And, amazingly, for an ancient technology, it's well-suited for modern cooking. Kelly explains, "You can use it on the stovetop, in the oven, on the grill, and on the campfire, and back home again." In fact, it's one of two types of cookware that can be used on an induction burner. It's great for searing meats, sautéing, and even baking, since the pans create a dry heat. Perhaps most importantly, Kelly notes that it's "awesome for grilled cheese sandwiches."
And, best of all, it's nonstick. Until recently, you'd have to make cast-iron nonstick on your own, through a process known as seasoning. Then, 15 years ago, Lodge figured out how to preseason cookware in the factories. Today, that process is industry standard and the vast majority of cast-iron cookware is ready to go as soon as you buy it.
Seasoned cast-iron means that it's coated with fat that is heated till it becomes carbon particles, making the pans nonstick. The more you cook with cast-iron, the more heated fat become carbon particles, and the more nonstick it becomes. In fact, Kelly says that, if you take care of it, cast-iron cookware can last for a minimum of 100 years. The key is, of course, taking care of it the right way.
Cleaning Cast Iron
The things we normally rely on for dirty dishes (soap and water) are cast iron's natural enemies. Exposure to both can break down the seasoning and cause the pans to rust. That alone can be enough to make people hesitant to start cooking with cast-iron themselves. But Kelly says it doesn't have to be daunting: "Personally, I just use water and a scrubby, and if there’s anything stuck I use a paste of course salt and water and rub it on there."
If it's a newer pan, Kelly recommends coating it lightly with olive oil and letting it sit on the stove at medium heat for about 15 minutes. This maintenance step will help the pan get even more nonstick faster. Once you've had the pan awhile, just rubbing it in olive oil and storing it will suffice.
If food really, really won't come off, you can boil water in the pan to get stuff off. The main thing is to never, ever let it soak overnight or put it in the dishwasher. Both will lead to rust, which means you'll lose the nonstick properties of the pan and have to re-season it. Kelly also notes that, the longer you've had your pan (and the more nonstick it is), the less likely this will be to happen.
Soap, which can break down the natural non-stick created by fat, is completely unnecessary. "Anything you’re going to cook in cast iron is going to be a minimum of 300 degrees, so any bacteria that may be in there is gone. It’s GONE," Kelly emphasizes. "People have been using cast iron cookware for a long time and nobody’s ever gotten sick from cooking with cast iron cookware."
That said, he also acknowledges that "It’s your choice, it’s your pan." Mild soap is fine, as long as you rinse and dry it thoroughly and coat with olive oil.
But What If I Need To Re-Season It?
If you care for your cast-iron pans well, you'll never need to re-season it. Even a small patch of rust can be fixed with a scrubby brush and some oil. But, if you've been what Kelly refers to as a "bad parent," you'll have to re-season it completely. The good news is, he says, even the most beat-up skillets can be rescued. And before you get worried, Kelly also has this piece of advice:
"This is cookware, not a Stephen king novel. There’s nothing to be afraid of."
Start by rubbing down the rusted pan with steel wool and rinsing it with water. Then coat it with a fat like vegetable shortening. Heat your oven to 350° and place aluminum foil on the bottom to collect dripping fat. Place the pan on a middle rack, upside down, and let it sit for an hour. After that, turn the oven off, and let it cool completely, and you're back on your way.
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Say Yes To The Dress star Randy Fenoli has come a long way from his humble beginnings on a cattle farm in Southern Illinois. Now, he's launching his very own namesake bridal collection. The line will debut at New York Bridal Week on April 20th, and the dresses will be available for scheduled bridal appointments the very next day, meaning brides-to-be will be able to order their wedding dresses straight off the runway.
"A wedding gown is the most important piece of clothing a woman will ever wear, so to be able to create something she loves is the most rewarding feeling for me. My deep connection to brides inspired each piece in my premiere collection, and I am truly honored to be a part of making a woman feel her most beautiful," Fenoli said in a release. His premiere collection will be comprised of 25 dresses, retailing between $1,500 and $3,000.
And it's that deep connection to all things nuptials-related, spanning six reality television shows (and a former bridal designing stint), that lead Fenoli to start his own line. After graduating from FIT in 1993, Fenoli launched his first two bridal collections, one for jewelry and one for dresses. He's also got two DEBI Awards (basically the Oscars of bridal design) sitting on his shelf. From 2007 to 2012, Randy worked as the fashion director at NYC's Kleinfeld Bridal Salon (a.k.a . Say Yes To The Dress ' homebase), where he consulted with nearly 15,000 brides a year.
Photo: Courtesy of Randy Fenoli/Code PR.
So, basically, if there's anyone more qualified for the job than Fenoli, let us know. Over the past few years, a number of new players have entered the bridal market, including wedding dress collections from retailers like ASOS, Topshop, Free People, and Reformation. And apart from Houghton, Fenoli will be one of the only bridal designers to adapt to the see now, buy now model, which should come as a relief to any extremely impatient bridezillas out there.
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It’s a good rule of thumb to never let your expectations soar too high — the lower you keep them, the less likely you are to be disappointed when something isn’t up to snuff. With that in mind, we’ve always been a tad suspicious of Target’s tagline. Expect more? Pay less? In what universe?
But it’s true: The hot spot for, well, everything has never let us down, especially not where beauty is concerned. Target’s beauty department is a modern marvel. And it’s about to get even better, because the megastore just announced a new sustainability strategy that will change the way its entire value chain and operations work from top to bottom before it trickles down to every product they sell.
Naturally, it's starting with the beauty and personal care section. “Target is committed to driving transparency, proactive chemical management and innovation across all of our owned and national brand consumer products, and operations,” the brand said in a statement.
“Our chemical strategy will be one of the most comprehensive in the U.S. retail industry, including all Target-owned and national brand products and operations, not just formulated products,” explains Jennifer Silberman, the chain’s chief sustainability officer. “It’s ambitious, but using our size, scale and expertise, we think we’ll be able to make significant progress. And we hope our robust approach will accelerate similar efforts across the industry. Ultimately, we want to bring all stakeholders together to innovate and champion a consistent, industry-wide approach to greener chemistry.” The first set of goals seeks to address unwanted chemicals with the “biggest potential health impact” within the beauty and personal care products they offer.
How does this directly affect you? By 2020, they aim to achieve transparency in all ingredients and develop safer chemical alternatives for a handful of formulations that have bene flagged as potentially problematic. By 2022, their goal is to invest up to $5 million in green chemistry innovation.
It’s safe to say that Target is not messing around, and that the brand also hopes to set the precedent for other retailers to do the same. Game on, Target, game on.
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McDonald's is serving some crazy stuff worldwide. You can get, or could at one point, something called a Samurai Pork Burger, a McPaneer Royale, and a shrimp burger. We generally don't recommend consuming shellfish from McDonald's, but we don't know your life.
Perhaps the craziest discovery of all is that McDonald's is serving ribs in the Czech Republic. Now, the Czech Republic is a beautiful country. They have Prague. They have a bunch of castles. We're almost certain that you can do better than eating McDonald's ribs in the Czech Republic. But here they are, an option.
Now, it's worth noting that American-style food travels pretty broadly. Hamburgers, at least, are available in almost every country I've ever been. But something that we should also note about American food is that it doesn't taste exactly right. Like, South African burger meat has this weird flavor that seems sort of spicy but just makes the meat taste like it turned. Or in South America, there just is something strange about how the burger tastes. This is why two Americans founded the Hard Rock Cafe in London, by the way, because they couldn't get a decent hamburger. (One could argue that they didn't do anything to solve that problem.)
You could probably sit here and say that that's because American beef is loaded with antibiotics and other objectionable stuff. You'd be right, but that doesn't make it any less delicious. What we're trying to say is that even though the ribs look pretty good, they're not gonna be, like, Memphis ribs. Or Texas ribs. Take your pick of barbecue styles. They'll be some Czech version of that. And maybe it's great. But you should be consuming something more authentic to the region, like beer.
Don't even talk to us about the McRib. The McRib is not something that should be bandied about.
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What, exactly, is fashion’s obsession with geishas?
Last week, Vogue got in trouble for dressing Karlie Kloss as a geisha for a fashion shoot that will appear in the magazine’s diversity-themed March issue. And on Wednesday, Alessandro Michele presented his fall 2017 collection for Gucci, where, among the myriad of personality types (that ranged from “punk” to “bride”), he included the brand's version of a geisha.
According to the show notes, the collection was “a transformative whirl that reassembles fragments, codes, and stories projected on a fresh horizon of sense.” Never mind the term-paper language, but what Michele is suggesting here is that his use of geishas — and other Orientalmotifs — is his creative right. It’s not the most political correct thing to say these days, and Michele is among others who feel this way.
Just this week, professional provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was dropped from speaking engagements and a book deal over inflammatory remarks meant to test the limits of free speech, and bait liberals obsessed with “political correctness.” The fashion industry has a history of pushing boundaries as well — as with any other art from that attempts to move on from the status quo — from many designers’ aesthetic fascination with homelessness to designers' erasure of marginalized people’s contributions to the trends they promote. When confronted with criticism, designers oftentimes respond with First Amendment reminders: “I wholeheartedly believe in freedom of speech and freedom to express oneself though [sic] art, clothes, words, hair, music…EVERYTHING,” Marc Jacobs wrote after he was attacked online for putting dreadlocks on models, and apologized.
Michele’s interpretation of Gucci has been unique because of the many ways he's broken the rules of what a traditional collection can be, as well as who it is for. This particular offering explored that idea of the Gucci community by playing fantasy dress-up with the models as part of an “alchemist’s garden.” Inhabiting different people’s perspectives and walks of life has been a strong theme this year, with Demna Gvasalia exploring “stereotypes” for Vetements’ most recent show. But Gucci makes an argument here — that creativity is borne from riffing on existing tropes. “Substances are selected, analyzed, decomposed, and treated,” the show notes continue. “It’s a creative process with the beat of slow incubation and sudden epiphanies.” You can imagine a greenhouse laboratory where one botanists toils for years to graft an apple tree onto a pine tree; somehow, magically, a pineapple emerges.
Gucci’s "pineapples" were born out of some obvious origins. There was the ‘80s hair metal dude. The nebbish nerd. The Palm Springs grandma. The guy who likes Wes Anderson too much. Japanese paper parasols adorned with flora and fauna motifs in the beginning of the show transformed into oversized velvet lampshades at one point. Bamboo walking sticks became gold-tipped arrows that became a Godfather -esque scepter adorned with a white cat and a brass knuckles. Chinese peony prints decorated a qi pao in Look 9 — by Look 112, it was on a ruffled blouse that looked more Swiss than Shanghai. This collection was as much about borrowing “Oriental” symbols (especially symbols associated with Western depictions of Orientalism, like Chinoiserie, rather than real Asian cultures) as it was about making the argument that parasols, peonies, and bamboo belong to the world, not just one culture. Plus, those elements have been an integral a part of Gucci's historic iconography — and Michele has proven to be a master of tapping into Gucci's archive to present old tropes in new ways. It's worth mentioning that this has led to incredible financial and cultural success, even outperforming the cash-cow that was Hedi Slimane's Saint Laurent.
Seeing any Western model dressed up in the costumes of minority ethnic groups and cultures that the West has colonized and exploited, though, inspires a knee-jerk reaction: it's culturally appropriative. The argument for the other side, that Michele also seems to endorse, is that cultural appropriation is just misinterpreted cultural appreciation — and that performing as other cultures and using from them for your own purposes is just a form of celebration. Basically, sharing cultures is good thing; minority cultures borrow from white cultures all the time. No harm, no foul.
But of course, there is harm — what this line of thinking does is reinforce existing power structures. White men and women are commended as forward-thinking for borrowing from other cultures, and non-white men and women are seen as silly or a curiosity. Consider the aforementioned Vogue shoot: Though geishas in Japan might see the photo spread as a novelty, or even a flattering homage, Japanese-Americans — within the main target demographic of the magazine — see it as yet another example of their culture being boiled down to a simplified stereotype (because, of course, the shoot is about "Japan" and "Asians" — it's not explicitly about geishas). It’s fashion pulling on the easiest lever, using the least possible effort, to appear cosmopolitan. In Gucci’s case, the relationships between the oppressed and the oppressors are much less easily definable, but there’s something to be said about a white man feeling like he needs to make a point that his magpie approach to cultural symbols is not only okay, but it is necessary.
“An androgynous, hybrid, spurious revolt […] saps the foundations of the deadly rigidity of dichotomous thought,” the show notes add. The brand describes dichotomous thought as good-evil, man-woman, inside-outside — it also can describe right and wrong. If political correctness means calling out things as wrong without leaving room for nuance, and free speech means qualifying everything as right without leaving room for nuance, then Michele is legitimate in wanting to reject dichotomy. This "you're wrong, I'm right" mentality has negatively affected discourse in America, the U.K., France, and in Michele's Italy as well. It could be argued that seeing the world through this lens is the impetus for every conflict, whether it's between two people or two nations. We need to look in the gray areas if we expect the world to become more interconnected and empathetic. We need to recognize more commonalities between us than differences. We need to make more pineapples.
But, the danger in that is getting too caught up in this pick-and-choose mood board path to creativity is that it becomes very easy to erase the life story of those symbols; to forget how they were used to hurt those who first created them, and reward those who appropriated them. Orientalism proposed that a fictional version of the East — where Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African countries all made up one aesthetic style — was in fact real.
That risk is actually revealed in Gucci’s new logo, an Ouroboros, which depicts a serpent (one of the brand's most-popular and most enduring symbols) consuming its own tail. It's message: Life is cyclical, but if we rely too much on repetition and appropriation, we’re doomed to destroy ourselves in the process.
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Photographed by Collins Nai. Illustrated by Anna Sudit.
Update: This post was originally published on June 9, 2016.
There's a reason that through decades, trend cycles, the rise of fast fashion and beyond, the white tee has remained a constant in our closets. (That's why they call it a classic, right?) For me, even as a fashion writer with an affinity for things like tie-dye, crop tops, and clothing with piercings, no garment has ever made me feel more amazing than a solid, worn-in white tee.
But there's just one problem: countless brands also know the magic of a white T-shirt and have offered up a take on it...and each brand is marketing its own as the absolute best. From classic American brands like Gap and Hanes to fashion labels like Reformation and Everlane, all of these names claim to make the perfect tee.
So, I'm taking a magnifying glass to those from some of R29's favorite brands to get to the bottom of who's actually making the closest-to-perfect version of this timeless wardrobe staple. While I wish I could've tried them all, I narrowed it down to six that claim to be the best in the biz. Read on for the honest reviews of each (along with a few additional options), and let us know in the comments: Who makes your holy grail white tee?
What Makes It “The Best": "Gap’s Vintage Wash Short Sleeve Crew continues to be one of our top T-shirt styles. It's the effortlessly cool staple that takes you anywhere and makes a great foundation for any look. We love how our unique wash techniques give the 100% cotton tees an especially soft hand while keeping the style incredibly flattering. These tees are the epitome of a classic American wardrobe and a favorite of customers who make them an essential component of their unique, individual style.” — Alessandra Brunialti, Gap’s VP of Women’s Global Design
What Kept It 100: Gap has left any bells and whistles behind. All you get is a white T-shirt in its purest form — no showy branding, contrast topstitching, or unnecessary design elements. It's even tagless at the neckline, which was a nice touch. It's opaque and sits well over a normal T-shirt bra; the sleeves are long enough to be flattering, but not too long, as is the length of the shirt overall (it hits right at the hip). It's a straight silhouette with a slightly relaxed fit that still looks polished. And no one can hate on the price.
...And What Didn’t: There's no real cool factor — it's the same white tee your mom would probably wear. The tee also wrinkles fairly easily and has a little more stretch than I find necessary. It also has a curved hem — it's personal preference, I know, but I prefer straight (curved hems can look a little mumsy when it's not tucked in).
On The Scale Of 1 - Best: Meh. No major complaints, but not jumping up and down, either.
Photographed by Collins Nai. Illustrated by Anna Sudit.
What Makes It “The Best": "We feel this tee is the 'Best In The Biz,' as we use a 20 singles jersey that’s knit on vintage knitting machines. We distress the edges of each tee and add a stone wash to break it down in all the right places to achieve the perfect 'lived-in' tee which every girl loves to throw over a pair of denim jeans or under an overcoat. And not to mention, WF definitely has the softest tees in the biz." — Andi Sharp, Wildfox Creative Director
What Kept It 100: The Wildfox tee has a nice weight to it — it feels thicker than the Gap tee and it does achieve the lived-in look without going full-on destroyed. It's the kind of tee I'd probably live in on the weekends. And it's pretty impressive that it's made on vintage knitting machines. Maybe that justifies the almost-$60 price tag (not including shipping)?
...And What Didn’t: The destroyed detail along the edges might seem like a cool aspect to some, but it keeps the tee from looking polished. It's the type of tee you can wear with cutoffs, but not so much with black trousers for the office. It's an off-white instead of a pure white, has a large tag at the neckline, and also has a quarter-sized embroidered logo in the bottom left corner (which doesn't show if you tuck it in, but is still worth noting). It's so relaxed that it feels like it runs quite large. If you want a thoroughly classic white tee, this isn't really for you. If you want a trendy, rough-around-the-edges, super-relaxed version of the white tee, it is.
On The Scale Of 1 - Best: Could either be stellar or not-great, depending on what you're looking for in a white T-shirt.
Photographed by Collins Nai. Illustrated by Anna Sudit.
What Makes It “The Best": "Our Cotton V is made from Supima cotton, the highest-quality cotton you can use, and garment dyed. This makes for a super soft, yet long-lasting T-shirt. Our tee is domestically produced in Los Angeles, CA, where our vendor has been in the garment industry for 30 years. The V is just low enough to feel a little sexy, yet still still classy." — Kelli Dugan, Everlane Head of Product Strategy
What Kept It 100: It's near-impossible to compete with Everlane's transparency. You know exactly where this tee is coming from and can see a breakdown of what you're paying for on the product's page (and you're not paying very much). It's got a clean, classic look and the cotton is admittedly super-soft.
...And What Didn’t: Is it possible for a tee to be too polished? I had a strong urge to dirty this up and throw it in the washing machine a few times. And while neckline is also a completely personal preference, a V-neck just feels outdated to me. Everlane also says to size up for a more relaxed look, and I wish I did.
On The Scale Of 1 - Best: I feel the same about this T-shirt as I usually do when I order pizza from Domino's: content, but also slightly underwhelmed.
Photographed by Collins Nai. Illustrated by Anna Sudit.
What Makes It “The Best": "The Premium T was a massive labor of love; our designer said she’d stake her career on this thing after working on it for over a year. [It's] a big promise to make — but she delivered — and the reception has been wild. It starts with the cotton slub fabric, which is made out of the highest quality cotton and yarn. It took us nearly a year of working with our yarn suppliers to develop it. Slub often has problems with transparency and twist that we wanted to eliminate in this tee. It took us a long time engineering the knit structure and the sewing to do that. The fabric is notable for its heaviness, grit, and quality — however, it feels light, soft, and comfortable and can be worn on its own or layered. You feel the texture and heft when you pick it up, which gives it a very flattering drape when you try it on." — Bayard Winthrop, American Giant Founder and CEO
What Kept It 100: This tee's weighted slub fabric gives it a super-substantial hand that makes it feel like it will probably last your entire life, no matter how many times you wash it. It comes from a company that definitely knows what it's doing as far as basics go (remember the world's best hoodie?). And it's already selling like crazy, so people must be into it.
...And What Didn’t: It's the little details that throw me off with this tee. It's slightly too long (which is a bummer for someone like me who likes to tuck in) and has a visible seam down the entire backside that I could live without. It also has canvas tab details on the bottom of each side seam.
On The Scale Of 1 - Best: This tee is like the Kardashians: You'll either love it or hate it.
Photographed by Collins Nai. Illustrated by Anna Sudit.
What Makes It “The Best": "One Ref tee saves about 900 gallons of water compared to an average cotton tee. That's like, two hot tubs, and nobody needs two hot tubs. One hot tub is enough — even for Kanye. Also, they feel and fit really good." — Yael Aflalo, Founder and CEO of Reformation
What Kept It 100: Reformation has mastered the effortless-sexy feel with its fit and fabrics, and the tees are no exception. It's an added bonus that the brand continues to make strides in minimizing its impact on the environment — hearing how much water is saved in the production of this tee definitely makes it more appealing. When you can buy a tee and feel good about it, it's a win-win.
...And What Didn’t: I tend to prefer a true crew to a scooped crewneck, but other than that, nothing else turned me off.
On The Scale Of 1 - Best: Close to perfect, but not The One.
Photographed by Collins Nai. Illustrated by Anna Sudit.
What Makes It “The Best": "Our tees are 100% made in America. The fabric is as soft as a vintage tee that has been washed hundreds of times. We actually created our own fabrics using the same techniques that were used to make fabric in the '50s and '60s, so they have that slightly slubby-sheer look to them, but are 100% cotton. The cuts are all inspired by the most iconic decades of the last century. They are updated classics that you can never have enough of in your wardrobe. Plus, the women in our office don’t want to wear any other tees anymore! That kind of says it all." — Sean Barron, Re/Done cofounder
What Kept It 100: This tee and I have a complicated history — when they first dropped, I threw some shade at the brand for charging close to $80 for a Hanes tee, when you can get a pack of multiples for less than that at your local Walmart. But I have to admit, it's a damn good shirt. To clarify, Re/Done isn't using actual Hanes tees to produce this pricier variation. Instead, they've developed special new fabrics that mirror that of a worn-in Hanes T-shirt. It has the feel of the one you love and have washed a million times, but is still flattering and doesn't take the lived-in look as literally as the Wildfox tee did with its roughed-up edges. It's like your old favorite, minus the holes and pit-stains, and the fit is super-flattering. Plus, the small tag at the neck is made of fabric almost as soft as the tee itself, and made In America is always a plus in my book.
...And What Didn’t: Some people hate a cap sleeve and this sleeve length is, in fact, on the shorter side (though not fully cap-level). It's a more shrunken, body-hugging fit, which again, might not be for everyone. But it's difficult to find any other flaws — there are no obvious deal-breakers, like obnoxious logos or superfluous add-ons. The tee is currently sold out, but the brand let us know it should be restocking in the next month, with even more new styles and colors to come in July.
On The Scale Of 1 - Best: I kind of hate myself for loving the most expensive option, but I take it all back, Re/Done! I humbly admit: Your tee is the fucking best and I never want to wear any other tee ever, ever again. It's everything I want: Comfortable, minimal, classic, and with a well-loved feel. Julia Stiles sums up my feelings completely.
Photographed by Collins Nai. Illustrated by Anna Sudit.
Madewell Whisper Cotton Jersey T-shirt, $30, available at Net-A-Porter.
ASOS Lightweight Knitted Loopback T-shirt, $18.50, available at ASOS.
Uniqlo Women U Crewneck Short Sleeve T-shirt, $19.90, available at Uniqlo.
Topshop Acid Destroyed Tee, $40, available at Topshop.
Current/Elliot The Petit Cotton T-shirt, $78 $54, available at MatchesFashion.
Old Navy Relaxed Crew Neck Tee For Women, $7, available at Old Navy.
Star's diva antics and dream sequences will live to see another day. According to Entertainment Weekly, Fox has renewed Star for a second season, meaning that Big Trouble is officially one step closer to fame. (Or jail, depending on how this season turns out.)
Star is Lee Daniels' second musical series on the network, following in the footsteps of his recording industry drama Empire. Unlike Empire, which is about hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) fighting to keep his musical legacy alive, Star is about the titular character (Jude Demorest) fighting her way out of foster care in order to pursue a singing career.
For those who haven't tuned in to the new drama — the series airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox— the show is a rags to (hopefully) riches story, complete with incredible original music and killer performances by the cast. The show kicks off with Star heading to Atlanta in pursuit of her godmother Carlotta (Queen Latifah) and a place to crash while scoping out the music scene in her new city. Her sister Simone (Brittany O'Grady) and friend Alex (Ryan Destiny) — who just so happens to be the daughter of a musical legend — round out her girl group, and though they don't always get along, they are straight-up fire when they perform side by side.
It's not long before the group is covering TLC's "Waterfalls," performing for Gladys Knight, and covering up the murder of Simone's foster father. Just another day in the life of a struggling artist.
Star may be all about the music in many ways, but it's not exclusively about Star's pursuit of, well, stardom. As Star claws her way to the top, the series places plenty of obstacles in her path — thus presenting real-world problems that can stop any person from achieving their full potential.
So far the series has confronted issues like police brutality, sexual assault, and drug addiction. It's also one of the few shows on TV to feature a transgender character as more than just a caricature. (Cotton, Carlotta's daughter, who is portrayed by Amiyah Scott, is hands-down my favorite...and she hasn't even scored her own musical number yet.)
Get ready for more sweet musical moments and also some tough-but-important social issues in season 2. It's that combo that makes this show more than just Empire 2.0.
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Meryl Streep may be "overrated" in the eyes of one (very wrong) POTUS, but to most of us, she's one of the most beloved actresses to grace the big screen. James Corden, on the other hand, still feels like a Hollywood newcomer: Though the Late Late Show host had a slew of success across the pond (such as with the very funny Gavin & Stacey) he wasn't always a recognizable face. In fact, Corden was once such an unknown in Hollywood circles that he can remember a time when Streep — with whom he would co-star in musical adaptation Into The Woods — thought he was a waiter rather than an actor.
Personally, I'd be happy that Streep thought anything of me at all. Alas, Corden was a bit disappointed when the Oscar winner didn't understand that he wasn't there to serve her salmon. At the 19th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards on Tuesday, Corden presented Streep with the Distinguished Collaborator Award, and joked about a time she had no clue who he was. He told the crowd:
"We were in London and Meryl was having a bite to eat with Christine Baranski, and I walked over to the table, and I said, ‘Hello, I’m James.’ She looked me right in the eye — and I’ll never ever forget it, she said to me, ‘I’d like the lemon-encrusted salmon,'" said the host.
Unfortunately, telling Streep he was also a star didn't really help his cause. He told the audience:
"I explained to Meryl that I was an actor and I was actually about to play the Baker in Into the Woods alongside her and she said, ‘That’s great. I’d like the lemon-encrusted salmon with a Diet Coke.’”
Savage, Streep. Fortunately, the two actors eventually got over their awkward social encounter, and now appear to be good pals. If only we could all have an ending with Streep quite as happy as Corden's.
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