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The singer is celebrating her hair care brand Cécred's expansion into the UK.

Clogs, chore jackets, straw hats and woven baskets are the look of the season. But are the brands and people embracing this aesthetic really doing any gardening? Lately, it feels like you can’t move for clogs. Everywhere you look, it’s straw hats, dungarees, floaty dresses, chore jackets and basket bags – and that’s in city centres, not garden centres. This is the rise of “ allotmentcore ” – somewhere between the linen-clad luxury of the “ coastal grandmother ” and the whimsical outdoorsiness of “ cottagecore ” – and it’s coming for all of our autumns. “I’d describe it as Little House on the Prairie meets Felicity Kendal in The Good Life, meets Bill and Ben,” says Mal James, professor of fashion design at the University of Edinburgh. “With the overall style of an imaginary love child of Monty Don and Pamela Anderson, the reinvented queen of garden chic.” It’s true that Anderson – once most famous for sporting a high-leg red swimsuit – has more recently become a pioneer of the allotmentcore style, living “romantically” in midi dresses and bandanas, frequently clutching floral bouquets. Popular brands include the family-run Carrier Company from Norfolk, Danish designers Skall Studio and Welsh-founded lifestyle label Toast. As online fashion publication Who What Wear put it : “If it looks like you’re ready to sport a pair of pruning shears at any moment, you’ve got the look right.” Continue reading...

‘Ugly’ shoes, once the preserve of the catwalk, have gone mainstream. Why are so many people taking a walk on the wild side? Until recently, a busy commuter train would be packed with people wearing low-key, unobtrusive shoes. An elegant and inoffensive pump, a sporty trainer or a polite and basic ballet flat, they were the type of shoes that said background extra rather than main character energy. But now change is afoot. Deliberately strange designs are reaching new heights of desirability. Polarising rather than pretty, these shoes tend to be flat, a little bit orthopaedic and, according to the internet, “ugly”. Continue reading...

Watch now (38 mins) | Suzy and Dan break down Kylie Jenner's $50 million bra. Plus: Ghosts are coming for our beer, male doulas are coming for our babies, and Diet Coke is officially better for you than water, and more on Second Thought. This week, Kylie Jenner shocked the crowd at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show by strutting down the runway in a $50 million bra. The undergarment was covered in over 4,000 diamonds, with a 75.54-carat centerpiece; but Jenner’s critics say she isn’t a “real model,” and didn’t deserve it. This week on Second Thought, Suzy and Dan explain why Kylie is the…

The ubiquitous carrier has been given a four-figure makeover. But why has an everyday bag associated with running errands and US supermarkets become so aspirational? • Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox? Sign up here If you were in the blessed position of having £500 to spend on a bag, what would you look for? Would it be made of cotton? A nice light shade bound to sully quickly, like “paper white” or ecru? Would you want something that looks a lot like those ubiquitous totes sold by a certain US supermarket chain for a couple of dollars? No, thought not. But there are plenty of options if you do. Phoebe Philo, former Celine designer and quiet luxury pioneer, offers a white canvas shopper , made entirely from cotton except for the silver brass hardware of its internal zipped pocket, for £450. Luxury Swedish brand Toteme’s “effortless tote bag” is made from organic cotton canvas and is available in dark brown, red or classic ecru. It goes for £510. Tom Ford’s version , at £1,600, differentiates itself a little, with a body made exclusively of cotton canvas but trims and handles from calfskin. Prada’s, which features leather details and metal hardware , could be yours for over £2,000. Continue reading...

One the most famous dresses of this century, it was worn by royalty and A-list celebrities in the noughties. Its latest fans are Maga women. Here, the designer, and former mentor to Victoria Beckham, reveals the story behind it The story of one of the most photographed and ripped-off dresses of the last 50 years came together with a simple zip. It was 1998; the designer Roland Mouret had shown his first collection at London fashion week and was looking for a way to produce good clothes at speed. He connected with a small British atelier and it was there that some old-school industry wisdom would alter his course: he learned that a longer seam doesn’t actually cost any more than a shorter one. Despite his brilliantly instinctive approach to design, it was like cracking a code – and steered him towards the dress that would make his name. “My brain was buzzing!” he says. “I hadn’t thought about it before – if you extend a top by 50cm, it becomes a whole outfit. You just need accessories. Focusing on dresses gives you a signature piece at the right price.” Continue reading...

It’s time to learn the art of layering – and we’re talking a crew neck with a ballet wrap and blazer, not full-on outdoor explorer Is layering an art? Probably not in the traditional sense. We are not talking the Bayeux tapestry here. No one is going to queue round the block to admire the subtle interplay between your Uniqlo Heattech and your cashmere crewneck. Still, I think it’s nice to romanticise this stuff. The deeply unpoetic truth is that it is going to get cold and wearing one item of clothing at a time simply isn’t going to cut it. So let’s pretend that the sliver of white T-shirt beneath a jumper, the shirt collar poking out above a cardigan, or the ballet wrap over a snug top are not acts of basic thermal self-preservation, but composition. A creative statement about proportion, texture, colour and self-expression. If you have to wear half your wardrobe at once, you may as well make a masterpiece out of it. The avant-garde layering term to drop in order to sound like a connoisseur this season is onion dressing. Not the most romantic name, but a clear visual for the most refined form of layering, which is fine layers rather than hefty ones. And instead of the top layer covering all beneath it, each piece should be visible. As if we were slicing through the onion and looking at a cross-section if you will excuse me labouring the allium thing. This is layering with finesse rather than brute force. Hems and collars and cuffs give an outfit depth and texture without adding too much bulk. You want to look intriguing and multi-dimensional, not like Joey in Friends wearing all of Chandler’s clothes . Continue reading...

As she auctions off her treasures, the synth-pop savant opens up about her eccentric style and why she doesn’t believe in cancel culture Before Cyndi Lauper rose to fame as one of the most singular pop breakouts of the 1980s, she was queen of the cash register at the edgy Manhattan boutique Screaming Mimi’s. The vintage emporium is still a downtown staple, but a little of its spirit comes uptown this month with Cyndi Lauper: A Suitcase of Memories , a two-part auction of her fashion and personal items at the New York auction house Bonhams. On a recent Thursday morning in New York, the singer is sporting seafoam green hair and is in good spirits as she leads a private tour of the collection. It is an Aladdin’s cave of outfits from her five-decade career, with clashing prints, jutting tutus and statement headwear in every color you can imagine. As she strides around in her platform creepers, she gives a few final notes to the Bonhams team. Is that rainbow fan at the right angle? And can we confirm that more mirror balls are on their way? Continue reading...