Your Perfect Jeans the Best for Every Budget

17 JANUARY 2021

YOUR PERFECT JEANS THE BEST FOR EVERY BUDGET

HELP! I’M ADDICTED TO DENIM BY ALEXA CHUNG

PLUS HOW TO SPOT A SPIRITUAL NARCISSIST

The Barometer

Edited by Louisa McGillicuddy

Fashion! Beauty! People! Things! Welcome to your weekly guide to the stuff everyone will be talking about. Do keep up

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RODARTE RODARTE the raincoat

GUCCI Don’t let the rain ruin your lockdown walk. Look to Stutterheim for the most stylish waterproofs in town. Raincoat, £133; stutterheim.com

It’s a thing! Sexy vampire energy Breaking news: Gen Z has discovered Twilight. One of the TikTok trends of last year was teens posting videos making fun of the corny film saga — the lip biting, the intense stares, Will you Japandi your home? the awkward silences … ah, the memories. And where Gen Z That’s Japanese and Scandi. Interiors hypebeasts may have goes, pop culture follows. This season’s Rodarte show was all spotted the Japandi aesthetic creeping on to the ’gram of over the mood — but less fan fiction, more cool 1990s goth, late. According to Google Trends, image searches for the as make-up artist James Kaliardos described the term reached an all-time high in October. It makes sense looks as “Winona [Ryder] in Dracula”. Coming for a fraught year — the look is all soothing pale wood, to Netflix soon isFirst Kill, a YA vampire series symmetrical lines, earthy colours and minimal clutter. produced by Emma Roberts, and out in (Check out @japandi_design.) And now a temple devoted March is the Marvel filmMorbius , an update to the concept has arrived: the Pantechnicon in London on the classic vampire tale starring Jared SW1 is a five-storey emporium of Japanese and Nordic Leto as a biochemist with a “rare blood restaurants, bars and shops. Peruse its dreamy offerings disease” he needs to cure. online now at pantechniconstore.com. IMAXTREE, ALAMY, ARIAKE/PROJECT DUO RESIDENCE, @JAPANDI_DESIGN ARIAKE/PROJECT ALAMY, IMAXTREE,

ON THE COVER ANNA DE RIJK PHOTOGRAPH CLAUDIA KNOEPFEL STYLING VERITY PARKER. DENIM JACKET, £1,420, TOD’S. JEANS, £200, TOTêME. HAT, £89, AND BAG, £1,200, JESSIE WESTERN

EDITOR LAURA ATKINSON DEPUTY EDITOR CHARLOTTE WILLIAMSON ART DIRECTOR ANDREW BARLOW FASHION DIRECTOR JANE MCFARLAND BEAUTY DIRECTOR SARAH JOSSEL FEATURES EDITOR LOUISA MCGILLICUDDY ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR SCARLETT RUSSELL JEWELLERY DIRECTOR JESSICA DIAMOND ASSOCIATE FASHION DIRECTOR VERITY PARKER FASHION AND MERCHANDISE EDITOR FLOSSIE SAUNDERS BOOKINGS DIRECTOR AND CREATIVE PRODUCER LEILA HARTLEY PICTURE EDITOR CATHERINE PYKETT-COMBES JUNIOR FASHION EDITOR HENRIK LISCHKE ACTING FASHION AND BEAUTY EDITOR MOLLY HAYLOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT ROISIN KELLY CONTRIBUTING BEAUTY EDITOR LAURA KENNEDY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ALICE KEMP-HABIB CHIEF SUB-EDITOR SOPHIE FAVELL SENIOR SUB-EDITOR JANE MCDONALD © Times Newspapers Ltd, 2021. Published and licensed by Times Newspapers Ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF (020 7782 5000). Printed by Prinovis UK Ltd, Liverpool. Not to be sold separately

The Sunday Times Style 3 Meet the class of 2021 Three names we’ll all be talking about this year The director: Karena Evans She acts, she directs, she designs, she wins awards and … she’s 25. The Toronto-born actress and film-maker Karena Evans made her mark as the director behind some of Drake’s most Instagrammable music videos, including the star-studded Nice for What (filmed in part around Battersea power station), which now has more than 365 million views on YouTube. Last year she directed the debut episode of the critically acclaimed strip-club drama P-Valley, which The New Yorker listed as one of its top shows of 2020. And in 2021 she’ll direct the first two episodes of the highly anticipated (by us)Gossip Girl reboot. Issa Rae, Tiffany Haddish, Tracee Ellis Ross and Lena Waithe all follow her on Instagram (@karenaevans), and you should too.

The musician: Ashnikko After getting her big break on (where else?) TikTok in 2019 with her song Stupid, Ashnikko is set to hit the mainstream in 2021. The cool singer/songwriter/rapper’s tour with fellow cool singer/songwriter/ rapper Doja Cat last March was cancelled, but she didn’t let a pandemic stop her progress. In June she released the track Cry with her style doppelganger Grimes. Born in North Carolina, Ashnikko (real name Ashton Casey) lived in Latvia for four years as a teenager before settling in London, and describes her sound as “angry, punk, hip-hop, sad-girl-feminist, bubblegum, poo-poo music”. Don’t let that deter you — it really is good. Think Harajuku street girl mixed with Lil’ Kim and St Vincent. Listen to her debut mixtape, out February 19.

The actress: Rose Matafeo The 28-year-old comedian/writer Rose Matafeo is here to provide much- needed laughter in 2021. The New Zealander won the Edinburgh Best Comedy Show award in 2018 for Horndog (her one-woman stand-up show about love and sex that later had a stint in the West End and was shown on HBO Max), and now she is turning her attention to film with Baby Done, available to stream on digital platforms from Friday. She stars as wannabe-adventurer Zoe, who freaks out when she becomes pregnant, while her boyfriend, Tim (played by Matthew Lewis, aka Neville Longbottom), embraces the prospect of fatherhood. Keep an eye out too for her BBC Three/HBO Max comedy series, Starstruck, due this year, which follows the aftermath of a one-night stand with a film star.

4 The Sunday Times Style The Barometer

Heating up Be your own Mystic Meg Every clichéd millennial worth their salt has ▲ GEORGE FOREMAN GRILLS a soft spot for astrology. Whether you casually The QVC favourite suddenly developing a follow a horoscope meme account on bizarre online cult Instagram or make relationship decisions based following. Lean, mean on the Path app (look it up), this year it’s all TikTok grilling machine about learning to figure out the stars for yourself. One highlight of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Christmas gift guide — and there were many — was a gift membership to Soulstrology. com, an online “cosmic coaching” service that helps you read celestial events. Fans are going EMO ETHAN HAWKE ▲ beyond the western zodiac too: according to Our fave Nineties deep Pinterest, searches for Jyotisha — the ancient thinker releases his new PUFFER PUPS ▲ Hindu system of astrology — were up by novel, A Bright Ray of Moncler now has a line 200 per cent in 2020. And for the astro- Darkness, on February 2. of puffer jackets, gilets Patti Smith loves it and raincoats for your curious, next month sees the publication of dog. Mad but adorable The Power Wish by Keiko, Japan’s leading astrologer. The book became a million-copy bestseller in Japan when it was released in 2017 and is out in the UK on February 9. It’s all about how to harness lunar energy for your own happiness (don’t ask us).

▲ PAUL CHUCKLE FACEMASKS The PPE we never knew we needed. ‘To you, tier me’ @COurrÈGES

CTION Cooling down

▼ GRAVY BATHS Exactly how it sounds: new trend for filling your tub with Bisto granules and drinking it. The internet is broken ▼ PRESTIGE PODCASTS Delete that Pulitzer- winning podcast, we want People mag’s new daily showbiz show, starting February 1. Delicious trash

▼ SUIT OF ARMOUR COUTURE Balenciaga show Courrèges makes a comeback … or court of Henry VIII? You decide and it’s really rather good The legendary French fashion house Courrèges — loved by the likes of Catherine Deneuve, Jackie Kennedy (above) and her sister, Lee Radziwill, in the 1960s — is getting a makeover. When its new artistic director, Nicolas Di Felice, was appointed in September, he wiped the BALENCIAGA Instagram account and started again from scratch. An alumnus of Balenciaga, Dior and Louis Vuitton, Di Felice has amassed his own ▼ RED CARPETS It should be the month internet fandom even before his debut show, which will be at Paris of the Grammys, fashion week in March (we hope). In the meantime check out the first Golden Globes, Baftas glimpse of the brand’s new direction in Di Felice’s reissue capsule … Oh how we long for collection, launched last month, of the most famous Courrèges archive

BABY DONE COURTESY OF VERTIGO RELEASING, GETTY IMAGES, VASSO VU, @GEORGEFOREMANUK, COURTESY OF MONCLER POLDO DOG-COUTUR E COLLE OF MONCLER POLDO COURTESY VU, @GEORGEFOREMANUK, VASSO GETTY IMAGES, RELEASING, VERTIGO OF DONE COURTESY BABY a Björk swan dress pieces, modelled by an array of very good-looking real-life couples.

The Sunday Times Style 5 The good guide

Edit Molly Haylor With sales soaring, denim is an easy – and affordable – way to get dressed in lockdown January, says Style’s editor Laura Atkinson

Has there ever been a time when we’ve needed a good pair of jeans more? It’s now almost a year since we entered these strange times and the way we dress has evolved and fluctuated along the way. Sure, sweatpants were a novelty at first, but we are mostly still working from home, staring at a laptop in a garden shed/in a bedroom/on an ironing board, and the thrill of wearing an elasticated waist every day has worn thin. So step forward, denim. It’s not an all-time classic for no reason: dress it up with a shirt and heels if you are in work mode, go casual with a jumper and trainers if not. The right pair of jeans will flatter while being comfortable, an instant go-to for these endless days when work and home blends into one. Indeed, sales are up: Matchesfashion.com reports a 50 per cent increase over the past 12 months. Luckily the choice is better than ever this season. Everyone from Dior to Chanel has dabbled in denim, while the high street has a pair for every budget. And don’t forget vintage — often that perfect fit is to be found in an old pair of Levi’s (also the most sustainable option). If you’re not a “jeans person” (see our beauty director, Sarah Jossel, a self-confessed jeans refusenik, who tries to learn to love them on page 20), then denim comes in many other forms this spring, from easy-to-wear dresses (pop a fine-knit poloneck underneath) to one of the most hyped fashion pieces of the year, the Celine denim cap. Either way there Jeans, £450, is something for everyone: a Victoria Beckham democratic wardrobe choice if ever there was one. @stylelaura

6 The Sunday Times Style The best jeans under £100 1 Wide-leg jeans, £69; aligne.co. 2 Flares, £40; riverisland.com. 3 Slim-fit jeans, £35; uniqlo.com. 4 Patchwork jeans, £40; monki.com. 5 Flares, £50; mango.com. 6 Elasticated-waist jeans, £28; next.co.uk. 7 Jeans, £32; asos.com. 8 Casual-fit jeans, £20; reserved.com

3 4 2

Aligne’s 1 super-comfy wide-leg jeans have fast become an 5 influencer favourite during lockdown 3

Uniqlo’s £35 jeans are a secret among fashion editors. Tuck into ankle boots & OTHER STORIES & OTHER

Not ready to give up trackie bottoms 8 yet? Try Next’s elasticated jeans

The Sunday Times Style 7 The best jeans over £100 1 Wide-leg jeans, £125; tedbaker.com. 2 Straight jeans, £285, L’Agence; harrods.com. 3 Black jeans, £225, Good American; selfridges.com. 4 White jeans, £195, Isabel Marant Étoile; net-a-porter.com. 5 Jeans, £100; levi.com. 6 Criss Cross jeans, £240; agolde.com. 7 Stripy jeans, £245, Marques’Almeida; matchesfashion.com

1 GANNI

Colgate-white denim is a WFH pick-me-up. It’ll look great in spring too

3 Swap a belt for a cool waistband detail — Agolde is an A-list favourite 7

Looking for stylish plus-size denim? LA brand Good American caters up to size 28

8 The Sunday Times Style 3 The denim issue

5 Rag & Bone is 2 the go-to for a grown-up onesie. 1 A looser version will double up as maternity-wear

6 7 Jigsaw’s dress is our

smart(ish) spring JIGSAW workwear sorted — simply wear over a skinny rollneck

And if you 8 don’t like jeans 1 Skirt, £85; boden.co.uk. 2 Dungarees, £60; fatface.com. 3 Boiler suit, £182, Rag & Bone; theoutnet.com. 4 Mini pinafore, £35, Find; amazon.co.uk. 5 Skirt, £79; guess.eu. 6 Boiler suit, £49; topshop.com. 7 Dress, £25; hm.com. 8 Skirt, £235, APC; matchesfashion.com

The Sunday Times Style 9 The denim jacket (and shirt) rebooted 1 Shirt, £180;7forallmankind.com. 2 Puffer jacket, £129; allsaints.com. 3 Top, £16, George; direct.asda.com. 4 Coat, £295; toa.st. 5 Jacket, to rent from £89, Versace; hurrcollective.com. 6 Shirt, £268; frame-store.com. 7 Jacket, £100; levi.com. 8 Shirt, £79; arket.com

1 FRENCH CONNECTION

Update your sleeve game with a 3 denim puff

The vintage denim jacket is back. Rent a Versace original from Hurr Collective

10 The Sunday Times Style The denim issue

1 Finishing touches 3 1 Denim belt, £85; elvdenim.com. 2 Tote bag, £720; alexandermcqueen.com. 3 Boots, £40, Monki; zalando.co.uk. 4 Sandals, £75; dunelondon.com. 2 5 Bucket hat, £325; celine.com. 6 Baseball boots, £65, Converse; schuh.co.uk. 7 Patchwork bag, £50; zara.com. 8 Boots, £649, Balenciaga; flannels.com 4

5 Monki’s lace-up boots are a catwalk copy. Wear with 6 dark blue jeans for an alternative spin on double denim DUNE

8 And for the ultimate investment? Balenciaga’s microheel kitten boots

The Sunday Times Style 11 My jeans masterclass (it’s been 25 years in the making)

by Alexa Chung Butt-lifting! Leg-lengthening! High-waisted! What makes the perfect pair of jeans? The designer – who owns 15 pairs and counting – shares her expert tips. (Just beware the camel toe)

12 The Sunday Times Style The denim issue

The first pair of jeans I owned that my mother didn’t can act as support-wear and moulds to the shape choose for me were purchased on one of our shopping of your body. Samantha Elias, the co-founder and trips to the exotic hotspot of Guildford. It was the CEO of the Vintage Twin (thevintagetwin.com), is mid-1990s, Blur or Oasis were at the top of the charts someone who helped me to find my favourite jeans, and the Levi’s shop was enjoying a healthy boom in New York five years ago — a pair of high-waisted thanks to the brand’s consistently good stream of overstitched Jordache jeans from the 1970s — and sexy television adverts. At the time my siblings has matched legions of women to their dream denim. were my style icons — not least because they were Elias has come to realise “there is not a universally some of the only people I regularly saw out of school flattering style because body types vary so greatly, but uniform — and they liked Levi’s, so I liked Levi’s. And I do think there’s a universally likeable style if you’re so it was that I came to invest my mum’s money in a willing to prioritise comfort and vibe over butt-lifting. pair of black 512s that my brother would shout “drain- If you are, it’s a ‘boyfriend’ fit.” pipes” at every time I deigned to leave my room. They Denim idol Brooke Shields, who caused a sensation were perfect. at 15 when she provocatively declared nothing came In the intervening years I have become something between her and her Calvins, kept three pairs of the of a denim fanatic. Currently I have about 15 pairs of now-iconic non-stretch straight-leg style she wore in jeans in my wardrobe, about three of the commercial. “I gave one pair to which I’m happy with. My pursuit of the Met, as one does,” she says with the ever elusive Perfect Pair of Jeans I was so a knowing laugh, “then the other has resulted in a perpetual scavenger committed to two I have still. In 2003 I was able hunt taking in, by my last count, to wedge myself into them, but now every single vintage shop on the my hot pants my 14-year-old fits them.” Shields planet from Margate to Buenos that I would has since defected and now prefers Aires. This has unearthed a depress- the universally flattering boyfriend ingly low yield. They need to be wear them on jeans too. straight, but not tapered. High- In terms of available modern waisted without causing a camel toe. flights, prompting styles that you can count on? The The wash can’t be too distressed. concerned air Feel Studio makes the Genuine As a teenage model in the early Jean, which is a non-stretch Noughties I spent three years hostesses to offer vintage-inspired unisex style offered traipsing the streets of London on in three colours. For a more 1970s castings clutching an A-Z and me free pyjamas vibe, I live in my Agolde Vintage wearing little more than a denim High Rise Flares, which do exactly miniskirt so short it would probably be better described what they say on the tin. At AlexaChung I’ve spent a as a loincloth. In winter I would take a cue from the lot of time perfecting our denim over the past three Ramones and shimmy my skinny legs into even years, so you might like to try a pair of our dreamy skinnier jeans. Trickier to take off than to put on, this Grady jeans, part of a recycled denim collection drop- led to years of attempting to master the art of the ping in March. graceful peel-off. Whatever style you prefer, the secret to denim’s By the time my mid-twenties rolled around I had evergreen relevance is, of course, the fact it goes with taken to copying old pictures of Jane Birkin and new everything, including itself. I currently have a desire pictures of Kate Moss by wearing high-waisted denim for a tapered 1980s pair to wear tucked into cowboy hot pants on tour buses and TV as a wink to the “I’m boots, with a sweatshirt and oversized blazer. I also with the Band” life I was leading. In fact I was so recently dragged the dress-over-jeans style kicking and committed to my hot pants that I would wear them on screaming from the early 2000s for one of the filmed long-haul flights, prompting concerned air hostesses Zoom meetings that came to dominate my 2020. to offer me free pyjamas. (I declined — they wouldn’t And I’ve adapted my hot pants outfit from yesteryear have gone with my fedora.) I presumed I would retire to accommodate ageing legs and a winter in Britain by the hot pants once I turned 30, but every summer my wearing them with sheer black tights underneath. shorts and I have enjoyed a lengthy stand-off until Regardless of what I wore them with, managing to I acquiesce and put them on, like an old detective dress my bottom half in anything other than pyjamas being brought out of retirement for one last case. during the pandemic is a triumph. So here’s to 2021, For me, vintage denim will always be my preferred and a hope that we will be able to enjoy clothes again, choice because it has none of the elastane that has perfect denim or otherwise. ▪ @alexachung infiltrated most modern styles. Personally I think

GETTY IMAGES, CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF ALEXACHUNG OF DIRECTOR CREATIVE GETTY IMAGES, vintage’s 100 per cent cotton is more ﬂattering, as it Alexa Chung is creative director of ALEXACHUNG

The Sunday Times Style 13

THE SOCCER MOM LOOK Think off-duty Princess Di — jeans, a smart shirt, plus this season’s must-have, the baseball cap.

Ribbed top, £85, Totême. Stripy shirt, £550, houndstooth wool jacket, £1,950, and denim logo baseball cap, £270, Celine by Hedi Slimane. Dante chain necklace, £155, Alighieri

14 The Sunday Times Style The denim issue

THE NEW FLARES The Seventies staples are back, but in sleek, more streamlined shape — see Gucci for further details.

Shirt, £385, Lemaire. Flared jeans, £620, Gucci. Short cowboy boots, £399, Jessie Western. Denim monogram bag, £1,890, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

Blue crush Couture denim? You’d better believe it. From logos on your legs to hand-embroidered details, these are the new ways to wear fashion’s original classic

Photographs Claudia Knoepfel Styling Verity Parker Model Anna de Rijk

The Sunday Times Style 15 PATCHWORK PIECES Mix-and-match fabrics are this season’s denim update. Etro does it best.

Ribbed top, £85, Totême. Denim shirt, £325, Mother. Patchwork jacket, £900, and matching jeans, £520, Etro. Boots, £1,250, Sweethearts of the Rodeo

16 The Sunday Times Style The denim issue

THE LOGO JEANS Whether CC or LV, branded denim is the new logo brag.

Logo denim jacket, £3,080, and matching jeans, £1,370, Chanel. Fringed bag, £720, Jessie Western

XL WIDE LEGS Voluminous jeans are trending — just watch out for puddles.

Shirt, £995, Miu Miu. Denim jacket, £449, Slvrlake. Recycled denim jeans, £675, Chloé. Hat, £325, Ruslan Baginskiy. Shoes, £725, Sweethearts of the Rodeo

The Sunday Times Style 17 THE GROWN-UP DENIM JACKET A denim jacket is your new everyday hero — wear with everything.

Denim jacket, £1,420, Tod’s. Twisted-seam jeans, £200, Totême. Cowboy hat, £89, and blanket bag, £1,200, Jessie Western

THE COUTURE JEANS Dior’s hand-embroidered denim jeans are a lifetime investment.

T-shirt, £205, Frances de Lourdes. Denim trousers, £3,000, Dior. Shoes, £725, Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Suede cowboy hat, £60, Wilde Ones

18 The Sunday Times Style The denim issue THE DESIGNER COLLAB Valentino has teamed up with Levi’s — the maker of the original blue jeans — for a perfect cut.

Chiffon top, £3,300, Valentino. Waistcoat, £1,755, Charlotte Knowles. Jeans, £790, Levi’s 1969 517 for Valentino. Leather belt, £50, Wilde Ones

Hair Sabrina Szinay at Management + Artists Group using Sándor Earth. Make-up Lucy Burt at LGA Management using Les Fleurs de Chanel and Chanel Le Lift Lotion. Nails Saffron Goddard at Saint Luke using Sisley handcare. Model Anna de Rijk at Viva London

The Sunday Times Style 19 ‘I shudder at the thought of wearing jeans’ Unﬂattering, unforgiving . . . Style’s Sarah Jossel is a denim refusenik. So could an expert ﬁnd her the perfect pair?

Ding! Ding! Ding! “Alfie, my bum, it looks so big!” decided it was time to send me on a mission to find the Ding! Ding! I’m in Selfridges, in the changing rooms perfect pair. (remember those?), doing the thing I hate most: trying I shudder at the thought of denim on me. I say “on me” on jeans. I keep pressing the “I need a Jeanius” button and because denim treats others so well. Those cool French poor Alfie, my jeanius on call, is scurrying back and forth girls in a vintage pair they found in a flea market. Rihanna to explain why each pair looks worse than the last. These in her baggy boyfriend jeans. Farrah Fawcett, the ultimate buttons are all over the Selfridges Denim Studio and bell-bottom icon. when you “call for help” a denim whizz arrives to advise “It’s not you, it’s the jeans,” Alfie says, on pair number on fit and style. 4,366. Lots of them start off promisingly, but as they What Alfie doesn’t know, though, is that he is up against glide over my knee, get stuck at the hips and gridlock at a dress devotee. Whether it’s work or weekend, I wear the bum, I sigh and throw them into the reject pile, which my signature long dresses, and it’s a rare sight to see me in an hour later is starting to resemble Ben Nevis. There are jeans. So — while we were still in Tier 3 — the Style team a few false dawns when I think we have achieved the

20 The Sunday Times Style The denim issue impossible and found me a match, but then they won’t do up or I can’t breathe. Or sit down. Or walk. I find denim unflattering and unforgiving. If it’s not the ill-fitting back gap (there is always that gaping hole no matter how tight and fitted the jeans are), it’s the angry Your dilemmas solved red mark that sits below your belly button when you take them off to remind you just how unenjoyable the whole by Alfie Hayley, brand consultant experience was. I haven’t always been averse to jeans. Throwback to my at Selfridges Denim Studio teenage years and my wardrobe staples included those Miss Sixty flares with the poppers up the side. I had the HOW DO I KNOW IF I SUIT HIGH-RISE OR light blue, dark blue and black denim ones on heavy rota- MID-RISE JEANS? tion. The girl band All Saints were fully responsible for “The goal with jeans is to balance out the proportions of my friends and me spending our year’s allowance on the body so that the eye doesn’t get drawn to a specific area. oversized baggy Evisu jeans, and I had those low-cut The general rule is that longer torsos suit high-rise jeans Diesel jeans where your thong poked over the top of the and shorter torsos suit mid-rise.” waistband, aka the pair that caused an argument in every household with teenagers in 1998. But over the past IS THERE A STYLE THAT WORKS decade, as brands such as Rixo, Kitri and & Other Stories BEST FOR WIDER HIPS? have been rolling out midi-dresses, I’ve come to realise “Flared and bootcut jeans generally work well on that I’m so much more confident — and comfortable — in someone with wider hips. It creates the illusion of an a dress that complements my body shape. hourglass shape. A top tip is to pair your jeans with a slightly I’m told there is a chemistry to the perfect fit. The open-collared shirt. It widens the shoulders, which helps length of our torsos and calves, where our hips sit, the even out the proportions of the body.” width of our ankles, it all plays a part. And I’ve come to accept that my pear-shaped tush, matched with my WHY DOES MY BOTTOM ALWAYS short(ish) torso and skinny(ish) ankles means denim LOOK FLAT IN JEANS? is not my happy place — and I’m not alone with my “Where your pockets sit makes a big difference. disillusionment. According to Alfie: “Seventy per cent If your bum looks flat then make sure your pockets of customers in the Selfridges denim hall don’t know aren’t too big or too low down as that weighs it what they want or what suits them.” I imagine the other down and looks flatter instead of making it look 30 per cent are the street-style selfie goddesses who perky. A smaller pocket that’s not too square will I regularly unfollow on Instagram for looking create the illusion of a lift.” too good in jeans and for using captions like “Feel cute might delete later”. WHAT JEANS MAKE MY LEGS A crucial hurdle in the denim industry is LOOK LONGER? the obscure sizing. I can be anything from a “Something with a bit of a fade makes legs 26 to a 34 as every brand has its own dimen- look longer because of the illusion of light sions. It’s such a simple question: “What size and dark. If a fade is too casual, then go for are you?” And yet the response is always a denim with a grain or a texture to break convoluted, confused and long-winded. up the flatness of the wash.”▪ What we really need are some government denim guidelines — once Brexit and the global pandemic are sorted, of course. Thanks to Alfie, though, I got the closest I’ve been to almost liking a pair. They are by a brand called Re/done, a Los Angeles company that repurposes old Levi’s to create a new style of vintage denim (cutout picture, right). “They are high-waisted, straight-cut jeans that look the best because they don’t sit too high on your waist,” Alfie explains. Apparently lots were too high-waisted, which meant “they attracted the eye to my widest bit.” I’ll fill in the blank here: he means my hips. As for the Re/done pair, I’d be happy to wear them occasionally, but they’re never going to be the first thing I reach for in my wardrobe. I will always choose swishing around in a floaty dress over lying on the bed trying to do up the top button of my jeans, even with the help of a jeanius. @sarahjossel

The Sunday Times Style 21 Dad’s advice? Stay calm, stay confident and have fun As the offspring of Sadie Frost and Jude Law, the Primrose Hill set’s most famous couple, Rafferty Law is used to the scrutiny of fame. But he’s ready to step out of their shadows in his first big film role, he tells Laura Craik

Photographs Alan Gelati Styling Chloe Beeney

As someone who once followed Jude Law through the Walliams. Keen as Rafferty was to get stuck into the free back streets of Primrose Hill some time in the mid- running (a high-octane urban pursuit that involves Noughties, I can attest that, even at the remove of a Zoom jumping, flipping and spinning, and looser than the call, the resemblance between Rafferty Law, 24, and his military-inspired discipline of parkour), insurance costs actor father is disarming. He is affable, likeable and open, necessitated that this be handed over to a stunt double. even if the black screen gives nothing away about the “It’s a lot of fun, a family film, full of action,” is how south London flat from which he is zooming. Rafferty describes Twist. “In this story Oliver is a free Their film debuts are not dissimilar, either. Where runner: he grew up on the streets, climbing on rooftops to Jude’s breakout role was as a joyrider in 1994’s Shopping, get away from the darkness of the world and escape. It’s Rafferty’s is as a criminal in Twist, a modern-day retelling got a bit of romance and some typically English banter, of the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist, in which he which is really good for the times right now, when people plays Oliver to Michael Caine’s Fagin. Like Shopping, want a bit of light-heartedness.” Twist is an action-packed, adrenaline-fuelled, British- It also amplifies the female roles, with director Martin produced crime drama set in London. If only Rafferty Owen casting Ora as Dodge (a version of the Artful had met his future wife on set, as Jude did with Rafferty’s Dodger) and newcomer Sophie Simnett as Red (based on mother, Sadie Frost, the circle would be complete. (He Nancy), a free running enigma. But it’s Lena Headey, didn’t, although he was rumoured to have briefly dated fresh from her eight-year stint on Game of Thrones, who Rita Ora, his 30-year-old co-star.) steals the show as Sikes, a villain whose heartlessness Remember the Oscar-winning 1968 musical Oliver!, puts Queen Cersei to shame. “Lena absolutely smashes starring Oliver Reed? While the 2021 adaptation can’t that role,” Rafferty agrees. As does Caine as Fagin. “Obvi- hold a candle to that famous predecessor, it will probably ously he worked with my dad in the past, and I’d seen so find favour with the demographic at which it’s squarely many of his films growing up, but to be starring alongside aimed: teen and tweens. It’s a souped-up rethink, full of him was surreal. It was a real honour.” car chases, free running and a cameo from David Rafferty grew up with his mother, after she split from Jude in 2003, when he was six. Sadie brought up Rafferty Rafferty at a and his sister, Iris, now 20, brother, Rudy, 18, and half- football match brother Finlay, 30. “From a young age I’ve always really with his dad, looked up to her,” he says. “She’s so strong and always Jude Law, in has been. She has taught me to forgive and always give 2016 people the chances they deserve.” His relationship with his father sounds more esoteric. “Growing up we always went on adventures together. I was obsessed with The Lord of the Rings and would make him take me to Prim- rose Hill, where we’d run around and create our own fairytale world, dressing up and making up plays. With Twist he gave me a bit of advice before filming: stay calm, stay confident, make sure you get to know everyone, go and introduce yourself, learn everyone’s names and make the set a fun environment.” Did he hesitate to become an actor in light of his father’s success? “Definitely,” Rafferty nods. “At school [he went

22 The Sunday Times Style SILK SHIRT AND MATCHING JACKET, ALEXANDER McQUEEN

The Sunday Times Style 23

to Bedales: famous alumni include Lily Allen, Sophie Dahl and Poppy Delevingne] I always loved being in plays from a young age, but when I was about 15 I started hesi- tating. I felt if the comparison and the pressure were going to be there, maybe music was more for me. But then I also felt like I owed it to myself to see if I could work hard and do it, and I’m really happy that I did.” He says he was far too young to be aware of the fabled Primrose Hill set, a late 1990s media construct that cast his parents and their close friends — Kate Moss, Meg Mathews, Pearl Lowe and the Gallagher brothers — at the white-hot epicentre of the London celebrity party scene, drinking at the Met Bar and the Steeles before retiring to Supernova Heights in nearby Steele’s Road, NW3, home of Noel Gallagher and then-wife Mathews, for prodi- giously long afterparties. “I was never aware of that kind of label until a lot more recently,” Rafferty says. “When it comes to scenes and crews or whatever you’re going to call them, people looking in from the outside always think it’s something more, when it could just be a group of friends hanging out.” JUMPER AND COAT, STELLA McCARTNEY So no memories of Kate’n’Meg wandering round the Frost-Law kitchen at 9am doing Jägerbombs? “I don’t really have any memories of waking up with many ‘My mum taught me to famous people in the house, no,” he laughs. “But from forgive and always give people a young age I was a big fan of the Libertines, and when I was 10 or 11 me and my friend Marley were doing our the chances they deserve’ first gig and my mum brought Carl Barât along to watch us play. That was a really amazing moment for me really feeling it in your heart.” Their next single is out this because he was an idol.” month. Covid permitting, their next gig will be in London Whether it’s down to nature, nurture or nepotism that in May. “Hopefully my band gets a bare big show soon, for so many of the Primrose Hill set’s offspring have emulated everyone to have a proper boogie.” their parents is up to you to decide. Just as Rafferty Relationship-wise Rafferty is very much on his own, has followed Jude’s footsteps into acting, so has Lila Moss despite being linked last year to Ora, as well as Brooklyn followed Kate into modelling (as have Anaïs Gallagher, Beckham’s ex Hana Cross, the Marquess of Bute’s daughter daughter of Noel and Meg, Lennon Gallagher, son of Lady Lola Crichton-Stuart, and the science graduate Liam and Patsy Kensit, and Rafferty’s sister, Iris). Rafferty Bonnie Mallet. “No,” he says firmly, when I ask if he is has done a bit of modelling too, most notably for Dolce & seeing anyone. “I’m strictly doing Raff at the moment.” Gabbana and Topman. Although you sense that his real The events of the past year have made him more mindful passion is music: his band, Outer Stella Overdrive, was of his mental health, as well as that of others. “I’m quite formed three years ago with friends. In true “keep it in the a positive, happy person, but that doesn’t mean I’m not family” style, the drummer is Rudy Albarn, son of Damon, aware of sometimes feeling a bit down or anxious. With the bassist is the model Kelvin Bueno, a former boyfriend the small platform that I have on Instagram, I want to be of Iris’s, and the video for Bad Times, the single they able to speak out as much as possible and make people released last summer, was directed by Sadie. “I’d describe realise that no one’s alone — everyone goes through really our sound as ‘fusion street punk’,” he says, laughing at the hard things and if you know that you have people to reach bombast of the term. “It’s all about jumping up and down out to, it can really help. People may think they’re on their and not worrying about playing everything perfectly, but own, but they’re not.” At the start of lockdown last March he moved back into Rafferty with his mother’s home in north London. “If you’d told me this his mother, time last year that I was going to spend two months-plus Sadie Frost, with my family, not see any of my mates and not do any in 2015 work, I’d have said I’d lose my mind,” he laughs. “But I had such a great time. It was really special for me to be back living with my little brother and sister, because I moved out five years ago. My little brother is 18 now and I’m 24. When I moved out he was 14. So it was going back and there being another young man there all of a sudden. It was like two lion cubs. One lion cub had come home and the other one was like, ‘Oi, mate — this is my house now!’” ▪ @lauracraik

GROOMING: CHRIS SWEENEY AT ONE REPRESENTS USING DAVINES AND AUGUSTINUS BADER. INSET PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES INSET PHOTOGRAPHS: BADER. AUGUSTINUS AND USING DAVINES ONE REPRESENTS AT CHRIS SWEENEY GROOMING: Twist is out on Sky Cinema and Now TV on January 29

The Sunday Times Style 25 Rise of the spiritual narcissist

Fire up your chakras! New research claims that those seeking enlightenment are more likely to be spiritually smug – and very, very annoying, says Kate Spicer

We all know at least one disciple at the temple of And the route to spiritual narcissism is now scientifi- woo-woo. It’s the namaste yoga huns looking down cally recognised. A recent study by Roos Vonk, professor their noses at your wobbly headstand. It’s the irritating of social psychology at Radboud University in Nijmegen, poster of motivational memes on Insta who hashtags the Netherlands, reveals that the spiritual practices that everything #blessed and #gratitude. It’s definitely the are supposed to counteract our narcissism in fact do the guy in a Peruvian bobble hat I once saw outside the opposite. She discovered, for instance, that people who vegetarian supermarket in Glastonbury sitting in lotus believed that they had been taught to see auras and to position on top of a bin — yes, a bin — meditating, eyes regress to past lives were 67 per cent more spiritually closed, blissed out. Is he for real? Yes, he was — a real smug than those with no training, while other partici- member of the look-at-me enlightenment crew. pants who had taken mindfulness sessions scored about These spiritual narcissists are everywhere when you 50 per cent more when it came to spiritual superiority. start looking for them, from Meghan and Harry “Spiritual insights become another means to enhance declaring of their Archewell endeavour, “We invite you ego, just the same as attractiveness, status, competence to join us. As we work to build a better world,” to all or number of Facebook friends,” Vonk says. those wellness “gurus” clogging up your January feed. I confess that I have been a spiritual narcissist. While

26 The Sunday Times Style For those of us feeling strong and confident, the spiritual narcissist’s schtick is something between hilarious and infuriating. But sometimes spiritual narcissists can cause real harm. Think of the charis- matic idiot who says they will cure your aunt’s incur- able cancer with distance healing/probiotics/herbs while slagging off the entirety of modern medicine. Or the YouTube “Truther” who spent the first half of their life caning it but now supposedly holds the secret about the virus, vaccinations and the New World Order. I’ve met a cocaine-sniffing, self-appointed shaman to the stars who insisted she could control the weather and told me, unsolicited: “Your boyfriend is stealing your energy.” Vonk’s study has been noticed by the New Age community it targets, where, it turns out, there were already concerns about how reactions to coronavirus had exposed a “pandemic” of spiritual narcissism. A recent editorial on the “consciousness” scene website Elephant Journal describes “a community that cele- brates the ‘self ’ above all else and covers up its own narcissism with spiritual fluff ”. Is it really so bad, though? Since as far back as Freud a little bit of narcissism has been seen as essential to our self-preservation. Vonk says the key is to be alert: “The current ‘me’ culture encourages the development of personal religion, and for narcissists this self- importance can come at the cost of being realistic about the world around us.” After all, not everyone who likes a breathing exercise is a self-serving egomaniac. Well, hopefully… Seven ways to spot the spiritually smug

1 Their day-to-day look is a bouncy blow-dry and a £195 pair of yoga pants made from recycled wheelie bins.

2 Their most common Insta post is a selfie: crossed- legged, hands in prayer, eyes closed in meditation.

meditation generally has improved the quality of this 3 Their top hashtag is #gratitude — despite writer’s life, some of the more esoteric practices in which constantly wanting more stuff. I’ve dabbled in the name of self-improvement made me look differently at friends. Their consumer-obsessed shal- 4 They’re currently in a legal battle with HMRC about lowness — as I saw it — became like an offensive smell claiming tax back on their crystals. after I did things such as meditation courses or ayahuasca sessions. I felt everything from compassion, sympathy 5 They worship Mother Nature and carbon-offset and empathy to near-revulsion and, yes, superiority. their flights to Tulum. Women’s circles count as Vonk says the first trigger for her research was when business trips. her university boyfriend went for a week-long spiritual training camp held for clinical psychology students. 6 Having an insanely hot body is a really, really “He came back with an enlightened, elevated look in important part of their “practice”. his eyes. He had been in touch with what really matters — things he couldn’t explain to me, with my trivial 7 They used to be vegan, but they’re ascending to a Jain

MAGDALENA WOSINKSKA/TRUNK ARCHIVE WOSINKSKA/TRUNK MAGDALENA earthly concerns and my analytic scientific reasoning.” diet in 2021 — until the Wolseley reopens. ▪ @spicerlife

The Sunday Times Style 27 How to wear turbo tartan The kilt is back – and yes, the Queen at Balmoral is suitable inspiration (corgis optional), says Jane McFarland

Photograph Lily Bertrand-Webb

28 The Sunday Times Style Wardrobe Mistress

2 4 3

SHOP THE LOOK

It’s back to school, and back to school uniforms too. about their Bulgarian-inspired pleated patchwork kilts, Blazers? Check. Ties? Check. School skirts? Check. If the made from deadstock fabric and suspended by moun- tennis skirt was the Instagram hit of summer 2020, taineering carabiners: the traditional kilt on acid. For consider the thigh-skimming kilt the winter version. something punk-lite, consider Samantha McCoach’s cult Seen on the catwalks at Celine and Burberry (and later Le Kilt. She subtly updates the Scottish staple: a kilt pin on Irina Shayk in New York, styled with a black hoodie here, a patchwork of plaid there. and a fruit smoothie), the pleated miniskirt is back. How Tartan is having a moment — in December searches to wear it if you’re over A-level age? For me, a mini-kilt for tartan pieces increased by 29 per cent, and when needs tights and flats: chunky brogues and a pair of Taylor Swift was pictured wearing the check fabric on thick 70 deniers help to offset all the leg on show. Person- the cover of her new album, Evermore, searches for ally I’m a fan of more elegant knee-length kilts: add a tartan coats jumped by 49 per cent in one day, according white shirt and loafers for a pared-back effect that to the fashion search engine Lyst. I recommend heading wouldn’t be out of place in a Margaret Howell lookbook. straight to the source — the House of Bruar, aka the Since Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena founded Harrods of the Highlands, is a go-to for both heritage their label, Chopova Lowena, in 2018, a buzz has built up tartan and kilts. ▪ @jane_mcfarland Jane wears Long-sleeved T-shirt, £13; uniqlo.com. Jacket, £50; hm.com. Short kilt in Loverboy tartan, £510, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy. 1 Mix and Match kilt, £440; lekilt.co.uk. 2 Charcoal kilt, £107; celticandco.com. 3 Maxi-kilt, £150; houseofbruar.com. 4 Mini-kilt, £930; celine.com. 5 Patchwork kilt, £648, Chopova Lowena; matchesfashion.com. 6 Midi-kilt, £130; houseofbruar.com. Above, from left HAIR: PAUL DONOVAN. MAKE-UP: EMMA BROOM USING OMOROVICZA. INSET PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES INSET PHOTOGRAPHS: USING OMOROVICZA. MAKE-UP: EMMA BROOM DONOVAN. HAIR: PAUL Street style outside Chanel SS21, Paris. Irina Shayk in a Burberry kilt

The Sunday Times Style 29 Do you need a winter foundation? Finding the right base can Anyone who has experienced the whirlwind romance of applying exactly the right one on a bad skin day will know seem like an impossible task, the value of a great foundation. It just gets you. You feel like your best self with it. Of course the honeymoon period especially when the weather is won’t last for ever — as skin issues change with the seasons so will the features you need in a foundation. You might playing havoc with your skin. notice it suddenly looks cakier on your skin, or perhaps it’s Laura Kennedy reveals the best not able to cover up those winter red patches. Thankfully there is a raft of new problem-solving foundations that will options for the colder months cover the most awkward of winter skin issues. VICTORIA BECKHAM VICTORIA

30 The Sunday Times Style Is your foundation When your mask ruins making breakouts worse? your foundation

BareMinerals Original Liquid Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Mineral Foundation SPF 20, Tint Broad Spectrum SPF 30, £31, from February Stop your make-up £39, from February Mineral foundations are known settling in dry areas This refillable foundation is the to be best for skin with a tendency solution to the “I took off my mask to congest and break out. Many Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish and now have no make-up on from of them feature powder formulations Skincaring Foundation, £32 the nose down” problem. The most and a matte texture. This is one of Winter skin can suffer badly with foolproof fix is to apply something the few liquid mineral foundations. transepidermal water loss (when the light and seamless, so you don’t have Softly glowing and non-comedogenic moisture in your skin takes the an obvious demarcation line. This is (it doesn’t block pores), it comes in holiday you wish you could) due to whisper light and balances out the 19 shades. It’s universally flattering, cold weather and dry indoor heating. complexion, while giving some SPF even on more mature skin, and The result is a dull complexion that protection. It won’t wear off in an the medium buildable coverage looks tired and sucks in light rather obvious or weird way if you spend looks like great skin rather than reflecting it. This foundation long hours in a mask, but will keep than foundation. comes in 40 shades and combines skin looking fresh. proper winter staying power with a forgiving medium-coverage finish that looks natural, includes nourishing ingredients and won’t settle obviously in dry areas. Stay matte long past Regain your lost glow lunchtime

Chanel Sublimage Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte L’Essence de Teint, £110 Powder Foundation, £27 This investment foundation gives Thankfully the days of flat, cakey a quite incredible, buildable glow powder foundations are gone, so — one that will help on even the there is no need to fear them. The dullest, most jaded skin days. powder in this reassuringly heavy Available in 13 shades, with a super- little compact is so finely milled that light texture and medium coverage, it almost goes on to the skin like it contains light-reflecting particles, a gel. It also comes in 50 shades, so it’s definitely not for anyone who doesn’t contain SPF, so you won’t get likes a matte or satin finish. This flashback in photos, and it’s sweat, is juicy, post-facial skin in a bottle. humidity and crease-resistant. This means it also works well as a powder to set liquid foundation for hold and If redness is leaving you extra coverage. Even better, the feeling exposed coverage is totally customisable from light to full. ▪ @laura_m_kennedy Mac Studio Tech Foundation, £30 Old-school Mac fans will recognise the name, but the new reformulated version is a much more sophisticated update on the original full-coverage foundation. It comes in 42 shades and glides on like a cream before setting into a natural-looking matte powder finish — it’s like 1990s supermodel skin in a compact. While no foundation is a solution for redness, if it bothers you this will certainly cover it seamlessly while

JASON LLOYD-EVANS JASON you use skincare to work on the issue.

The Sunday Times Style 31 The nine hot home brands to shop now Sick of looking at those same four walls? Perk things up with buys from the interiors labels of the moment

Words Henrik Lischke

32 The Sunday Times Style Volta BEST FOR SURREALIST MOBILES

1 USP The next big thing in interior design? Kinetic art. Do it like sculptor Alexander Calder and embellish your rooms with a mobile (or two). Fear not, this doesn’t involve a trip to an art dealer. Volta creates standing and hanging mobiles that will turn your home into a trip to cult hotel La Colombe d’Or. @volta_mobiles BUY NOW Indiana mobile, £106; voltamobiles.com

Balineum BEST FOR TILE PORN

USP Now that renovating your home has become as status-worthy as an all-inclusive trip to the Caribbean, invest in tiles that bring luxury resort bathroom vibes to your own house. Balineum’s handcrafted ceramic tiles are as lust- worthy as any you’ll encounter on holiday… and they’ll last a heck of a lot 2 longer than two weeks. @sarah_balineum BUY NOW Tiles (above and opposite), from £8.50 each; balineum.co.uk

Monologue London BEST FOR YOUNG DESIGNERS

USP This east London concept store is a mecca for emerging designers. From statement table lamps to abstract art wallpaper, Monologue London is ticking all the boxes for your unusual interiors cravings. Of course it’s also online (tip: check out the sample sale). @monologuelondon BUY NOW Riflessi wallpaper, £99 per square metre, Texturae, and mohair cushion V62, £160, Viso; 3 monologuelondon.com

The Sunday Times Style 33 Deerstedt BEST FOR SPACE-AGE FANATICS

USP This Danish Etsy shop has long 4 gained cult status among vintage aficionados for its immaculate collection of space-age design pieces. The main focus here is on lamps (ceiling, table, floor — you name it), which you usually only encounter in interiors archives. Can’t find the one you’re looking for? Deerstedt also offers a sourcing service — simply drop the owners a message. @deerstedt BUY NOW Ceiling lights, from about £175, Deerstedt; etsy.com

Klimchi BEST FOR TABLEWARE

USP Chances are you may have already come across the mesmerisingly beautiful Hobnail pitchers by Czech designer Lukas Klimcak while browsing Pinterest. Saved them to your inspo board? Deservedly so. But make sure you also check out the matching tumblers. @klimchistudio BUY NOW Shadows carafe, £130, highball glass, £70 for two, and Hobnail tall jug, £85; klimchi.com 5

Kast Concrete Basins 6 BEST FOR STUNNING SINKS

USP Founded by the Swiss artist Tim Bayes and run from the edge of Sherwood Forest, Kast Concrete Basins specialises in, well, basins. Of course we’re not talking any old basins — these minimalist marvels will turn your bathroom into the most photographed space in the house. Crafted from concrete, they’re such a draw, they guarantee squeaky-clean hands. Always. @kastconcretebasins BUY NOW Luna basin, £1,790; kastconcretebasins.com

34 The Sunday Times Style BFGF BEST FOR THROWS

7 USP The fine artist Lilian Martinez combines comfort with beauty and, unusually, humour in her work. And while her vibrant cushion covers might be a welcome addition to any sofa landscape, it’s her throws that double up as wall hangings — featuring Matisse- like figures as well as basketballs, the Nike “swoosh” and Lisa Simpson (really) — that leave us with the urge to cover every bare inch of our Mantel walls. @bfgf BEST FOR MANTELSCAPING BUY NOW Parallel Movements woven blanket, £148; bfgf-shop.com USP What is mantelscaping? The art of decorating your mantlepiece so it’s Instagram-ready, of course. The online store Mantel, founded by Sadie Perry, provides those one-of-a-kind pieces that will elevate your fireplace from generic to curated. @shopmantel 8 BUY NOW From £30; shopmantel.co.uk

Six the Residence BEST FOR MIDCENTURY SEATING

USP Looking for that statement piece to inject some midcentury charm into your home (but lacking a spare few thousand to invest)? The British interiors brand Six the Residence has come to your rescue. Founded during last year’s first lockdown, the brand’s striking 9 contemporary furniture is inspired by the design classics — but won’t cost you an arm and a (chair) leg. @sixtheresidence BUY NOW Chrome lounge chair, £292.50; sixtheresidence.co.uk

The Sunday Times Style 35

Sarah Jossel Bleached and broken? Fuzz-ball roots? These are the new at-home hair products that are worth the extra steps

How many times have you politely nodded as 1 your hairdresser reels off a list of products that you “simply must” use at home — knowing full well that you will never get round to using any of them at home? Yes, anything in excess of shampoo and conditioner — and the occasional hair mask when we’re 2 feeling proactive — has always seemed like an arduous chore. But then brands such as Olaplex launched and proved that at-home hair products were not as superfluous as we thought. They work. Olaplex works. Whether your hair’s cause of death was those sizzling 300-degree tongs at university or because you accidentally over- dosed on hair dye through the Nineties, Olaplex walked the walk and restored fried, frazzled, damaged hair without you having to go to the salon. And now other brands are upping their at-home game. Already a bestseller in America and now landing in the UK is L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water (1 £10). It’s an instant hit of hydration that works in… bingo: 8 seconds! Ideal for those who won’t be persuaded to faff about for 20 minutes (or sometimes even an hour) while one of those demanding hair masks cooks, this one speedily coats the hair fibres and soothes damaged areas on the spot. Result? Shinier, silkier hair after your first go. Use as 3 a replacement conditioner — skip the scalp, only apply to lengths and ends. For bleached hair that’s craving some R&R, Redken has a new range called Extreme Bleach Recovery, aimed at fragile bleached blondes. The three-part range includes something called Cica Cream (2 £26). Now, cica creams are already big business in skincare. They are a go-to for soothing skin flare-ups — and this does just that, but for hair shafts. Smooth all over to strengthen and increase the resilience of each damaged strand. On the other end of the colour spectrum is a new shampoo and conditioner power duo for brunettes dealing with brassiness in their highlights or balayage. Swap your usual shampoo for the blue-toned John Frieda Blue Crush Intensive Blue Shampoo (3 £7) — excellent for neutralising copper tones and knocking out the orange. Finally, the humble dry shampoo has had an impressive upgrade. Anyone who has reached for the can instead of washing their hair one too many days in a row will have experienced the dreaded chalky white patches and irritable scratchy scalp situation. Itch… Itch… Scratch!!… Itch. Philip Kingsley is 4 extending its much-loved Flaky/Itchy Scalp range with a new Soothing Dry Shampoo (4 £25) that works well on dandruff-prone hair. It absorbs the excess oil while also soothing irritation for a clearer, calmer scalp. And then there is Bouclème Root Refresh (5 £22, available from January 27), which will work on all hair types, but is a particular godsend for curly and coily hair types as well as braids. If you wash these types of hair too frequently it can disturb the curl pattern, so instead of using an ungainly, sticky dry shampoo, this light mist can be relied on for deodorising and refreshing your scalp. It’s also 5 excellent for post-gym hair. So next time your hairdresser tells you what to use between appointments, start making notes. They may well be on to something.

VICTORIA ADAMSON VICTORIA *And swoosh* ▪ @sarahjossel

The Sunday Times Style 37 Go behind the headlines with our daily news podcast, Stories of our times, hosted by Manveen Rana and David Aaronovitch.

Listen at thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes and now also on the Times Radio app India Knight Sometimes your skin just needs a little TLC

I recommended a super-rich moisturiser the other week, but I’m aware that sometimes that’s not what’s required. My own skin behaves so oddly at this time of year, often becoming highly sensitised. What’s that about? It never does it in the summer. I blame spending so much time indoors, or maybe I test more peculiar ingredients in winter. Anyhow, the solution to any issues to do with sensitised skin — skin that flares up for no apparent reason, skin that is suddenly hideously dry in one specific patch, skin that goes flaky and weird out of the blue, skin that just isn’t liking its time very much — is La Roche-Posay’s Toleriane range. Man, I love La Roche-Posay. I’ve said so many times in this column before, but seriously, if you have a particular identifiable skin issue, whether it’s spots or redness or allergies or skin that’s madly reactive, or if you’re after a really good, not wildly overpriced sun screen, LR-P is your guy. It’s in Boots, it’s keenly priced and it delivers. The Toleriane range is, as its name suggests, for skin that has trouble tolerating things. It’s for skin that is delicate and prone to hysteria — if it was a person it would be pottering about as usual, then sometimes suddenly clutching its pearls and shrieking for a week for no reason. The range has the seal of approval from Allergy UK: there is nothing in these products that’s likely to cause or exacerbate any flare-up. The product I really like is a moisturiser called Toleriane Sensitive Fluide (£16.50), which is the absolute dream if you have reactive combination or oily skin, especially if you’re frightened of slathering on moisturiser, but feel tight and uncomfortable without it. This is non-greasy, soaks right in, makes everything right again and soothes your skin almost instantly. If your skin is absolutely parched and you sit there wondering how it is possible to be greasy and also drier than the desert (easily done, especially if you use harsh stripping products in an attempt to control the oil), there is a variant called Toleriane Ultra Fluide (£18.50) and two heavier creams. But I like the texture of Sensitive Fluide, especially for daytime — make-up sits on top happily and you don’t have to worry about it sliding about. Speaking of make-up, if you’re in this irritated skin situation do look at brands like If you have Dr Hauschka, which uses mostly organic ingredients, and at mineral make-up a particular too. There is no point in being extremely kind to your skin with products such as this moisturiser, then sticking a load of unhelpful things on top. skin issue, Shoutout too to Dr H’s eternally brilliant Rose Day Cream (£30.50), which La Roche-Posay does as good a job, but is considerably lighter and more suited to the oiler end

VICTORIA ADAMSON, ALAMY, ADAMSON, NETFLIX VICTORIA of the skin spectrum. ▪ @indiaknight is your guy

INDIA LOVES WATCH Virgin River (Netflix), which is about a woman who leaves Los Angeles and moves to the back of beyond in northern California. It is the TV equivalent of mashed potato, but really good, well-executed, super-buttery mashed potato. Undemanding and satisfying — perfect comfort viewing.

The Sunday Times Style 39

The mother project Sophie Beresiner’s surrogacy story continues

This morning while I fed M I felt about as flat as the egg pancake I was trying to push between her lips. Yesterday too — probably since Christmas, actually. Ah! That’ll be it. January blues, the post-Christmas comedown. Nothing big and shiny to look forward to, no holidays to panic-book. I think — argh — am I maybe finding it *whispers* boring? Cover your ears, baby, your mother is having a moment of parental fatigue. I do realise that, whether your miracle child sleeps or not, this job is inevitably fatiguing. It’s the intensity of the love and the overwhelming responsibility that consumes every waking hour (and often the sleeping hours too). It creates a repetitive, sometimes profoundly monotonous routine, and it slims down your life to what is right in front of you, right now. As such, eight months in, it’s understandable that mental lethargy is to be expected. It’s overdue, in fact. you’d reach a moment, mid failing breakfast, where you But with this ambiguous “closed until further notice” feel like you’ve lost touch with yourself. My husband feel to 2021, it is basically Fatigue Squared. It’s sees it behind my eyes: “It’s been intense for you doing happening everywhere, and for those who are still all this every day for this long, hasn’t it?” (So he does home schooling or have lost jobs or are working longer see!) And yes, as much as I’ve undoubtedly been appre- hours to pay the bills, it is infinitely worse. On top of all ciating every day with M, delighting in how (and why) that, we are so bored with feeling bored. Is it OK to say “monkey bum” and “sausage pops” have I long for some real life to break up the become her naturally occurring nick- clean, feed, entertain, admin regime? Is it names, I’ve also recently been skipping a Is it OK to say acceptable to want more than I’ve got, few showers and staying inside for days, I long for some when all I’ve been doing is wanting this instead of braving the cold and taking my for the past few years? baby for some fresh air like I usually do. real life to I hate the fact that I feel any morsel of I miss me. I miss the smell of my hair, break up the dissatisfaction with my life right now, clean. And my impressive repertoire of but it helps that the whole world is in it dresses, and me in lipstick (remember clean, feed, with me. We’ve all rolled up our sleeves lipstick?!), and the friends who used to entertain, and got on with it like troopers. We should pepper my social life to make it, well, be looking forward to reintroducing our- social. And I keep telling myself that’s admin regime? selves, and our new people, to life as it is OK, it’s a common new-parent affliction meant to be lived. Only this is Fatigue sharpened by doing it in this world at this moment. Squared, so it feels like looking forward has gone out And because Mr B is some kind of psychic these days, the window along with hugging and handshaking. I get he hits the nail on the head for me. “It’s not the baby you why I suddenly can’t be bothered to change into clean find fatiguing, you know. It’s life.” sleeves, let alone roll them up. He doesn’t mean my life as a whole or life with a baby, Our friend just messaged, which is nice. A reminder he means life in this specific moment: this intermi- that there is life outside the front door, and a social one nably long stretch of lockdown monotony outside our at that, since they also have a baby under the age of one home to add to the extreme regularity of what’s so we have formed a support bubble. “I took a Covid test happening inside it. and it just came back positive,” it reads. Ah. So there’s a If we can we be honest and accept that even the most chance my fatigue has a more literal sense than all of wanted baby in the world can be a pain in the arse for at the above after all, and my first thought is fear for my least some part of every day, then a bout of maternal baby. Oh man, this is exhausting. ▪

Read Sophie’s story from the beginning at thesundaytimes.co.uk/themotherproject and follow her on @sophieberesiner and @motherprojectofficial

The Sunday Times Style 41 to other humans similarly. They want the same sort of relationship and family life. They’re twins of the soul, if not twins of the brain. I think that’s the thing that really matters in a romantic relationship. You can outsource intellectual companion- ship to others. You can find fellow enthusiasts in online forums or at conferences or events. You can have friend- ships for discussing books and politics and ideas. Lots of couples have different interests and it shouldn’t cause huge anxiety. So I wonder if what you’re talking about is a spiritual incompatibility as well as an intellectual one. And I wonder if, when you say he is sweet and that he praises your accomplishments, what you mean is he adores you. On the one hand I see the appeal of a relationship being founded on ease, comfort and one-sided worship. Love should feel uncomplicated and without huge stress. But an uncomplicated relationship doesn’t have to mean an unstimulating one, a stress-free relationship doesn’t mean it shouldn’t challenge you. When we love one another, we learn from one another. That doesn’t mean dating someone who lectures you on Marxism or Milton’s poetry (heaven preserve us), but it does mean having mutual respect and interest in each other and how you view the world. Your love, life and And as nice as it is to be adored, it’s so, so fun to adore. Being entertained, beguiled or obsessed by the way someone friendship dilemmas answered thinks and communicates is an eternal pleasure. And I think most people who have experienced constant one-way by Dolly Alderton devotion in a relationship will admit that the reality of it is not as enjoyable as imagined and the novelty wears off. Having someone hang on your every word is only really exciting if you want to hang on every word of theirs too. I don’t know your relationship history, so it’s possible that Dear Dolly you have an unrealistic standard for intellectualism — that your interests are esoteric or disparate and so are hard to My boyfriend of almost two years is match precisely. (I once gently had to tell a male friend he sweet, generous and my best friend, but he was never going to find a woman who was as clued-up as him on both the writings of Tolstoy and Jeremy Beadle’s doesn’t intellectually stimulate me. Our TV shows.) I also don’t know what you’re looking for in love. conversations lack depth and I often feel like If you want something casual or slow moving, there’s no we haven’t really engaged each other. My harm in staying in the relationship a little longer to see how it develops. If you want to be with someone long-term and heart sinks every time he doesn’t catch my have a family, you need to examine how much you truly love jokes. He has no inferiority complex, and hanging out with him. When two of my friends moved to constantly showers me with praise the remote countryside with their newborn, the husband for my accomplishments, but it feels lonely gave me some advice on finding a partner for which I’m forever grateful. “There are a lot of long, dark nights, Dolly,” up there without him. Do I continue and try he told me, solemn and sleep-deprived. “Make sure you to bridge our differences? marry someone you can have a great conversation with.” I suppose I’m wary of my own advice in this instance My mum and dad have been married for more than 30 because I have always been a defender of asking a lot from years and they’re one of the happiest couples I know. They’re life. You (allegedly) only get one. And it is famously over always laughing, they’re affectionate with each other. But before you know it. I have always thought that great love can there’s one great mystery of their relationship: their minds coexist with great friendship, solid teamwork, physical are entirely incompatible. My mum is an obsessive reader, attraction and lots of laughter. I was privileged enough to my dad has only ever read one book (Michael Heseltine’s grow up in a household where that was a reality. But I also autobiography). My mum loves museums, my dad hates know that you can’t get everything from a partner and that them. They are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. perfectionism is not only fruitless but often hypocritical. Over the years I’ve studied these differences, trying to I think you really need to interrogate what’s important to work out how this cerebral chasm has not divided them. you in a relationship (it may be different to everyone else What I have finally deduced is that while they intellectually you know, and that’s fine). Work out what is non-negotiable clash, they are spiritually matched. They find the same and what you’re willing to relinquish. You usually have to

things funny, they find the same things moving. They react relinquish something. But it might not be this. ▪ HADDEN CHARLOTTE

To get your life dilemma answered by Dolly, email or send a voice note to [email protected] or DM @theststyle

42 The Sunday Times Style