Author: Tessa Ast

I‘ve been enamoured with playing around creatively with make-up for a couple years now but over the last year, during the various lockdowns both in Germany and here in Wales that heavily limited my social exposure, I have noticed a shift in how I approach the pastime and my attitude towards it. I anticipated, that with hardly anywhere to go, my desire to put on makeup would decrease, and I honestly thought of this as a good thing for my skin and perhaps even my confidence. After all, I’m not one to downplay the more problematic aspects of the makeup…

Corsets never really go out of fashion but right now they are having an especially popular moment, thanks to shows like Bridgerton renewing interest in vintage wear and alternative fashion fans being at the forefront of internet style. Here are three easy ways to style one of the most common types of corsets, the overbust corset. Over a black dress: For an easy, alt fashion inspired look, layer an overbust corset over a short black dress. You can further build on this by wearing fishnets, a striped long t-shirt and platform boots, for example. With jeans and a jacket: For…

Period drama series Bridgerton is now the most watched Netflix show of all time and it’s safe to say that, next to the clever writing and suspenseful plot (and that scene of the Duke eating ice cream…) the stellar costume design is one of the top reasons for that. The many Bridgerton-inspired lookbooks and the apparent surge in corset aficionados on the internet is testament to that. What better to do than to take up the challenge to put together my very own Bridgerton Lookbook, created from the quite limited wardrobe I have access to while staying at my parents’…

As mentioned in our article “The Somewhat Sustainable Fashion Gift Guide 2020”, clothes and accessories can be lovely gifts for people that you know well (both in terms of size and taste) but are made by some of the least sustainable and most exploitative industries. Buying clothes, for yourself and for other people, second-hand is a great way to give an already produced item another chance instead of buying new stuff. Here are some of our favourite second hand/thrift/charity shops – online! Etsy This small-business heaven doesn’t just provide items hand-made by people from all over the world; it also…

If you´re looking to make a grand entrance at your next zoom call, nature walk or family holiday, and you have a taste for a bit of edge, try out this step-by-step Makeup-Tutorial for our Glam Goth Look. What you´ll need: –        Eyeshadow           o   Black           o   Nude/A colour similar to your own skin tone           o   Gray           o   Silver/Any very reflective pigment –        Concealer/Eyeshadow Primer –        Black liquid eyeliner –        Eyeshadow brushes (a fluffy one for blending and a dense angled…

How time flies when everything is suddenly different and then nothing really changes for months at a time, am I right? It is indeed not that long until Christmas and I cannot be the only one who already feels overwhelmed when it comes to gift shopping. Instead of further lining Jeff Bezos´ pocket, why not check out these small businesses or sustainable fashion gift ideas? Find some Second-Hand treasures … Online With many of us still trying to limit store visits to a minimum, there are many great options for browsing thousands of second-hand and vintage items online. Oxfam, for…

I am, for lack of a better word, materialistic. I get ecstatic about new, ridiculous things to decorate my room with, thrift shopping is my favourite activity by far, and I get irrationally sentimental about things if they are connected to lovely memories and people I cherish. Striving for absolvement from the physical world and rising above material possession are noble endeavours indeed, and over-production surely plagues our sorry planet, but there is something deeply human about the way we assign emotional value to inanimate objects and, for better or worse, it is a large part of our culture. So,…

Photos by Abigail Anderson I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but few things make me feel as powerful as not only wearing a great autumnal fit but combining said ensemble with the perfect hat. And, while I’m a fan of a good snapback or a cute bucket hat, any true hat lover will have to admit that we’re standing on the shoulders of giants. Looking into the past, the abundance of amazingly iconic hats that have been popularised in different times becomes apparent. I’m here to show you how to make use of the wisdom of those that came…

The world of video games isn’t all AAA studios and next-gen graphics. It’s an artistic space full of creative people using the medium to tell their stories and push the boundaries of what games can and should be. Here are five indie gems that deserve to be in the spotlight: To-Do List by Four Quarters Team              Free on itch.io We are starting off this list with To-Do-List, a pixel-art point’n’click horror game. The small-scale experimental title has you take control of a nameless man on a solitary island in space who has to complete…

Annie Houseago has been running the children´s music company Tin Pan Annie Music for more than 20 years, specialising in music therapy, classes and festivals for children under five. For the last five years she has volunteered as a music specialist in hospitals alongside her son, who is a professional musician. Now, save for live streams and one outside festival, most of the activities of Tin Pan Annie have been halted by the pandemic. Instead, Annie used the last six months and her sewing experience to sew countless scrubs and masks for the NHS, and became one of the leading…

We are approaching Halloween during a global pandemic where people are advised to wear masks, so what could possibly be more topical than the iconic appearance of Plague Doctors? Now, most people are quite familiar with their striking and spooky appearance, but let´s take a look at what they did, some common misconceptions about them, and the history of the Plague Doctor costume! The term “Plague doctor” refers to the physicians that treated victims of the Bubonic Plague (also known as ‘The Plague’, or ‘The Black Death’) during its multiple outbreaks throughout the 14th to 19th centuries. Often regarded as…

I think we can all agree that face masks can be a bit annoying, especially if it is warm out or if you’re wearing glasses, but it is just as undeniable that they can also look exceedingly lovely or badass. After all, masks have been used as fashion statements in many subcultures over the years, as well as in countries where wearing masks was already a common thing. Now, there are voices that find the treatment of masks as a cute accessory to be in poor taste when they are meant to protect from a virus many people have suffered…

As many professional meetings, university classes, and even some dates have moved from physical spaces to virtual ones, the way we get ready and make ourselves presentable for these interactions has changed as well. Of course it has; a webcam will always frame us differently than when meeting face-to-face and we tend to communicate and carry ourselves differently, too. Thus, we run the risk of coming across as (literally and figuratively) flatter than we like, and not just because we might wear a nice shirt on top but dirty sweatpants on the bottom (something my friend lovingly called the “fashion…

Popstars embracing gender ambiguity and pushing the envelope when it comes to self-expression is not a new thing; whether it be David Bowie and his androgyny, Prince and Freddie Mercury embracing femininity (and getting celebrated as sex symbols for it) or the likes of Elton John and Liberace with their flamboyant stage outfits. With this history in mind, it is interesting to take a look at the current wave of gender-role breaking or ‘gender-defying’ musical artists. While boy band members or Disney actors might have never been seen as the poster boys of traditional masculinity, artists like Harry Styles and…

Louis the 14th, also known as the “Sun King”, was the longest reigning monarch in French, and European, history with a stunning 72 years as monarch. As an adherent of the concept of the divine rights of kings, he was a driving force in the establishment of absolutism and the centralisation of power in Europe. There is something else he is known for, though: Fashion! Louis the 14th can be considered the first modern fashion icon and haute couture connoisseur. When he came to power in 1643, it was Madrid, not Paris, that was considered to be the Fashion capital…

Santa Claus is quite the striking figure if you think about it, with his signature red coat, white fur trimming and wide, black buckle belt. Surely this is what we all picture when we think about Santa, but his look has actually gone through some changes throughout the years. Since Santa Claus is based on St. Nicholas, it’s worth taking a look at his garments first. Since St. Nicholas was a bishop, paintings from the 19th Century depict him wearing clerical garb with religious imagery, with either the classic bishop’s headdress or a halo on his head. While this is…