Monthly Archives: March 2022

I once had a glimpse of this bulletproof image up close. It was 2006, and while his stock in England had never been higher in the wake of the previous summers Ashes, he still carried the notoriety of an earlier phone-sex scandal, in which he had left several lewd messages on the answering machine of a British nurse while married. Before I was due to interview him at a London brokerage, a few traders asked if he could man the switchboard for a photo op. Sure, boys, he grinned, that glint in his eye. Ive always been pretty good on the phone. You could have heard the roar of laddish acclaim the other side of Canary Wharf.

Warne was fortified not just by his genius as a cricketer but by his irresistible charisma. While many men wanted to be just like him, his legions of female admirers were often left helplessly in his thrall. During a 2001 one-dayer in Bangalore, an insistent noise could be heard from the Ladies Stand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Shane Warne, Shane Warne, the women were chanting. You are a big flirt. They then broke into a Hindi love song, The Heart Is Very Indian. At this point he spun around, flashed that roguish smile and blew them three flamboyant air kisses. Warnes untouchable reputation was sealed.

His priceless value to his sport lay in how he even won over people who did not normally like cricket. This is a man who, despite cultivating the type of bonzer bloke image promoted by Castlemaine adverts, still managed to seduce the siren of London high society, Elizabeth Hurley. Even after the pair split after three years together and a brief engagement, Warne could not help but marvel at the incongruity of it all. Everyone thought, Whos this knockabout Aussie with this posh English rose? he reflected. To his critics, it was this chapter that brought an unhealthy fixation with body image. Warne, for his part, always claimed that the relationship changed him in more subtle ways, leading him away from his pursuit of instant gratification.

Right through to the devastatingly premature end, he could be confounding and complex, but always a figure of electrifying charm. For 15 years, he bestrode international cricket, and for the next 15 he only added to his mystique through a life of compelling extremes. His peers were correct: for as long as he was around, it was, in every sense, Warnes world.

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Shane Warne's charisma, sorcery and hedonism transcended cricket and landed him in the gossip pages - The Telegraph

PARIS As physical runways return, so does the street-style set, and with them, a sense of whats to come on the contemporary label scene.

With 90s inspirations galore and the logo still going strong, itll be a season of plenty where brands compete for the attention of consumers keen to dip their toes into trends.

For the Sandro woman, temperatures might take a dive but the heat will be dialed right up, as she heads back to the heyday of the Paris club scene, with a wardrobe fit to go to the original incarnations of the Palace and Bains-Douches hotspots full of jewel tones and flirty numbers.

Never one to be locked into a particular decade, the midriff baring will slide toward the early 2000s for a chic hedonist clubbing spiel, with Britney Spears as a muse. The Parisian labels studio also twisted bourgeois codes and the yuppy wardrobe of the Sandro man of the season imagining the citys girls pairing their preppy cardigans with threads nodding to whichever musical hedonism the Sandro woman is into.

On offer are patchwork denims, fringed blanket jackets, shearling with geometric prints and T-shirts proclaiming hippies were right.

Faith Connexion longed for a post-pandemic sense of renewal and landed on big branding. The Gothic script from its launch in 2000 was resurrected for this collection, blown up and scrawled across slim tweed suits, mini bomber jackets and baggy jeans. Founder Maria Buccellati called the visibility from having the name front-and-center empowerment for the brand.

The collection pushes to new volumes in its silhouettes and pulls its references from everywhere; no era is left untouched. From the 50s in slim suits, a Lurex disco dress recalled the 70s and the oversized hip-hop cargo fit and grunge flannels of the early Aughts all are reinterpreted here for the cool kids.

Nothing is too much. Its like bling but with French flair and very elegant, she said. Reuse became a touchstone for sustainability. Old collections were upcylced into new wares, and suede jackets are reversible for leading a double life. In another first, the brand also launched shoes, a sky-high platform boot in leather and leopard print with plans for more to come.

At Maje, artistic director Judith Milgrom wanted to return to the roots of the label, so Parisian sexiness will be the name of the game. Think Vogue circa 1988, remixing bourgeois lady-like options with youthful codes like denim then and now athleisure, and the mix of menswear-inspired coats and puffers.

Lengths are therefore abbreviated on tops and bottoms, showing legs or midriffs, and asymmetric cutouts played into the tropes of the big houses. No-brainer staples were in the mix, too, like oversize coats and todays ubiquitous puffers.

Fuzzy cardigans with contrasting and golden buttons, paired with a miniskirt for prim-and-proper brunch, or bejeweled jeans and a crop top for a day on the town were some of the loos shown around a bottle green kiosk similar to the very-Paris gazebos in public gardens or newsstands.

Accessories werent forgotten, with flap bags and chunky footwear galore hitting the right balance between cool and practical.

The end result looked like a snapshot of cool Parisian influencers one part major labels, one part vintage finds and a dash of whatevers trending right now at an easy-to-love price point.

Also mining their identity as purveyors of accessible French understated chic was Longchamp, where creative director Sophie Delafontaine looked at what a proper Gallic winter break means: physical activities and an aprs-ski spread.

What the Longchamp woman is packing will sound unseasonably light at first glance, going from little blousons, old-fashioned tweed jackets, skinny-rib sweaters or even long pleated dresses. But layering was the name of the fall game, with a color palette that paired bold oranges and blues of sports gear with winter warm tones inspired by the work of French designer Charlotte Perriand.

Footwear also played on city girl in the snow trope, with snow boots augmented with colorful nylon poofing up to the knee. They added a welcome playful note to a well-built classic wardrobe.

Beyond the seasonal lineup, the preeminence of the racehorse, reworked into a camouflage print, motifs used on quilted outerwear, outlined in sneakers soles or used for chunky metal hardware on the seasons bags nodded to the overarching idea that drove contemporary brands this season an affirmation of brand signatures as a way to identify who their consumers are.

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Contemporary Labels Mine the '90s and Their Own Playbooks at Paris Fashion Week - WWD

Happiness is one of the most important goals in life. During the pandemic, it trended as the most searched word on Google. But heres why the pursuit of happiness can be bad for you.

It can make us more self-centred. The active pursuit of happiness can exacerbate individualistic tendencies to seek out pleasures at the expense of others (breaking up a friendship because it is not fun), society (driving fast may make you happy, but it endangers peoples lives) or the environment (keeping the air-conditioning on overnight).

Ironically, that self-centredness, apart from not serving others well, also makes people who pursue happiness more lonely. Focused on making ourselves happy, we forget the basic principle of happiness, which is to look outside ourselves for true happiness.

Those who score the highest in any happiness rankings report good social support (for instance, supporting others when in need and in return being offered support), live meaningful lives that allow them to contribute to society (put effort into developing skills that serve others well), experience abundance of positive emotions which are often created in the company of others (we smile 30 times more often in a group than in solitude).

This is the irony of the single-minded pursuit of happiness. Focusing on ourselves and wanting to be happier reduces our chances of experiencing happiness.

It can make us realise that were unhappy. The idea that we should be searching for it can highlight the absence of happiness in our lives. The more we value happiness, the more likely it is that we will be disappointed with our current situations.

Even worse, the more desperate we become about finding happiness, the more likely we are to experience symptoms of depression.

It can make us blame ourselves for being unhappy. The implication that we should all be happy and that it is easy to achieve can make us feel like there is something wrong with those who are not happy, causing further distress.

Our obsession with happiness has spawned an industry of people and organisations promising quick-fix ways to make us happy. This is just one of the reasons why the narrow focus on happiness can be damaging.

Apart from happiness not being good for the pursuers, it is often inappropriate to talk about happiness when interacting with people suffering extreme poverty, experiencing political injustice, living through devastating conflicts or facing natural disasters. To put it simply, being happy is not a priority in these situations.

Advocating for initiatives to increase happiness can lead to people feeling alienated and misunderstood. In traumatic times, exhorting people to be happy can come across as tone deaf or lacking in compassion.

If we focus too narrowly on the pursuit of happiness, we are at risk of forgetting about wellbeing, which runs deeper than simple hedonism and includes connections with people, life purpose, a sense of accomplishment and self-worth.

Here are five ways to improve your wellbeing:

Ensure that you can meet the basic needs of yourself and those you care for.

Allocate regular time for pleasurable activities, such as a walk, playing a game or watching or listening to something you enjoy.

Invest in building and maintaining positive relationships. Meet with friends, keep in contact with family members, nurture your work relationships.

Stay connected with what makes your life meaningful. For example, supporting a movement, following a faith or committing fully to your personal or professional role.

Make things better for your community by, say, advocating for better services, volunteering in your community, or challenging unfair practices.

Christian van Nieuwerburgh, Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciencesand Jolanta Burke, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Positive Psychology and Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Why the pursuit of happiness can be bad for you - and what you should pursue instead - News24