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It took me a long time to love my Ethiopian heritage. My pride in my culture and identity grew once I started to love my hair. Black people have a very emotional relationship with our hair. It’s clear from a young age what the cultural beauty standard was: white, straight blonde hair, blue eyes. Lack of representation plays a significant role in this. Even though I went to very diverse schools my whole life, I was still the only or one of the only Black people in my classes. It’s hard to appreciate your identity if there is no one around you that looks like you.

BeautyAbigail AbdiNovember 26, 2022hairstyle, Beauty, beyonce, curls

Men in Dresses: Are Fashion Binaries Stagnant or Shattering?

Underlying these so-called revolutionary looks is a larger conversation about appropriating queer culture. Actor Billy Porter criticized Styles’ cover photo saying that it only captured mainstream attention because he is “white and straight,” since Porter himself is known to wear lavish, untraditional looks on the red carpet. As gender-fluid dressing becomes more mainstream, it’s important to remember its roots and history as a larger socio-political movement.

FashionAustin KimNovember 20, 2022high fashion, high fashion trends, menswear, dresses

Victoria's Secret: The Male Fantasy

What used to be the largest lingerie retailer in the United States is now a brand name riddled with accusations of fatphobia, transphobia and ageism. Victoria’s Secret is attempting to redefine its influence by featuring models with a more diverse range of body types and skin tones in their advertisements. As they do so, the fantasy of a slim, tall woman with a 32B-cup bra size disintegrates – the fantasy that the company itself created.

Becoming A Witch: Learn from “American Horror Story: Coven”

Halloween may have passed, but Evanston’s howling winds, 6 pm sunsets and fiery red foliage perpetuate an autumnal stay-of-mind. Come early November, some may not have completely shed their witchy alter-egos. If you’re still feeling spooky, check out this admission letter from Miss Robichaux’s Academy, the witch school from “American Horror Story: Coven,” season three of the FX horror anthology. One of her pupils is bound to resonate with you!

EntertainmentElias FanNovember 16, 2022television, american horror story, witches, spooky, costume design, personal style

The Mecca Always Makes its Mark

Homecoming is a major event at all universities. It’s a week where alumni get to see how much their school has grown and changed while enjoying the university-sponsored and student-led events planned throughout the week. Most schools have similar events every year; however, Howard University puts a unique spin on their homecoming week. Homecoming at Howard has a different theme each year. The themes are typically built around ideas of building their community towards the future and their pride as a top HBCU.

Abigail AbdiNovember 16, 2022Howard University, homecoming, HBCU, college

How To Pack for Thanksgiving Break

It's the night before traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday with bags to be packed and miles to be crossed. Chaotic beads of sweat drip down your forehead while you yank your carry-on out from under your bed. As it sits empty in the middle of your room, you realize you have bigger fish to fry. Politically incorrect grandparents to drown out, awkward confrontations about your love life and a sudden realization that turkey is eaten to celebrate the forced removal of Native Americans. Yippee! Amongst all this pandemonium, the last thing you need to spend time worrying about is having the right clothing for the holiday. And that's what this is for! An all-purpose, all-inclusive guide on how to pack when giving thanks.

Campus, LifestyleGus GlickNovember 15, 2022packing, break, Thanksgiving, basics, wardrobe

Dressing for Revenge: An Analysis of Taylor Swift’s Midnights Era Fashion

Taylor Swift is a mastermind, and nothing in her album roll-outs is accidental—including her outfits. From the perfect red lip to the latest leg-lengthening bodysuit, each Swift album unveils a new side to the singer-songwriter’s style, and the Midnights era, based on her latest record-shattering release, is no exception. At times shimmering and at others subdued, Swift’s recent looks perfectly represent the album’s basis on a special kind of self-reflection that can only occur in the middle of the night.

EntertainmentAlea WilkinsNovember 14, 2022Taylor swift, music, music video, album

The Alien Era: What does the alien aesthetic mean for self expression in fashion?

This is just it—the alien aesthetic creates a “new world” which allows us to play with, or even completely forget, gendered beauty norms. If gendered beauty norms expect women to have perfect, arched brows, then let’s shave them completely. If there is an obsession with women’s feet, then let’s turn our feet into reptile feet. Let’s show that you can still be gorgeous when you break these norms.

FashionGigi CepedaNovember 11, 2022aesthetic, alien, Gucci, alexander mcqueen, drag, gender

Are you Good or Evil? Your Happily Ever After Through Fashion

In the seams of Agatha’s and Sophie’s adventures, fashion illustrated their emotional development. Once the two girls arrived home, they returned to their original clothes because they finally, know who they are: maybe a little evil and a little good, but certainly best friends. Fashion allowed for experimentation, social change statements and an expression of identity; Fashion allowed them the versatility to discover the pieces that best fit them, and to me, that’s the magic!

EntertainmentAnna Grace SouterNovember 8, 2022Netflix, good vs evil, fashion symbolism, light vs dark, character

Coperni: Futuristic or a Failure?

FashionAlani Cox-CaceresNovember 2, 2022fashion week, coperni, bella hadid, supermodels, future, innovation

The New "It-Girl"

Fashion, LifestyleAustin KimNovember 1, 2022bella hadid, instagram, instagram model, social media, thrifting

Youths are the Future: the New Luxury Consumer

Influencers create these micro labels, and the luxury brands behind them use the influencers-driven-micro-labels to target newer, younger consumers. On July 9, 2021, Greta Gerwig announced that she would be directing the live action Barbie movie. Valentino recognized that Gerwig’s announcement reawakened Barbie fans and knew they could capitalize on an audience obsessed with Barbie Pink. On March 6, 2022, Valentino released their Pink PP F/W 22-23 collection, and “barbiecore” began to dominate runways from top designers to emerging brands across the world.

FashionAbigail AbdiOctober 31, 2022luxury, designer, high fashion

Ginger Snaps Is Your Next Halloween Watch

As Halloween slowly creeps up on us, horror films have reclaimed their spot as the most seasonally appropriate (yes, even more appropriate than “Gilmore Girls”) way to ignore your assignments and second round of midterms. Out of the multitude of bone chilling, heart stopping and vomit inducing options, I find myself drawn to horror films with well written female leads. After all, there’s nothing like a mad woman, and there’s nothing like cheering her on as she inevitably wrecks the lives of every other character. For the 2022 season, my recommendation is a slightly lesser known Canadian cult classic: the fabulously heart-wrenching “Ginger Snaps.”

EntertainmentMarija JovicOctober 29, 2022halloween, horor, horror movie, female protagonists

Emma Chamberlain and I Have the Same Taste in Interior Decorating

This story will attest to Emma Chamberlain’s relatability by proving that we’re actually pretty similar when it comes to interior design. That is, if similar means making the most out of our drastically different budgets and deciding how to liven up our completely different spaces.

CampusLauren CohnOctober 29, 2022emma chamberlain, architecture, dorm room