You’d have to be living under a rock to not know that Topshop is poised for a comeback. But while we wait to see if the Gen Z version of everyone’s favourite high street retailer can return to its former glory (in particular the Jane Shepherdson era), those who remember it the first time round have gone crazy for the original version.
Depop reports that 32,000 “OG” Topshop pieces are currently available on its platform, with some of the most sought-after items — see the Jonathan Saunders collab — changing hands at pace. It’s a similar story on eBay where Kate Moss’s adored Toppers collections rank among the most wanted items. Baxter skinny jeans (RIP) and Moto jackets also continue to thrive on the resale market. Old Topshop is the new old Celine. Let’s hear it for the golden oldies.
Fancy a Neapolitan?
Grey and red? Whatever. Beige and, er, beige? Please. Fashion’s favourite new power pairing is all about opposites: meet tobacco and pretty pink. The fashion diehards are doing it, be it with stripy tops, where the hard work has already been done, or by layering brown coats and slouchy tailoring over their favourite powdery-pink pieces. It’s one part Seventies gangster and another prissy prom queen — or maybe it’s Drum Gold with a side of candyfloss. Either way, it’s got us craving Neapolitan ice cream.
Cast-iron guarantee
Happy birthday Le Creuset, which is celebrating a whopping 100 years of kitchen envy. Of course, if TikTok is anything to go by, it’s as modern as it gets — see the achingly hip rainbow-bright cast-iron pans and heart-shaped Le Creuset dishes that the kids are drooling over. Yes, they may not know how to braise a brisket, but Gen Z do know that grandma’s Volcanic Orange pots are not quite the shade du jour for their social media snaps, instead favouring Azure or Meringue versions sourced on Vinted.
Certainly, with the average age at the Le Creuset Bicester Village shop at an all-time low and TikTok sleuths disclosing the best TK Maxx locations for discounted Dutch ovens, the brand is slow-cooking its way to cool once more. To revive your enthusiasm? Get the new book Le Creuset: A Century of Colorful Cookware (Assouline £150), which tells the story of the French classique, with vintage photographs of Joan Didion at the stove and quotes from collectors such as Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa). A one-pot wonder indeed.
Espresso martinis have a shake-up
Looking for a new after-dinner pick-me up? Meet the nu-wave of alt-cocktails ditching the classic (*cough* basic) combo of vodka/coffee/sugar for mixes with a twist. Start off by getting your caffeinated kick at Good Measure — the drinking den tucked under the south London Taiwanese hotspot Daddy Bao — with the Pick Me Up, a richly flavoured riff combining coffee with rum, vermouth and chocolate bitters. Or, from the cocktail maestros at Three Sheets in Dalston, Café Tatin is a blend of buttered calvados, 30&40 Double Jus (a blend of calvados, pommeau and rum), salted coffee and vanilla cream. Elsewhere, in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, the subterranean bar Daisy has Joe’s Espresso Martini, swapping vodka for cognac with mocha liqueur, espresso and a smidge of lemon zest. Time to join the wide-awake club!
One more thing …
Table tennis, ping-pong or maybe even whiff-whaff? However you refer to the sport that is said to have started life on Victorian dining tables, there’s no question that it is benefiting from a glow-up this summer. Armani Casa is in on the action, adding a table-ready ping-pong set to its beach collection. With easy-to-hold bats and a leather case, this is whiff-whaff for the one per cent. armani.com
Additional words: Karen Dacre, Phoebe McDowell and Victoria Brzezinski
