#urbanmuse

This has been a trend for a while now, but I think its really come into effect recently.  You may have noticed celebrities like the Kardashian-Jenners, Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid wearing their hair in this way. That is, pulled back off their face, and sometimes very sleek and shiny. This look can be very hard to like on yourself since most of us are so used to using our hair to frame our face,  particularly if you aren’t completely comfortable with the way your face looks. 

However I think we should try and embrace this trend for many reasons. Firtly, it’s very practical, especially in the summer time. It takes no effort, and keeps your hair from sticking to your face in the heat. Secondly, It isn't restricted to just one style. You could experiment with a singular French plait, a low ponytail, a low bun, or even just left to hang down, very slicked back and secured with hairspray. In addition, wearing your hair away from your face allows you to really come to terms and become more confident with your face if you aren’t already. Finally, the trend is really classy and minimal, while appearing really cool and  on trend too. 

Emily Ratajkowski

Bella Hadid

Kim Kardashian

Bella Hadid

Gal Gadot

Kendal Jenner

To assume that Amal Clooney’s biggest achievement is her husband would be an extremely ignorant move to make. While George Clooney is yes, possibly one the the most desired and talented actors on the planet, she simply outshines him. 

Clooney is a Lebanese-British barrister who specialises in international law and human rights. She has represented the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, the former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, and also the Eygptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy. She was born in the Lebanon but moved to England with her family at two years old during the Lebanese civil war. Her mother is also a well known political journalist.. Clooney not only studied and gained a degree in Juriprudence at Oxford university, but went on to gain another degree in law at New York, where she also received the award for excellence in entertainment law. 

Simply put she is a highly successful woman who is not only working but practically leading in a field where only roughly 1/3 of her peers are female. She has also gained two degrees In two of the top universities in the world. She’s also worked for the United Nations in some of their most high profile events. 

However Clooney isn't just a hugely successful barrister (as if that wasn’t impressive enough). She has also:

 taught law at many universities across the uk, 

been chosen as Barbras Walter’s most fascinating person 2015,

been shortlisted for best British style (alongside supermodel Kate moss), 

Cofounded the Clooney Foundation of Justice (with her husband)

Started a scholarship, aptly named the Amal Clooney Scholarship, which sends one girl from the Lebanon to university each year,

She sponsors a student named Hazim Avdal to attend the university of Chicago,

Following the school shootings in early 2018, she and her husband have pledged half a million dollars to “The March of Our Lives”

In short, Clooney is one of the most intelligent, beautiful, empowered, empathetic and fashionable role models of our time. 

It’s nice to be able to sport a trend that even your mother would approve of. Pearls are definitely so. They’re a timeless piece, the embodiment of class and poise. Yet this season you don't have to feel like a ‘50′s housewife when wearing them, you can be effortlessly stylish too.

Pears are back, baby. However they're being revamped into a much cooler look. Forget long strings of layered pearl necklaces. Think pearls embellishing your jacket. Forget small pearl studs, think large gold hoops covered In them.

On the runway models walking for Chanel donned strings of pearl belts, while in the Alena Akhmadullina show models wore them emblazoned on their denim two pieces and in the Balmain show models were dripping in them!

Via Chanel, by Yannis Vlamos / in digital.tv

Courtesy of Alena Akhmadullina

Everyone can see that mini sunglasses have been dominating the fashion industry for the last few months. Kanye west even reportedly emailed his wife Kim Kardashian to tell her that from that moment on, she should only wear micro glasses, as opposed to the big round ones she used to sport. Mini glasses look amazing on those who suit them, but what about the rest of us? Personally, when I wear mini glasses, I don’t look like a Hadid, but closer in looks to an actual moon. So for me at least, this trend is long overdue.

Now, while mini sunglasses are still on trend (don’t worry), large, embellished, one of a kind glasses are too. The more interesting and unique, the better. For those who want to play it safe, you could possibly try out normal sunglasses with a pretty brow bar, or a nice tinted lense. For those who are ready to jump into this trend head first, I recommend exploring some small boutiques or even thrift shops/charity shops. Even try Asos marketplace or Depop® if you don’t want to spend too much. Recently I saw some amazing shades on Depop®, which were decorated with these golden monkeys who appeared to be carrying the lense. It sounds tacky, but it actually looked really cool and vintage. Of course you don’t have to go for embellished and vintage, many influencers are wearing oversized bold glasses, such as ski glasses. This has been particularly noticeable on the runway, especially in the Gucci resort 2019 show.

(Above) photos courtesy of Vogue, for Gucci. All huge and unique.

(Above) Photo courtesy of Elie Saab. These shades are interesting for the vintage gold detail, but still subtle.

Ten years ago you’d find the cool kids at the back of the bus. Today, the cool kids of gen z can be found over the app Depop®. 

Depop®, if you haven’t heard of it (somehow), is an app which allows people to buy and sell mainly clothes (but also art, accessories, technology and other various pieces). The app makes it incredibly easy, and due to its social media-like format, gen z love it. In fact, it’s reported that almost all of its users are under 24. 

This makes Depop® an incredibly powerful tool for teens. It allows them to essentially establish their own brand. The most fashionable and edgy of them can basically showcase their own style by putting clothes up for sale that they no longer want. Not only this, but they're given an excuse to model their own clothes without it seeming ridiculously vain. When any of my peers posts a “candid” ootd of themselves on any other media platform, they're bound to be met with a wave of judgemental eye-rolls and unfollows. However on Depop people’s looks only help them sell their products, so their posing is both legitimated and a tool. 

However please don't think I’m here to bash Depop® and gen z. Both are brilliant, and it actually turns out that gen z are turning in thousands through the platform. How? They’re buying cheap clothes from charity shops and from sales racks, styling them to look fashionable for the photo, and then selling them for triple the price. Teens are also buying buying expensive clothes to wear a few times, then selling them for almost the same price as they were bought. This allows them to have a high turnover in their wardrobe. Whereas it used to be just celebrities and supermodels that withheld from repeating outfits, it’s now teens too. In 2018, once a garment has been featured on one’s instagram®, it’s outdated and unfashionable. 

Peggy Guggenheim was one of the coolest American art collector and socialites of the 19th century (1898-1979). Legend has it that she averaged to buy at least one artwork per day. Later in life she settled in Venice, where she established the modern art museum “The Peggy Guggenheim Collection”, where you can view some of the masterpieces she collected, including the works of Picasso and Kadinsky. But perhaps the most striking thing about this woman was not her exquisite taste in art, or how she splashed money on it so easily, but her personality itself. 

After all, she was a prominent socialite. She had a fiercely strong and confident personality, and she even reported herself that she had slept with “1000 men”. When asked how many husband she had had, she replied “mine, or other women’s?”. While some may think this is excessive, I think that collectively we have to admire her confidence, especially in a time where women’s rights were fiercely debated and they faced much less equality than we do now. In short, here are 10 reasons Guggenheim should be your muse:

Her oversized, eccentric sunglasses which she wore unapologetically. 

She may or may not have slept with 1000 men, and did’nt care what anyone said.

She was buried next to her fourteen lhasa apso puppies in her museum in Venice.

She lived on the Grand Canal of Venice.

She was still active and prominent in the art community at an old age.

She was an important figure in the modern art movement, such as buying and investing in the works of a budding Jackson pollock.

When her father died she worked in support of the first world war effort.

She was openly bisexual in a time where homosexuality was much more disapproved of by the general public. Although only marrying men, she openly slept with many women. 

She held the first American show devoted to entirely female artists. 

Her memoirs (often including detailed accounts of her lovers) were described as morally lacking by critics of the time, yet still sold many copies.