The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

At the Faversham there was thumping house music, projections of lava lamp bubbles, and bottles of K Cider. Rave culture had hit Leeds, and my friends and I plunged in I can mark out stages in my life by the pubs I’ve been to – and I started early.

My grandparents used to take me to the Sandford Arms across the road from their house in Leeds on a Saturday afternoon to play the jukebox – and since I remember records like Boney M’s Rivers of Babylon this must mean I was about four. My other grandparents, meanwhile, actually ran a pub in the city centre.

Their days usually started with my grandad, who did not have the bonhomie of a natural landlord, groaning to my grandmother: “You open up, Kath, I can’t face it!” Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

My experience of court was eye-opening. And when I sat in on other cases, I realised how often mothers are vilified It’s 1836 and the French writer George Sand is swimming in the River Indre with her clothes on, weighed down by layers of ankle-length fabric.

To anyone passing by, she must look mad or worse – driven by a death wish. But for her there is the relief of cool water sluicing hot skin, after walking for hours in 30C heat.

She’s been moving all day because if she stops she’ll remember how frightened she is: she’s about to go to court to fight for her children against a husband driven by punitive anger. Custodire .

The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Looking for something gentle and kind for a sensitive nose? The new gen Z brands have you covered For someone who makes no secret of her obsession with fragrance, I’m always surprised by how frequently people ask me to recommend one for someone who hates the stuff.

Sometimes wearing more potent fragrances is impossible for those prone to allergies or migraines, but mostly it’s an instinctive aversion to being held captive all day by scent too pervasive for one’s liking. And in these instances, I invariably suggest the layering of two more subtly scented products with compatible aromas, to add depth and interest without the same strength as a power perfume.

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The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Activate fresh-start mode with our fashion editor’s favourites for 2026 – including an unlikely new obsession Are we ready for 2026? Ready as we’ll ever be, right?

We’ve got this, team. Time to turn the page and kick things forward, with the help of a few key pieces to nudge mind, body and soul into the onwards and upwards.

Making your wardrobe a little more 2026 is a surprisingly effective strategy for activating fresh-start mode. Read on for your new-year primer: the cosiest moon boots, the sleekest hair pins, and where to get a quarter-zip – high fashion’s latest obsession – on a post-Christmas budget.

The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

The bandhgala jacket will no longer be part of the formal uniform for Indian Railways staff, following claims it symbolises a ‘colonial mindset’ It is one India’s most ubiquitous garments, with origins in the grand Mughal courts and Rajasthani kingdoms of times past, and still widely favoured by sharply dressed grooms at wedding receptions. But this week, the distinctive high-collared bandhgala jacket – known to many as the “princely jacket” in a nod to its royal origins – found itself at the centre of a lively debate after it was denounced by the Indian railways minister as a symbol of a “colonial mindset”.

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The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Just more than a year after the new luxury behemoth was formed, it announced it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Every year, the stores down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue dress up their windows at Christmastime. Tourists from all over the world come to gawk at all the glitter, lace, ruffles and bows.

Saks’s Fifth Avenue location, so iconic that it’s embedded in the brand’s name, is usually dressed top to bottom during the holidays. In 2023, the store partnered with Christian Dior to display a giant zodiac calendar.

As part of the light show, fireworks were released from the top of the store to the oohs and aahs of spectators. Continue reading...

The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

From vintage suede to discount designer heels, these wardrobe staples are often better preloved • From beeswax to baby wipes: how to make your leather last a lifetime What’s not to love about secondhand shopping? You get one-off pieces while making an environmentally conscious fashion choice.

From party dresses to jeans, some pieces are even better – and much more affordable – vintage. A well-made, brand-new leather jacket could set you back anywhere between £150 and £700, but you could pick up a secondhand one for £50 or less.

But it can be daunting when you first start. Knowing what you’re looking for and where you can find it is key.

The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

The Gardanas, a pair of mucus-coloured hemp shoes, are a somewhat paradoxical current must-have. But their appeal goes deeper than the topsoil • Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox?

Sign up here There is every chance that 2026 will be the year you see your first pair of Gardana gardening clogs in the wild. In fact, if you spend much time on TikTok, or live in Brooklyn, you’ve probably already been seeing them for months, if not years.

I saw my first pair a few weeks ago. I watched a dad dropping his kids off at school in head-to-toe Carhartt, a pair of Gardanas peeping out from below his trousers like a shy frog.

The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Bring your ostracised wardrobe items in from the cold by forgetting about whether they go with each other. Instead, let them shine in all their glory Fashion is a dance between rules and rebellion.

Great style requires a bit of both. The rules are essential, because one of the key emotional benefits that a great wardrobe can deliver is a sense of control in a chaotic world.

The rules are there to simplify and clarify, lighting our route to a well put-together outfit. That well put-together outfit has the power to help you feel calmer, simply because you look in the mirror and see a competent person and therefore feel like a competent person.

The Guardian - Fashion • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Trend of mini-me dressing – wearing same clothes as one’s children – has extended to four-legged friends Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian are some of the many who have long indulged in mini-me dressing – wearing the same clothes as their children – but now the trend is being extended to people’s four-legged companions, too. The dog clothing market is soaring and this winter it is coats that are topping the most in-demand list.

Bestsellers at Pawelier , a London-based luxury pet accessories shop include a £135 four-leg puffer coat complete with a fuzzy hood and toggle detailing, and a £110 reversible down-filled jumpsuit in cornflower blue and cappuccino brown that wouldn’t look out of place on a designer catwalk. The Italian greyhounds and whippets pictured bundled up in them appear to be prepped for an Alpine adventure rather than a lap around the park.

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