| Darth Vader. Superman. The Man with No Name. These are the male figures we associate with capes and ponchos - but is that all about to change? Not satisfied with resurrecting such questionable styles as short shorts and flared trousers, the High Street is now attempting to drag garments into the mainstream that have, until now, been the sole preserve of the dressing-up box.
Granted, this offers a refreshing change to the usual revolving door of fads and fashions; styles that vanish and then reappear every decade or so - but are tassel-bottomed blankets and cable knit capes really a viable choice for the modern man?
Topman is leading the charge in the championing of this alternative outerwear, with 16 different styles of poncho and cape hitting the shelves this autumn. Rebecca Parker, a personal shopper for the brand, believes that "the cape and poncho trend that we are seeing now has come, really naturally, from the love of similar items over the past couple of years.
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"They\'re a natural progression from the last couple of collections we\'ve had. Two years ago we were loving the blanket scarf, and last year we saw a trickle of capes into the knitwear and accessories department."
John Mooney, the Creative Director of Menswear Design at ASOS.com, agrees. "We have seen a massive resurgence in \'drape\' in general across the business," Mooney asserts. "Garments with extra volume are selling really well - from oversized tees, through to cowl neck tops and drop crotch trousers. And ponchos and capes are all part of the development of this trend."
River Island and Zara Men have similarly adopted this nouveau knitwear, but the question remains: are these garments genuinely saleable? Could men actually develop a penchant for ponchos, or is this caped caper destined to become just another shameful footnote in our sartorial history books?
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To find out whether or not these knitted pieces could hold a place in the modern man\'s wardrobe, I appropriated several capes and ponchos and went walking. In my bid to assess just how socially acceptable these items of alternative outerwear are, I strolled the streets - and gauged people\'s reactions using the scientifically-accurate measures of side-eyed glances and wide berths.
Rather surprisingly, aside from the odd double take, or exasperated eye roll from a conservative pensioner, nobody seemed to mind that I was a young man wearing what is, to all intents and purposes, a shawl. I encountered no verbal attacks, witnessed no badly-concealed sniggers and nobody threw anything at me in a judgemental rage. That said, I did whip my cape off pretty sharpish when I noticed a gang of five or six burly builders on the pavement ahead.
But, all in all, the poncho and cape were reasonably well received. And whilst the sceptics amongst you will undoubtedly remain, the fact is that these garments are easy to put on, sartorially distinctive and incredibly comfortable.
However, Stephen Doig, the Telegraph\'s Men\'s Style Editor, is still wary. "Ponchos and capes aren\'t for the faint hearted," he warns, "and you run the risk of looking affected, like a member of a Peru-themed restaurant\'s pan-pipe band, or Dracula. I think a lot of what we saw on the catwalks - at Valentino, Saint Laurent - spoke to a more edgy consumer, but was also more \'editorial\' in feel: stuff that will look great in fashion shoots but is hard to translate into reality. If you\'re going to go for it though, make it less \'costumey\' with sombre colours."
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So, if you are planning on "going for it", what is the best way to wear a piece of this alternative outerwear? Topman\'s Rebecca Parker advises that "the key to pulling off a poncho or a cape is to make it the focus of your outfit. You can get a great range of patterns and designs, so let that do the talking. Basics are a real must for the remainder of your outfit; a good denim, a classic Chelsea boot and a fisherman knit would be my go to."
The number of men who adopt the Eastwood look this autumn remains to be seen, but the idea of ponchos and capes for men may not actually be quite as \'dress up\' as initially thought. The high street fashion powerhouses clearly believe they\'re onto a winner, and these knitted newcomers look set to attract a great deal of attention - if only from the more fashion-forward younger men.
But remember, don\'t allow a cowboy hat or pair of Cuban heels anywhere near your new poncho and, if you\'re braving the cape, think about keeping a superhero costume colour chart on hand to avoid committing accidentalcosplay. Because as Stephen Doig so insightfully offers: "You want Bruce Wayne, not Batman".
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| This isn’t the first time I’ve attempted to make candles. After my wedding, for reasons that run the gamut from boring to stupid, I ended up with an enormous surplus of milk bottles. My plan was simple: take the bottles, turn them into candles and give them to our guests as a wonderful memento of the day.
So I bought a professional candle-making kit. Then I read the instructions. I quickly realised that it all seemed too much of a faff, and that my wedding guests would think I was some sort of godawful chintzy Kirstie Allsopp knock-off, and that, truth be told, I didn’t really like that many of them anyway. And now all the milk bottles are in the bin.
But although ditching this stupid idea made my life a trillion times easier, it felt like a cop-out. So, with a heavy heart, I decided to have another bash. This time, however, I went back to basics. Instead of diving in at the deep end with a wholesale candle-making kit, I ordered a beginner pack. This was much easier - I got my wax, wicks, dyes, scents and moulds in one go, and would end up with ten small candles.
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The most important thing to know about candle-making is that it takes two saucepans, and you must never, ever use one of those saucepans again. Never ever. You melt your wax in a bain-marie set-up, and the top pan – the one that holds the melted wax – will be completely knackered for the rest of its life. So you have two choices here: either go out and buy a good quality, heavy-bottomed saucepan that you’ll use to gradually build your cottage industry candle-making Etsy business into the success it deserves to be, or just nick one of your mum’s saucepans. I couldn’t possibly tell you which of these I did.
After that, candle-making is a breeze. You melt wax, add dye and scent (I chose lemon, because I wasn’t aware that you can also make them smell like hot cross buns), and pour it into your moulds. Adding the wick is trickier, because you have to thread it through a piece of metal, drop it into the mould and then keep it upright by gumming it to what basically amounts to a lollystick with a hole drilled into it. Then it’s simply a case of leaving them for a few hours, popping them out of the moulds and basking in their glow. I now plan to give them to a selection of vaguely nonplussed people for Christmas.
Best of all, by making my own candles I am spared humanity’s greatest indignity – going into any shop where noxious, perfumed candles are sold. Never again will I have to pretend to be interested in the non-existent differences between scents like Season of Peace and A Child’s Wish. Never again will I have to run through a howling wind to get the stink out of my clothes. Homemade candles, I salute you.
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| In just a little bit, we’ll begin to see Christmas holiday decorations, which start showing up even before Halloween. And along with the strings of lights all over the place will be a set of emotions that accompany the presents we are supposed to give.
A recent question from a reader provides an opportunity to talk about gift-giving expectations for all occasions. In this case, an upcoming wedding triggered the gift dilemma. As part of a regular feature on family financial feuds, I will address the issues the person raised.
The background: The reader’s niece is getting married. The bride and groom both work part time. The reader relayed that her niece had dropped out of college after a year and a half. The reader checked out her niece’s bridal registry and was “kind of blown away” by the high-end items, including pots and pans that cost $200 each and Kate Spade dish towels.
“I sent my sister a gentle text about being surprised that Kate Spade even made dish towels,” the reader wrote during one of my online discussions, “and she responded saying, ‘Don’t buy her anything. I will get you the information on her student loans (which she has not been responsible about) and pay those down instead of buying her anything.’”
The gift suggestion about the student loans didn’t sit well with the aunt, who already is upset since she co-signed. “My credit score is down 100 points because of it,” she wrote.
The conflict: “There are many issues here to deal with,” the aunt explained, not the least of which is that when her own daughter got married several years ago, the reader’s sister did not give a wedding present.
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She continued: “I know my sister has struggled financially since her divorce, so I didn’t let it bother me. It just feels weird to pay down someone’s student loans as a wedding gift. My husband thinks I shouldn’t pay down the student loans. I am inclined to pay down something, but also get her some small items (no Kate Spade dish towels!). Any ideas?”
The bottom line: Here’s the crux of the family financial drama: “My sister [is] basically asking me for money, when she did nothing — not even a card — for my daughter’s wedding.”
There are three issues as I see it: the student loans, the pressure to buy from a registry, and retribution.
The student-loans problem shouldn’t be lumped in with the whole gifting issue. The reader refers to the debt as “someone’s student loans.”
But those are her loans, too. When you co-sign, you’re not merely providing your good credit name as a reference. Paying the loans isn’t a gift. It’s her responsibility.
If I were the reader, I would sit down with my niece and talk about how we are going to handle the debt going forward. It may be that she has to make payments until the niece is in a financial position to pick them back up.
As for the gift registry, some people list big-ticket items they can’t afford, or they expect that perhaps a group of friends or relatives may share the cost. However, sometimes it does feel like registries are an excuse for the couple to be greedy. I routinely ignore what’s picked out if I can’t find something in my budget. A registry shouldn’t be seen as a mandatory shopping list.
By the way, just because someone is underemployed or having financial troubles doesn’t mean he or she shouldn’t want nice things or even brand-name items.
Now, let’s address the core issue here. The reader is hurt that her daughter didn’t receive a wedding present.
Gifts are sometimes interpreted as a symbol of what people think of you. But if the reader’s sister and niece attended the wedding and wished the bride and groom well, shouldn’t that count for as much as, if not more than, some gaudy gift?
As Judith Martin, the etiquette columnist known as “Miss Manners,” says, a wedding invitation is not an invoice. Yes, it’s a thoughtful gesture when people give. Nonetheless, be careful about your sense of entitlement whether it’s for a wedding or the holiday season.
I believe it’s our presence — not presents — that matters most.
You might wonder: Well, should the reader in return simply attend the wedding and wish the couple well?
If she doesn’t give a wedding gift in retribution, that’s being ill-mannered.
Just because you didn’t get doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give. And if a family member fails to give, be gracious and remember it really is better to give than to receive.
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| A cure for travel sickness appears to be on the way, but it may be between five and 10 years before members of the public can buy it.
Travel or motion sickness is common. Many people have experienced feelings of queasiness when travelling, however around three in 10 people suffer more severe symptoms, such major nausea, dizziness and cold sweats.
The cause is still unknown but some scientists believe it is related to our brain receiving confusing messages from both our eyes and ears when we are moving.
Now UK scientists have shown that a mild electrical current that is applied to the scalp can reduce responses in the part of the brain that is responsible for processing these motion signals.
This appears to reduce the impact of confusing messages that the brain may be receiving, thereby preventing the problem that causes travel sickness symptoms.
According to the scientists from Imperial College London (ICL), this is a safe and effective intervention that is likely to be available to members of the public in the future.
"We are confident that within five to 10 years, people will be able to walk into the chemist and buy an anti-seasickness device. It may be something like a tens machine that is used for back pain. We hope it might even integrate with a mobile phone, which would be able to deliver the small amount of electricity required via the headphone jack. In either case, you would temporarily attach small electrodes to your scalp before travelling, on a cross channel ferry, for example," explained Dr Qadeer Arshad of ICL.
As part of this research, participants wore electrodes on their heads for around 10 minutes. They then sat in a motorised rotating chair that simulates motions that are known to make people feel ill, such as sitting on a boat.
Those who wore the electrodes were less likely to feel nauseous and appeared to recover quicker.
"The problem with treatments for motion sickness is that the effective ones are usually tablets that also make people drowsy. That\'s all very well if you are on a short journey or a passenger, but what about if you work on a cruise ship and need to deal with motion sickness whilst continuing to work?
"We are really excited about the potential of this new treatment to provide an effective measure to prevent motion sickness with no apparent side-effects. The benefits that we saw are very close to the effects we see with the best travel sickness medications available," noted Prof Michael Gresty of ICL.
The scientists have already begun talking to people in industry about developing this device. They added that the currents used with the device ‘are very small and there is no reason to expect any adverse effects from short-term use\'.
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