November 01, 2018 at 07:26AM I’m a little deaf in my left ear. It hasn’t always been that way, but in the last few years, I’ve noticed that if someone is trying to talk into it in a crowded room, I have to offer them my right ear instead. This is no coincidence. I’ve loved loud music since I was a teenager—in the car, in my earbuds, in SoulCycle—and according to Alison Grimes, AuD, Director of the Audiology Clinic for UCLA Health, exposure to high-intensity noise permanently destroys your ability to hear. Period. “Cells in the inner ear are physically damaged and do not regenerate,” she says. Filed under “not fair”: Some people do have “tougher” ears than others, says Dr. Grimes, which means they won’t experience hearing loss with the same exposure as others; however, she tells me there’s no way to predict in advance which category you’re in, which means you won’t know you have delicate ears until it’s too late. “If, after taking out your earbuds or earphones, your ears feel ‘stuffy,’ ‘cottony,’ or sounds sound dimmed or muffled, then it was too loud and the damage is done.” —Alison Grimes, AuD These individual variances are the reason it’s impossible for Dr. Grimes to tell me exactly how loud is too loud, or what volume level is safe for your earbuds and beyond. There are regulations in place for occupational noise exposure, but she says these are based on averages—and again, not everyone has an “average” threshold.
Category: Fashion
Spin junkies, your dreams are coming true: MZ Wallace and SoulCycle have a new bag collab
November 01, 2018 at 05:17AM One surefire way to tell you’ve stepped into a SoulCycle spinning studio—other than by the spoke-and-wheel graphics on the walls—are the number of MZ Wallace tote bags in the locker room. So it seems only fitting that the two companies have finally collaborated. “Funnily enough, this kind of came to be because so many of our existing customers were nudging SoulCycle,” says Lucy Wallace Eustice, MZ Wallace’s co-founder and designer. It’s true, says Julie Lieberman, SoulCycle’s senior director of buying and merchandising. “It was simply a natural fit,” she says. “We’ve heard our riders ask for their Metro Tote over and over again.” Persistence pays off—in this case, in the form of two slick, gunmetal designs—the coveted Metro Medium Tote ($225) and Metro Belt Bag ($145). “Both [are] on-trend and completely functional for running to and from class,” says Lieberman. They also mark the first time MZ Wallace has delineated from its traditional design details, adds Eustice. Photo: MZ Wallace “The first thing is the colors,” she says. “We used SoulCycle’s colors, grey and yellow—the grey has a very slight metallic sheen; it also has a yellow zipper. Normally, the zippers match, but we wanted that contrast. Then, the inside pouch that comes with all the bags, we resized to fit SoulCycle’s spin shoes.” As a final touch, Eustice’s team embossed SoulCycle’s monogram on the leather finishes for the Metro Tote’s handles. Photo: MZ Wallace To add some outsider context to this collab, it’s basically the brand
Here’s how buying in to fast fashion affects our brains—not just our budgets
October 31, 2018 at 12:15PM On the scale of addictive behaviors, Carrie Bradshaw’s shoe collection and Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series make obsessive shopping seem about as bad of a habit as ordering oat milk lattes every morning (guilty)—but in reality, it’s a serious affliction that affects one in 20 Americans. The group most likely to develop a shopping dependency? Young women, psychologists at the University of Bergen have found. That’s because addictive shopping behavior typically starts in late adolescence and early adulthood—just when cheap clothing is within financial reach. In the past, most people outgrew their overspending habits as their maturing personal style priced them out of such options. But thanks in big part to the rise of fast fashion, cheap clothing isn’t just for the the young—it’s now for everyone. What that means is that, in addition to millennial and Gen Z women, an increased number of people now see shopping as an accessible way to cope with their feelings around anxiety and depression—or a means of keeping up with the Instagram Joneses: According to the Bergen researchers, extroverted people (think the #OOTD types) face an increased risk of developing disordered shopping habits, too. And like exercise, drugs, or any other form of obsessive behavior, its downsides are decidedly more serious than figuring out how to fit everything in your closet. A compulsion to shop can lead to consequences ranging from guilt to stress to bankruptcy—and fast fashion’s biggest consumers are among the most susceptible. “Those who become hooked
5 ways to tame body shame everyone can start doing right now
October 31, 2018 at 11:17AM Talking about womanhood without the topic of shame arising is about as possible as talking about women’s sports without mentioning the whopping wage gap female athletes face. It just can’t be done because so many “messages of shame are organized around gender,” as shame and vulnerability scholar Brené Brown once told The Atlantic. So it comes as no surprise that the topic became a focus of conversation at the most recent Well+Good TALK on all things body diversity at The Assemblage in New York City. The event was sponsored by Aerie and gathered a panel of badass women—self-love guru Nitika Chopra, Aerie Real model and body activist Iskra Lawrence, and self-described curvy-fashion blogger Chastity Garner Valentine—to discuss ideas of self-love, acceptance, ageism, and inclusivity. But it was clear early in the conversation that shame played a role in each of these areas and was a subject the panelists felt personally about. “As someone who got told that they didn’t fit into the straight size industry, and…[that] I wasn’t big enough for the plus size industry—no one ever allowed me to fit in,” Lawrence shared. “No one ever said, yeah, we accept you just the way you are. I had to force the industry to try to accept me.” Part of that process included learning to tame shame, which, by definition, means pain caused by the consciousness of a perceived shortcoming. And according to Erika Groban, PhD, a clinical psychologist at a private practice in Rye, New York, Lawrence’s experience in the modeling
Can’t believe we’re sharing this list but here are our picks for the perfect white T-shirt
October 31, 2018 at 03:00AM The simplest things in life are often the hardest ones to find. I mean, you can get a cup of coffee literally anywhere but there’s a difference between some caffeine to hold you over and a latte that makes your morning, amirite? Same goes for a staple of wardrobes everywhere—the white T-shirt. Like so much of the population, I’ve spent my fair share of time in a number of tees that merely met but never exceeded expectations. (Sigh.) So this fall, I decided to search for a white tee capable of passing a spark joy test—and I enlisted my fellow editors in the hunt. For weeks, we tried on dozens of options and have narrowed the list down to the five below. Photo: For Days For Days Mid Mock LS, $38 Available in sizes XS to XXL “I wear a white T-shirt pretty much every day, and I’ve been living in this long-sleeve version from For Days since it launched its new closed-loop, eco-friendly line of organic cotton shirts this summer. It’s loose-fitted but cropped—a surprisingly difficult combo to come by—and looks as good with a pair of high-waisted jeans and a leather jacket as it does leggings. Better still? If it ever stops looking so fresh and so clean, I can trade it in for a new one for $8—plus, they’ll recycle my old one into new shirts.” —Jordan Galloway, senior style editor Photo: Aritzia Wilfred Helaine T-shirt, $40 Available in sizes XXS to L “I’m
100-percent cashmere sweaters under $100 worth cozying up to
October 30, 2018 at 03:34AM When it comes to sweaters, it doesn’t get cozier than cashmere. It also doesn’t get more expensive. At the highest end, a 100-percent cashmere sweater can cost a couple thousand dollars. Yep, you read that correctly. Designs like those certainly put the “cash” in cashmere. But it’s totally possible to wrap yourself in its finely woven fibers (made from goat hair, FYI) for a fraction of the cost. How is this possible you ask? It comes down to a few factors, such as how thick and fine the yarn is, plus where your sweater is produced (most luxe sweaters are made in Italy and Scotland), which Business of Fashion goes into detail about in case you’re curious. But the biggest takeaway is this: If you’re willing to forgo a love of labels and settle for a super soft sweater instead of one that’s super-super soft, you can hygge and still have money left over for turmeric lattes and house payments. Here are a handful of 100-percent cashmere sweaters worth cozying up to this season. Photo: Madewell Madewell Cashmere Mockneck Sweater, $98 Available in sizes XXS to XXL Photo: L.L. Bean L.L. Bean Classic Cashmere Crewneck, $99 Available in sizes XS to XL Photo: Everlane Everlane The Cashmere V-neck, $100 Available in sizes XXS to XL Photo: J.Crew J.Crew Three-quarter sleeve everyday cashmere crewneck sweater, $98 Available in sizes XXS to XXL Photo: Uniqlo Uniqlo Women’s Cashmere Turtleneck Sweater, $80 Available in sizes XXS to XXL
3 cutting-edge innovations working to keep your brain healthy
October 30, 2018 at 03:00AM If life pans out perfectly, we’ll all end up spirited 100 year-old yogis like Tao Porchon-Lynch, with whip-sharp minds and strong bodies. But while people are living longer than ever before, for many, their later years aren’t exactly the sunny scenes depicted in retirement funds commercials. In the US, at least 5 million people have dementia (a blanket term for a decline in cognitive performance that includes Alzheimer’s disease). Because cognitive decline touches so many people, preventing and treating it has become a main focus in the scientific community. Doctors have long preached that “prevention is the best medicine,” and distinguished integrative health expert and How Healing Works author Wayne Jonas, MD, says he strongly believes the best way to prevent cognitive decline is through diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits such as getting enough sleep, managing stress, and limiting exposure to environmental toxins. But in addition to the usual prescription of healthy lifestyle habits, top scientists and researchers are dedicating their careers to developing cutting-edge ways to protect your brain. Scroll down to see the latest science-backed ways to prevent cognitive decline. Photo: Getty Images/Guido Mieth At-home testing kits are giving insight into how to prevent “leaky brain” First things, first. Why, for so many people, does the brain give up before the body? To help explain, scientists are putting a new spin on a familiar term: Leaky gut is when the gastrointestinal tract becomes permeable—meaning bacteria and other toxins can enter the blood stream; “leaky brain”
Finally: Here are the definitions to the weird running terms you’ve never understood
October 29, 2018 at 06:30PM Before becoming a total meal-prep whiz, you had to learn the talk before doing the walk—err, finding out what braising or searing actually meant doing it over a hot stove. It’s the same deal when you’re starting a running habit—or striving to crush your first race. Hang around runners for long enough or follow them on Instagram, and you’ll hear a number of insider terms slung around. Once you familiarize yourself with the common phrases of racers, you’re in the club. Plus, learning the lingo can actually motivate you to go for your PB—that’s personal best, FYI. To get you started, we turned to running coach and ASICS performance footwear merchandiser Robert Fay to put together a beginner’s guide on the need-to-know lingo of endurance pros. And hey, he’s totally been in your shoes. “When I got involved in a training program for first-time marathoners, I had no understanding of what the word ‘bonked’ meant,” Fay says. Asking around, he found out that feeling bonked perfectly describes the state of “hitting the wall—when your body runs out of glycogen and your energy crashes,” which Fay experienced during his first 20-mile run. “Big learning experience there!” Keep reading to learn the essential running vocabulary that’ll help you achieve your goals and make informed training decisions. Once you’re acquainted with the terminology you hear around the track and at local running meet-ups, you’ll be more equipped to go the distance. What’s more, learning “the talk” can also help you
Hey Prince Harry, you’re not the pregnant one
October 29, 2018 at 09:57AM Let me start this out by saying that I’m a royal fanatic—especially when we’re talking Harry and Meghan. I want every single one of her handbags. I love watching him interact with children. When they got married, I woke up early to watch, and when the palace revealed that they were expecting a baby, it was like someone in my own family announced a pregnancy. I stan the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But this week, while in New Zealand on their whirlwind royal tour, Harry uttered something that made my skin crawl. During a public speech, Harry referred to the couple’s future spawn as “our little bump.” Twitter, of course, went into full-on swoon mode. But I was more like Liz Lemon, tossing an epic eye-roll at the sentiment. Harry, it’s so wonderful that you’re excited about your first child. Seriously—there’s nothing I love more than a man who’s stoked at the prospect of impending fatherhood. But men who try to glom onto the physical aspects of pregnancy annoy me. Men who say “we” are pregnant are men I want to sit down and give a talking to. You both are not pregnant. She is. Just ask her. “Our little bump” and his smile after that is the best thing ever! I’m going to faint! pic.twitter.com/dI0Bh2bYCD — harry_meghan_collective (@h_m_collective) October 29, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js I can already feel the heat from the torches of the Twitter mob that’s hot on my heels, but hear me
These yoga moves pretty much feel like a massage
October 29, 2018 at 09:30AM In the same way that you can do less and get more out of your yoga class, so too, can you master moves on your mat that feel like a massage. I repeat: there are yoga moves that feel like a massage…for free. And according to Beth Cooke, a New York City yoga instructor and the co-leader of the Well+Good Retreat at the Cedar Lakes Estate in Upstate New York, these unicorn sequences are an excellent restorative practice that’ll aid in prehab and recovery, two fitness trends currently on the rise. “It’s a really cheap way of self-soothing the body—you don’t have to go spend millions of dollars at the spa; you can do it on your own,” she says. By knowing just a few go-to moves (three to be exact, which Cooke shares below), you can get started today. Keep scrolling to find out the yoga moves that are so good, you might be able to break up with your masseuse. Yoga move to massage: armpits “Step your right foot forward into your low lunge, and stack your right armpit on top of your right knee—it fits like a ball in a mitt,” says Cooke. “Then make a fist with your right hand and just start to roll the armpit on top of the knee. I know that sounds pretty funny but there’s actually qigong pressure points in your armpit so as you roll your knee into your armpit, you’re reducing anxiety—it helps to relieve stress.