More than anything else in my closet, denim is the one thing that gets the most wear. I’ll attribute this to my Arizona roots where denim was a huge part what I dressed in growing up. Later, after moving to L.A., which is no doubt the denim capital of the world, my penchant for it was only reinforced.
Since I wear jeans most days of the week, I always have my eye out for the latest denim trends to sweep the fashion world. In recent years, there have been plenty of shifts in the denim landscape—from skinny jeans to cropped styles to super flares to straight-leg cuts—that have been more about the silhouette than anything else. Recently, though, there’s a whole new movement in denim that is less about the shape and instead focused on interesting prints and patterns.
Fashion girls have been quick to hop on board with the new denim trend, but celebs like Hailey Baldwin have also been spotted wearing it. Scroll on to see the four major ways the stylish set is wearing it now, as well as my personal favorite way to wear the trend this fall.
This fall, one of the biggest trends to work into your wardrobe is animal print. Snake-effect jeans are already a big hit and feel fresh for the season ahead.Wear yours with cowboy boots and a loose tee.The perfect fall shade.This cropped style is the perfect length to pair with ankle boots.How can you pass up this affordable version from Zara?Logo prints are everywhere at the moment, and that doesn’t stop with denim.The exact pair Hailey Baldwin was snapped wearing.The Fendi FF logo is back in a huge way.Get ready to see these everywhere.Borrow these from the men’s section.As I said, I’m a personal fan of the printed denim for fall and recently tried them for myself with leopard jeans—my favorite version of the trend.This is the style I’m wearing in the photo above.Saint Laurent’s version is finished with a tapered hem.You can also order the matching denim jacket.Wear yours with sleek black ankle boots.If you want to add variety to your collection of plaid but don’t want to buy another blazer, try mixing in printed plaid jeans for fall.How amazing are these half-and-half jeans?Tartan will be huge for fall.Cropped to just the right length.These were just marked down.
Nike’s controversial ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick did not go as Kaepernick haters expected: By any measure, it was a huge success.
We knew Nike’s stocks were booming, but CBS is specific with a report that company shares rose by 36 percent, “making the company the top performer on the Dow’s index of 30 blue-chip stocks.” Five percent of the increase has come since the athletic wear giant announced the ex-QB’s involvement.
Things aren’t going downhill yet, either, according to CBS:
The stock continues to hover near an all-time high, which it reached in mid-September only weeks after some Nike customers publicly burned their shoes to express their displeasure at the new ad.
In afternoon trading Nike shares were up slightly to $85.67.
For Nike, the boost eases concerns about the decision to link its brand to the controversial Kaepernick, who in 2016 started kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest racial injustice.
Nike took a calculated risk, given that so much politically-tinged discussion has taken place around Kaepernick’s protests. But the company relied on knowledge of its user base, which is younger and not all that politically conservative.
Everything is coming up Kaepernick in general. He reportedly makes millions from his Nike endorsements, and recently his attorney hinted that his client might have a chance to head back to the NFL.
That said, things get complicated when you know Nike employees contribute a great deal more money to Republicans than to Democrats.
When Volkswagen revealed its ID Buzz concept reboot of the iconic hippie-era van in 2017, people definitely paid attention. After all, it looks like its ancestor while embracing 21st century design in a major way.
Volkswagen has doubled down with its new release, the ID Buzz Cargo.
As Curbed reports, the innovation isn’t only in the design, which is a more serious-looking take on the first van. Just as you might expect from a company that once made vehicles identified with an era that was notable for giving birth to a movement dedicated to preserving the environment, the ID Buzz Cargo will run solely on electricity.
That’s not the only “green” feature:
Made for businesses and anyone hauling product from place to place, the I.D. Buzz Cargo bus is an on-the-go office on wheels. The light commercial van boasts a solar roof, three front-row seats, and a middle seat that folds down and transforms into a workspace with an integrated laptop. As a level four autonomous vehicle, you can either drive it or let the computer do the work.
And while this isn’t a camper, it’s still a cool look at what urban commercial vehicles will look like in the future, with an intelligent shelving system that lets you track stock levels throughout the day’s deliveries. The battery pack provides a charge for about 200-340 miles, and a fast-charge option can get the vehicle up to 80 percent in 30 minutes.
The ID Cargo design was unveiled in Mid-September at a German auto show, and it reportedly goes into production in 2021—before the ID Buzz.
Specs will include battery packs designed to fit company budgets and needs. Packs will charge fairly fast and Cargos will have ranges of 200-340 miles.
By taking the attention-grabbing look of the ID Buzz and creating a practical vehicle, VW might make a leap past the Mercedes-Benz line of vans and trucks and eventually dominate the commercial cargo vehicle industry. We can only hope.
If you ever wondered what it’d be like if the events of the first Halloween were real, here’s a chance to see. In the most recent trailer for the upcoming sequel, Michael Myers’ rampage gets the true crime treatment, and it’s an eye opener.
In part it puts the first movie in perspective; it really would be a pretty intense true crime story. It also illustrates how cheesy true crime TV can be.
The new movie pretty much eliminates everything that’s happened in between the first Halloween and this one, wipes the slate clean. We haven’t seen it yet, but we have to admit it looks very much the same.
The big difference is Jamie Lee Curtis. As a nearly 60-year-old Laurie Strode she’s gained maturity, intensity, and a little bit of crazy.
Go, girl
This Halloween was written by Danny McBride and is a hybrid sequel and and reboot. While it eliminates all the related movies in between it also does seem to plausibly breathe new life into the franchise.
The plot is damn simple and in keeping with that true crime feel: A couple of British podcasters seek out the killer, who has been institutionalized for 40 years. Their visit triggers his eventual escape, and he comes for Haddonfield, Laurie Strode, and everyone who gets in his way. Imagine the people behind Serial seeking out a terrifying real killer like Big Ed Kemper and him—despite the fact that like Myers, he’s pretty old now—busting out of captivity and trolling for college girls again.
Will this sequel/homage live up to the original? With Jamie Lee Curtis in place, it has to come close. We’ll see when it hits theaters on October 19.
Everyone knows that when you don’t get enough sleep at night, the next day is a doozy. Not only do you feel cranky and foggy, but your body literally can’t function right when you’re running on only a few hours of shuteye. The immune system weakens, brain cells slow down, judgment gets wonky, you’re 12 percent more likely to die early, etc. It’s just not good.
On the other hand, everything is peachy after getting a solid 8 hours, right? Right! It’s no secret that sleeping is one of the greatest things in the world, and with adequate sleep, the body and brain are able to function and regenerate normally, and you feel great.
Researchers from Stanford University studied the university men’s varsity basketball team, and found that athletes who slept ten hours each night increased free throw and field goal percentages by nine percent each, and decreased their 282-foot sprint times from 16.2 to 15.5 seconds. In other words, getting enough sleep is key to optimal performance.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, athletes who slept two extra hours per night saw a five percent increase in speed and reaction time, and just one extra hour provides extra energy to perform at a higher intensity, which is always a plus.
Furthermore, the NSF says that “the quality and amount of sleep athletes get is often the key to winning,” and emphasizes that athletes can use up to 10 hours of sleep each night, not only because strenuous physical activity is taxing on the body and depletes energy sources, but also because the body repairs itself when you aren’t awake.
Speaking with Dr. Philip Gehrman, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, the Huffington Post shared just how restorative different stages of sleep are:
Stage two: Philip Gehrman, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, dubs stage two sleep “average sleep” — it’s not too deep, not too light, and it’s where you spend about half the night. As you move into stage two sleep, you lose a sense of your surroundings and your body temp drops, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Brain waves are slow (with some rapid bursts) and your heart rate and blood pressure slow down and regulate. That means, for much of the night, your heart and vascular system are getting a much-needed rest, which might help to explain the many cardiovascular benefits of shuteye.
Stage three: “This is our deepest sleep,” Gehrman says of stage three (which used to be separated into stages three and four). “It’s also called our slow-wave sleep because our brain waves are these slow, high-amplitude waves.” During this restorative stage of sleep, blood pressure drops, breathing slows down, blood flow moves to the muscles and tissue is repaired, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Hormones, such as the human growth hormone, are secreted at this time as well. Stage three is also where parasomnias, such as sleep walking, talking or eating, take place. Since this is the deepest sleep (and the one that makes you feel well-rested and energetic the next day), it’s also the hardest stage to be woken from, Gehrman says. About 20 percent of the night is spent in deep sleep, and it mostly happens in the first half of the night.
See? This reinforces the fact that lots of sleep is absolutely necessary for keeping your body in tip-top shape, but also brings up the topic of getting enough quality sleep.
Use the military technique to fall asleep in 2 minutes
Developed for soldiers and pilots to ensure they get enough rest for optimal performance and minimal errors, this secret technique has a 96 percent success rate after six weeks of practice. Here’s how to do it, as explained by Joe.co.uk:
One: Relax the muscles in your face, including your tongue, jaw, and the muscles around your eyes.
Two: Drop your shoulders as low as they’ll go. Then relax your upper and lower arm on one side, and then the other.
Three: Breathe out, and relax your chest.
Four: Finally, relax your legs, first thighs and then calves.
So what comes next? Well, after ten seconds more of trying to clear your mind, Lloyd Bud Winter (the book’s author) suggests that you picture one of the following three mental images:
Lying in a canoe on a calm lake, nothing but blue sky above you.
Snuggled in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-black room.
Saying “don’t think, don’t think, don’t think” over and over for ten seconds.
Get an aromatherapy diffuser
Study after study proves that essential oils really do affect physiology, and lavender, chamomile, and cedarwood oils have relaxing and sedating properties, which helps you get to sleep and stay asleep.
Put your phone away
The blue light from your screen has a very short wavelength, which confuses your brain and tricks it into thinking its daytime. This messes with your melatonin levels, and in turn, screws up your circadian rhythm. If you’re not getting good sleep or can’t nod off fast enough, swap your phone for a book at night. Trust.
short-wavelength-enriched,” meaning it has a higher concentration of blue light than natural light—and blue light affects levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin more than any other wavelength.
