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Lifestyle Barometer: your guide to what's hot and what's not this week from adaptive fashion to weddings
From Domino’s to Weight Watchers and Playboy, this is our guide to what’s hot and what’s not
Going up:
Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer has launched a clothing line specifically designed for children with disabilities.
This week, the supermarket and fashion retailer achieved what is said to be a “high street first” with the arrival of its “easy dressing range”.
Designed to make getting dressed less stressful for children and their parents, the adaptive fashion line is made with special needs in mind, and includes clothes made with extra space for casts as well as ones with discreet pockets for feeding tubes.
The garments are also made using the softest materials, with as few seams as possible and hidden care labels so they won’t irritate sensitive skin.
Products in the line are priced from £3 to £36 and cater to children from newborn to age 16.
Takeaway vegan pizza
With veganism on the rise, more and more brands are looking to gratify those who eat plant-based diets, but one place you don’t expect to see dairy- and meat-free options is the takeaway pizza menu. Until now that is.
That’s right, Domino’s has revealed it is testing out a vegan pizza option.
The new pizza, the Vegan Supreme, will be available in select stores and is made with a vegan crust, peppers, corn, mushrooms, tomatoes and dairy-free cheese
On social media, the brand confirmed the plant-based pizza is available in 43 stores across the UK, and that it can be ordered “in most major cities including London, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds and Newcastle”.
Prosecco
Whether you’re stocking up for family and friends during the festive season or simply enjoy the occasional tipple, you’ll be glad to hear that bargain supermarket Aldi is selling a gigantic prosecco bottle that’s capable of filling 64 glasses.
The enormous methuselah bottle of Giotti Spumante Prosecco contains six litres of bubbly, which equates to eight regular-sized prosecco bottles.
According to Aldi, the prosecco combines an assortment of complementary flavours, including lemon zest, tangerine and pear.
You’ll have to wait a little while until you can get hold of it though. The huge bottle is due to be released at Aldi for the very first time on 14 November, where it’ll be sold exclusively online for £79.99.
Weight Watchers
Slimming brand Weight Watchers announced that it is rebranding with a new name: “WW”.
The change of direction is said to represent a shift from focusing on losing weight to general health with an accompanying tag line, “Wellness that works”.
Announcing the rebrand on Instagram, the company said: “Our mission is to inspire healthy habits for real life – for everyone. We’ll always be the global leader in weight loss.
“Now we welcome anyone who wants to be healthier: eat better, move more, develop a positive mindset… or all of the above!
“So we’re moving from Weight Watchers to WW, to reflect that we’re becoming the world’s partner in wellness. And we’ll be launching exciting tools, rewards and experiences to bring that promise to life.”
While many have praised the brand for promoting fitness and body positivity, others are dubious as to how much the Weight Watchers programme will actually change.
#WhyIDidntReport
Thousands of people have been tweeting using the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport this week to share the reasons they didn’t immediately seek help after being sexually abused.
The hashtag started gaining popularity after Donald Trump questioned the validity of the accusations of sexual misconduct made against US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Since then, a number of celebrities have tweeted about their experiences, including supermodel Cara Delevingne who said that she worried about the consequences that reporting her assault would have had on the livelihood of her attacker.
“Because I felt ashamed of what happened and didn’t want to publicly ruin someone’s life, even though they privately ruined mine #WhyIDidntReport,” she tweeted.
Going down:
Wedding costs
The cost of weddings has been steadily rising over the years but, according to a new survey, the average expense of nuptials has now reached an all-time high.
The UK’s largest wedding website, Hitched.co.uk, has revealed that the cost of saying “I do” is now at a whopping £32,273, up by £5,112 – or 19 per cent – from the previous year.
The data also found that the amount couples spend on their nuptials varies by region, with London showing the highest cost at an average £41,521 – 52 per cent more than the average UK salary.
By comparison, Yorkshire weddings proved the most budget-conscious, costing the least with an average price of £27,245.
Body positivity
Actress and self-love advocate Jameela Jamil has spoken out about how the term “body positivity” has lost its meaning thanks to marketing campaigns jumping on the bandwagon.
In a recent interview with Marie Claire, Jamil says the way the movement has evolved over the past few years is troubling and has inadvertently placed greater emphasis on women’s bodies, as opposed to drawing attention away from their objectification.
“It’s become a marketing slogan, and that’s not what it was originally for,” she says.
“It was supposed to be inclusive, and again now, it’s been taken over by very slender, often Caucasian women. And that’s fine, but they weren’t the reason that body positivity was started and needed.”
Jamil adds: “It’s turned into just a way for brands to have an excuse to talk about women’s bodies some more.”
Peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches
No, that’s not a typo. The concept of peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches hit the headlines after the questionable combination became a topic of conversation on social media.
The comments began after NowThis News posted a video of the blend and encouraged people to try the “popular” sandwich.
But, while some people advocated the unusual pairing, others expressed their discomfort.
“I’m sorry, that’s disgusting,” one person tweeted.
Another added: “Myself and no one I know of would eat a PB&mayo sandwich. It is sickening.”
Missguided x Playboy
Online fashion retailer Missguided has launched a new collaboration with men’s “lifestyle” magazine Playboy.
The collection, which consists of hoodies, T-shirts, dresses, underwear and bodysuits all emblazoned with the Playboy bunny logo, has divided opinion online with some loving it and others describing it as “embarrassing” and “tacky”.
Announcing the collaboration, Missguided and Playboy call it: “The essential collection for a new generation of rebellious females who dress by their own rules.”
However, some Twitter users have called out the implications of such a popular fashion brand, which is worn by hordes of young girls, pairing up with a magazine known for its photos of nude women.
“The new Missguided Playboy range is the most vile thing I’ve ever seen. Ever,” one person wrote.
Free beer
Not something we’d usually class as a flop, this week the offer of free beer caused a furore online.
But why? The controversy began when a press release from Frank PR announced that US brewery Scofflaw and UK chain BrewDog had joined forces for a series of events in London, Manchester and Leeds.
The document said customers visiting various BrewDog bars could receive free beer but only if they said they were supporters of Donald Trump.
Within minutes of the release being sent out, people began criticising the move on social media. Just over an hour later, the PR firm said the original release was “incorrect information”, put out by mistake due to a chain of miscommunication.
“The Scofflaw release was announced without our knowledge or consent,” BrewDog wrote in a statement on Twitter.
“We are in no way aligned with their position and we will of course be cancelling all the events and sending all of the beer back.
“We care about beer and people. Not hate.”
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