Orgies aren’t all they’re cracked up to be

[ It’s rather sweet to hear how shocked actress Rebel Wilson was to find herself at an orgy. In her new memoir she’s charmingly revealed how she was stunned to be invited to a party only to realise it was “an ORGY!”, as she writes. As if everyone hasn’t been to an orgy these days! … Read more

Biba was revolutionary – but cheap, tatty clothes don’t make a good exhibition

[ Biba was much more than a department store: it was a cultural phenomenon. Started by fashion illustrator-turned-designer Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon, between 1963 and 1974 Biba rose from cheap and cheerful mail order to become a glamorous multi-storey concept store selling everything from bikinis to baked beans. Anyone with a passing … Read more

Who Tests If Heat-Proof Clothing Actually Works? These Poor Sweating Mannequins

[ Meet ANDI, the world’s sweatiest mannequin. Although he might look like a shop-floor stalwart from a distance, a closer glance reveals bundles of cabling and pipework concealed beneath his shell. He’s wired up with sensors, plumbed into a liquid supply, and dotted with up to 150 individual pores that open when he gets warm. … Read more

The Best Merino Wool Apparel We’ve Tried (2024): 27 Socks, Hoodies, Shirts, Pants, Sweaters, and Jackets

[ Merino wool is a super fiber. Merino T-shirts somehow manage to be comfortable in 95-degree Fahrenheit heat, and merino hoodies keep you warm well below freezing. Unlike synthetic fibers derived from petroleum, merino wool is natural and renewable. One sheep can produce 4 to 5 pounds of wool per year. That’s because the sheep … Read more