Notes on chocolate: more Easter eggs, because these are quite special
Melt has two cute eggs, one is just milk and in very simple packaging with a cardboard bunny cut out. The idea is that you paint it and it comes in two sizes, from £14.50. The Breton eggs are beautiful to look at yet expensive at £69.99 each – but they are a hefty 700g and would easily satisfy a large group. We tested the pistachio and kataifi one – milk chocolate, pistachio, caramel blond chocolate and caramelised kataifi. It's inspired by Dubai chocolate, which I'm in two minds about, but is everywhere. Testers liked it, but weren't really sure what it was trying to be. I'd personally buy the White Lotus egg (pictured) next time, also £69.99 but for a full kilo of chocolate and 14 segments that give you seven different flavours. A not-cheap but great gift to bring to someone's house.
I personally really liked Salcombe Dairy's 73% organic, vegan cacao-nibs egg, £29.50, which came with two full-sized bars – one made of the same stuff as the egg and one dark chocolate with peppermint: both very good.
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The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Born in the USA: Is American Eagle really using whiteness to sell jeans?
American Eagle is a US-founded fashion brand that sells jeans, shrunken 'baby' T-shirts and cropped sweatshirts to predominantly tween and teenage girls. On TikTok, users gush about their clothes in outfit-of-the-day posts or shopping hauls. This week, however, the brand found itself facing backlash over its new campaign, starring the 27-year-old White Lotus and Euphoria actor Sydney Sweeney, in which critics are alleging American Eagle uses the language of eugenics to try to sell denim. The campaign depicts Sweeney in a denim shirt and baggy jeans provocatively posing as a male voice says: 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.' In one now-viral clip, Sweeney is filmed pasting a campaign poster on to a billboard. The poster's text reads 'Sydney Sweeney has great genes jeans'. In another video that has since been removed from American Eagle's social media channels, Sweeney, who has blond hair and blue eyes, says: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.' Critics were quick to point out the implications of the advert's wordplay. In one video that has had more than 3m views, a TikTok user compared it to 'fascist propaganda,' adding: 'a blonde haired, blue-eyed white woman is talking about her good genes, like, that is Nazi propaganda'. On the brand's own channels, users are battling it out in the comments section. 'It's giving 'Subtle 1930's Germany',' reads one. Another person posted: 'The woke crowd needs to leave the room.' Even the US senator Ted Cruz has weighed in. Reposting a news story on X, he commented: 'Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women. I'm sure that will poll well ...' According to Sophie Gilbert, a staff writer at the Atlantic and author of the book Girl on Girl which explores how pop culture is shaped by misogyny: 'The slogan 'Sydney Sweeney has good jeans' obviously winks at the obsession with eugenics that's so prevalent among the modern right.' Dr Sarah Cefai, a senior lecturer in gender and cultural studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, agrees. 'Honestly, what were they thinking, that a white supremacist fantasy has permission to be aired so conspicuously?' Aria Halliday, an associate professor in gender and women's studies, African American and Africana studies and author of Buy Black: How Black Women Transformed US Pop Culture, isn't surprised by the ad. In recent years, she says, 'we have seen an influx of media reasserting the beauty of thin, white, blond, and blue-eyed people,' with many brands 'invested in re-presenting the wholesomeness and sanctity of conservative white values.' Critics have also zeroed in on the campaign's focus on Sweeney's body. In one clip the camera zooms in on the actor's breasts – lingering in a way that Gilbert sees as 'leering and unapologetic' – as Sweeney says: 'My body's composition is determined by my jeans.' The camera then cuts back to Sweeney's face as she shouts: 'Hey, eyes up here!' For Cefai, 'its sexualisation of the viewer via its voyeurism exposes western sexism as a racialised fantasy of whiteness'. American Eagle were approached for comment by the Guardian but did not respond. Fashion campaigns are notorious for purposefully sparking controversy, but the denim genre is a particularly seedy seam. In a 1980s Calvin Klein campaign, a 15-year-old Brooke Shields mused: 'You know what gets between me and my Calvin's? Nothing.' In 1995, another Calvin Klein ad featured models including Kate Moss being filmed in a basement as they undid the top button of their jeans and were asked: 'Are you nervous?' It was criticised for alluding to child exploitation. The American Eagle campaign comes at a time when the US is witnessing a cultural shift centering whiteness as well as more conservative gender roles, while the Maga movement has been linked with promoting a 'soft eugenics' way of thinking. In 2025, there are new factors reinforcing old stereotypes. For Halliday, the rise of GLP-1 medications for weight loss and the record high unemployment of Black women in the US all feed into a wider cultural shift that is 'about recentering whiteness as what America is and who Americans look like.' Some fashion imagery is reflecting this wider regression. The blacklisted photographer Terry Richardson is shooting for magazines and brands again, while Dov Charney, whose role as CEO of American Apparel was terminated after allegations of sexual misconduct, is now making content for his new brand that resembles the heavily sexualised noughties style of his former brand's advertising. For American Eagle, a brand whose biggest demographic is 15- to 25-year-old females, to tailor their campaign to the male gaze seems retrograde, if not downright creepy. However, Jane Cunningham, co-author of Brandsplaining: Why Marketing is (Still) Sexist and How to Fix It, says many gen Z-ers who are fed a 'hypersexualised visual diet' on social media may buy into the strategy. 'Their attitude may be that they are 'owning' their sexuality by being overtly sexual in the way they present,' she says, pointing to the pop star Sabrina Carpenter as another example of someone who has also been accused of catering to the heterosexual male gaze. Sign up to Fashion Statement Style, with substance: what's really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved after newsletter promotion Halliday says that while 'Black girls are rarely the target audience for ads,' some may still be curious to try the jeans: 'the desire to be perceived as beautiful is hard to ignore,' she says. Many gen Z-ers may not have experienced this genre of advertising, or 'intentional provocation as branding strategy', before, says Gilbert, for whom the campaign also reminds her of 90s Wonderbra ads with their 'Hello Boys' slogan. But maybe they will come to see through it. They are 'extremely savvy as consumers', she points out. 'They have the kind of language and expertise in terms of deconstructing media that I couldn't have dreamed of utilising as a teen during the 1990s. And they know when someone is trying to play them, which seems to be happening here. She adds: 'It all feels like it was cooked up in a conference room to provoke maximum controversy and maximum outrage, and to get maximum attention.' And it seems – in the business sense at least – to be working. Since the campaign launched, American Eagle's stock has shot up almost 18%. To read the complete version of this newsletter – complete with this week's trending topics in The Measure – subscribe to receive Fashion Statement in your inbox every Thursday.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Elizabeth Hurley, 60, and her mum, 85, look incredible as they both pose in leopard swimwear
Miley Cyrus broke her silence on her dad Billy Ray Cyrus' relationship with Liz Hurley wild thing Elizabeth Hurley, 60, and her mum, 85, look incredible as they both pose in leopard swimwear Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ELIZABETH Hurley and her mum Angela showcased their ageless figures as they posed in matching leopard print swimwear. The actress, 60, looked incredible in an animal print string bikini alongside her 85-year-old mother, who wore a one-piece swimsuit. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 5 Elizabeth Hurley and mum Angela showcased their ageless figures in leopard print Credit: Instagram 5 The Austin Powers star then slipped into the leopard one-piece for a smouldering snap Credit: instagram 5 The actress celebrated her mum's 85th birthday Credit: Instagram The duo were seen smiling as Liz placed her arm around Angela as she celebrated her mum's birthday. They both wore white linen shirts over their swimsuits while posing for the snap from Liz's garden. Liz sweetly captioned the post: "Twinning with my mama. We just celebrated her 85th birthday, in Elizabeth Hurley Beach of course," referring to the film star's swimwear collection. Fans flocked to comment and compliment the mother and daughter duo. One wrote: "Your 85-year-old old mama is beautiful. Happy Birthday and thank you for passing down those," with a gene emoji. A second posted: "Like mother like daughter. Two absolute beauties." A third gushed: "OMG!!!! Now I see where you get your beauty! Wow!" "Mum is looking great! Two hotties," another commented. Just last week Liz stripped to a glam red two-piece bikini from her new swimwear range. The Royals actress posed for a selfie in her scarlet two-piece featuring gold clasp details across the chest and high on the hip. Liz Hurley, 59, looks stunning as she strips off to barely-there bikini Previously, fans gushed over how the model "doesn't age" as she paired the same swim top with leopard print bottoms. Last month, she stripped completely naked to celebrate her milestone 60th birthday. Liz could be seen perched in a meadow as she posed in order to protect her modesty from being on full display. Alongside the stunning snap, Liz shared her blessings in life as she marked her special day - including a sweet nod to her boyfriend, Billy Ray Cyrus. LOVE LIFE Amid their relationship reveal, Liz is enjoying a happier life chapter. Back in April, the mum of one and country music icon Billy Ray Cyrus, 63, took the world by surprise when they became the latest A-list couple. Wearing festive bunny ears, Billy went in for a kiss on Liz's smiling mouth. The pair went public on Easter Sunday with a loved-up picture in a field. They have since put on several smitten public appearances together, with Liz's son even seen out with them both. The trio were in London's West End to support Billy's pop star daughter Miley Cyrus for the launch of her new album and film Something Beautiful. Singer Miley previously said of her father's new relationship: 'I'm being an adult about it. 'At first it's hard, because the little kid in you reacts before the adult in you can go, 'Yes, that's your dad, but that's just another person that deserves to be in his bliss and to be happy'. "My child self has caught up.' 5 The Austin Powers star showed off her toned figure last week in a red bikini Credit: Instagram
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Born in the USA: Is American Eagle really using whiteness to sell jeans?
American Eagle is a US-founded fashion brand that sells jeans, shrunken 'baby' T-shirts and cropped sweatshirts to predominantly tween and teenage girls. On TikTok, users gush about their clothes in outfit-of-the-day posts or shopping hauls. This week, however, the brand found itself facing backlash over its new campaign, starring the 27-year-old White Lotus and Euphoria actor Sydney Sweeney, in which critics are alleging American Eagle uses the language of eugenics to try to sell denim. The campaign depicts Sweeney in a denim shirt and baggy jeans provocatively posing as a male voice says: 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.' In one now-viral clip, Sweeney is filmed pasting a campaign poster on to a billboard. The poster's text reads 'Sydney Sweeney has great genes jeans'. In another video that has since been removed from American Eagle's social media channels, Sweeney, who has blond hair and blue eyes, says: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.' Critics were quick to point out the implications of the advert's wordplay. In one video that has had more than 3m views, a TikTok user compared it to 'fascist propaganda,' adding: 'a blonde haired, blue-eyed white woman is talking about her good genes, like, that is Nazi propaganda'. On the brand's own channels, users are battling it out in the comments section. 'It's giving 'Subtle 1930's Germany',' reads one. Another person posted: 'The woke crowd needs to leave the room.' Even the US senator Ted Cruz has weighed in. Reposting a news story on X, he commented: 'Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women. I'm sure that will poll well ...' According to Sophie Gilbert, a staff writer at the Atlantic and author of the book Girl on Girl which explores how pop culture is shaped by misogyny: 'The slogan 'Sydney Sweeney has good jeans' obviously winks at the obsession with eugenics that's so prevalent among the modern right.' Dr Sarah Cefai, a senior lecturer in gender and cultural studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, agrees. 'Honestly, what were they thinking, that a white supremacist fantasy has permission to be aired so conspicuously?' Aria Halliday, an associate professor in gender and women's studies, African American and Africana studies and author of Buy Black: How Black Women Transformed US Pop Culture, isn't surprised by the ad. In recent years, she says, 'we have seen an influx of media reasserting the beauty of thin, white, blond, and blue-eyed people,' with many brands 'invested in re-presenting the wholesomeness and sanctity of conservative white values.' Critics have also zeroed in on the campaign's focus on Sweeney's body. In one clip the camera zooms in on the actor's breasts – lingering in a way that Gilbert sees as 'leering and unapologetic' – as Sweeney says: 'My body's composition is determined by my jeans.' The camera then cuts back to Sweeney's face as she shouts: 'Hey, eyes up here!' For Cefai, 'its sexualisation of the viewer via its voyeurism exposes western sexism as a racialised fantasy of whiteness'. American Eagle were approached for comment by the Guardian but did not respond. Fashion campaigns are notorious for purposefully sparking controversy, but the denim genre is a particularly seedy seam. In a 1980s Calvin Klein campaign, a 15-year-old Brooke Shields mused: 'You know what gets between me and my Calvin's? Nothing.' In 1995, another Calvin Klein ad featured models including Kate Moss being filmed in a basement as they undid the top button of their jeans and were asked: 'Are you nervous?' It was criticised for alluding to child exploitation. The American Eagle campaign comes at a time when the US is witnessing a cultural shift centering whiteness as well as more conservative gender roles, while the Maga movement has been linked with promoting a 'soft eugenics' way of thinking. In 2025, there are new factors reinforcing old stereotypes. For Halliday, the rise of GLP-1 medications for weight loss and the record high unemployment of Black women in the US all feed into a wider cultural shift that is 'about recentering whiteness as what America is and who Americans look like.' Some fashion imagery is reflecting this wider regression. The blacklisted photographer Terry Richardson is shooting for magazines and brands again, while Dov Charney, whose role as CEO of American Apparel was terminated after allegations of sexual misconduct, is now making content for his new brand that resembles the heavily sexualised noughties style of his former brand's advertising. For American Eagle, a brand whose biggest demographic is 15- to 25-year-old females, to tailor their campaign to the male gaze seems retrograde, if not downright creepy. However, Jane Cunningham, co-author of Brandsplaining: Why Marketing is (Still) Sexist and How to Fix It, says many gen Z-ers who are fed a 'hypersexualised visual diet' on social media may buy into the strategy. 'Their attitude may be that they are 'owning' their sexuality by being overtly sexual in the way they present,' she says, pointing to the pop star Sabrina Carpenter as another example of someone who has also been accused of catering to the heterosexual male gaze. Sign up to Fashion Statement Style, with substance: what's really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved after newsletter promotion Halliday says that while 'Black girls are rarely the target audience for ads,' some may still be curious to try the jeans: 'the desire to be perceived as beautiful is hard to ignore,' she says. Many gen Z-ers may not have experienced this genre of advertising, or 'intentional provocation as branding strategy', before, says Gilbert, for whom the campaign also reminds her of 90s Wonderbra ads with their 'Hello Boys' slogan. But maybe they will come to see through it. They are 'extremely savvy as consumers', she points out. 'They have the kind of language and expertise in terms of deconstructing media that I couldn't have dreamed of utilising as a teen during the 1990s. And they know when someone is trying to play them, which seems to be happening here. She adds: 'It all feels like it was cooked up in a conference room to provoke maximum controversy and maximum outrage, and to get maximum attention.' And it seems – in the business sense at least – to be working. Since the campaign launched, American Eagle's stock has shot up almost 18%. To read the complete version of this newsletter – complete with this week's trending topics in The Measure – subscribe to receive Fashion Statement in your inbox every Thursday.
