Latest news with #Victoriana
IOL News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Is a floral dress a political statement?
Rachel Tashjian When the conservative youth group Turning Point USA was planning its recent Young Women's Leadership Summit in Texas, organizers sent out a Pinterest mood board of suggested looks. Amid a few images of sleeveless vests, skirt suits and pleated skirts were a number of floral dresses: some with puffed princess sleeves, others with a more casual, backyard-barnyard fit and a few that looked like vintage nightgowns. The attendees either took note of the mood board or didn't need it: reporting from the summit, Washington Post reporter Kara Voght described the attendees' looks as 'a smear of pastels and florals - ruffles on their dresses, cowboy boots on their feet, bows on their curls. The aesthetic could be summed up as Laura Ingalls Wilder-core, as if the little house on the prairie had been down the street from a Sephora.' Is the floral dress now the uniform of the conservative 'it' girl? Maybe as conservatives, especially millennials and Gen Z, become a cultural force rallying for women to take on more conventional roles of motherhood and homemaking, they are looking for the clothes that express, or align with, their worldview. A look at the recent fashion history of prairie and sundress styles makes this notion head spinning. The first wave came almost a decade ago, when Batsheva Hay began producing clothes inspired by her childhood obsession with Laura Ashley's Victoriana calico and floral printed dresses. Hay's upbringing in Queens was far from Ashley's very sincere life in the British countryside - the designer recalls reading that Ashley would bring fresh fruit from her farm into the office - but her printed prairie dresses, with puffed shoulders and ruffles on the cuffs and hems, became an unexpected hit, with celebrities like Chloë Sevigny, Natalie Portman and Erykah Badu wearing them out and about in New York and Los Angeles. 'The idea was that they were like a treat for me - these feminine, girly dresses that contrasted with my very corporate career as a lawyer, or that gave me something 'modest' or traditional to wear for Shabbat dinner that still allowed me to express myself,' Hay said. 'It was very much winking at this old-fashioned femininity.' Both Hay and her customers often wear the dresses with something unexpected: combat boots, or a baseball cap, or an outrageous lip color or hairstyle that make it clear the wearer is playing with these old-fashioned ideas about domesticity and womanhood. 'A lot of women feel like they need to f--- it up somehow.' Batsheva's dresses became a symbol of female empowerment - a statement that you could embrace traditional femininity without looking the part of the oppressed housewife. Other brands launched in the years following that also seemed to celebrate a more 'classic' concept of femininity with varying degrees of irony. New Yorker Sandy Liang has a cult following of Gen Z fans who love her ballerina-inspired sportswear. Then there is Doen, a line featuring simple nightgown-inspired dresses started by two sisters in California, as well as Loveshackfancy, a New York-based label that makes Laura Ashley-esque florals in much sexier cuts, often with bare midriffs or exposed hips. Hay's dresses continued in popularity as trends like cottagecore, a pandemic-era frenzy that romanticized country life, and modest fashion began permeating women's wardrobes. But increasingly, Hay says, she has seen dresses on conservative women - women like Hannah Neeleman, also known as Ballerina Farm on social media, who is often considered the beacon of the tradwife movement - that very much resemble hers. 'It's really fascinating to see,' Hay said. 'They take the idea of these dresses, this romanticized idea of living in the country, and interpret it very earnestly.' Cottagecore practitioners were just fantasizing that they wanted to move to the country and become a stay-at-home moms - until something shifted and a lot of women suddenly, sincerely, wanted to. Last year, Evie Magazine, which is often called Cosmo for new conservatives, released what it calls the 'Raw Milkmaid Dress,' a fitted frock with puffed sleeves and a plunging neckline that emphasizes the décolletage and hugs the waist. It recalls the simple white dresses Marie Antoinette had made for her respites at the Petit Trianon, where (in a presaging of the cottagecore movement, perhaps) she played house and pet barnyard animals to escape the complex voyeurism of Versailles. Brittany Hugoboom, Evie's founder, said in an email interview that her team designed the dress for a cover story with Neeleman when they couldn't find the perfect milkmaid dress for their photo shoot. Hugoboom pointed to shows like 'Bridgerton' as the reason behind the revival of milkmaid styles. 'We took all our favorite elements from 18th-century French 'peasant' dresses, Regency era bodices, pieces worn in iconic films, and made it modern enough that supermodels would wear it to brunch,' she said. Evie has also introduced 'The Perfect Sundress,' a style with a built-in bra, which Hugoboom says sold out in 48 hours. 'Evie was always envisioned as a 'one-stop shop for femininity,'' said Hugoboom, whose publication is perhaps best-known for its Instagram account, with over 220,000 followers double-tapping posts that celebrate a traditional brand of femininity: the hottest guys of all time, 'how to stay madly in love with your husband' and clips of tradwives like Nara Smith speaking about the challenges of motherhood. She plans to introduce more clothes in the future. 'Instead of competing with men, many of us want to lean into our feminine traits like beauty, sensuality, softness, and charm,' she said. 'In recent years, trends have shifted toward women dressing for other women. We'll clock a Row handbag or a Khaite top and nod. But a lot of trends, like mom jeans or oversize blazers, aren't looks men love. So our goal was simple: dresses that women love to wear and men love to see women wearing. We love men, and we love being women. To me, it's a sign that the gender wars may finally be cooling off.' Biz Sherbert, a brand consultant and writer who often covers beauty standards and style in the second Trump era, describes conservative style not through a garment, per se. 'A lot of people are trying to define it because so much value is placed on it,' she said. 'Like, 'these are the women we're fighting for,' or 'this is what we need to preserve.'' Melania Trump may be the face of American conservative womanhood, but she most often wears highly tailored, almost armor-like styles that seem to protect her like a shell, along with tall spiked heels. It's far from the romantic styles of cottagecore. Sherbert also sees women on the right making tweaks to more traditional styles, but they are in the name of sex appeal instead of eccentricity - a high neck top with a very short skirt, or pearls with a minidress. 'There's an implicit sense of how a man would see this,' she said. 'A woman might say, 'Oh, that dress is cute.' But the real deciding factor would be a man saying, 'Oh, that's not a vibe.'' For Sherbert, the turning point when ultrafeminine styles moved from cheeky to sincere was the mania around tiny little bows in late 2023. 'On the TikTok shop, I would see Trump 2024 merchandise that was super coquette,' she said, referring to the TikTok aesthetic that emphasized ultra girly femininity. 'It was using this visual language that I had seen come up through Sandy Liang and people inspired by her,' said Sherbert. 'It was this brand of pastiche femininity that was so strong, and people [described as] reclaiming girlhood, but no one could ever substantiate why that was radical. It was vaguely feminist but ill-defined.' So how could so many women see different things in the same dress? 'People are consuming a lot of the same content, and then they go down different ideological rabbit holes,' she said. 'Maybe in this case, Republicans or conservatives are better at walking the walk of these lifestyles: They're actually going to go homestead. I'm not just going to live in Brooklyn and have this cottagecore fantasy.' Many of those in the new conservative movement, Sherbert pointed out, have been influenced by the culture and politics of an over-scrutinized New York neighborhood called Dimes Square, a pandemic party zone that nurtured a sense of skepticism around the left. Incidentally, Sandy Liang's shop is right in the middle, and Batsheva is just a few blocks away.
Boston Globe
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Is a floral dress a political statement?
Advertisement Is the floral dress now the uniform of the conservative 'it' girl? Maybe as conservatives, especially millennials and Gen Z, become a cultural force rallying for women to take on more conventional roles of motherhood and homemaking, they are looking for the clothes that express, or align with, their worldview. Alex Clark, (second from left) a wellness influencer and podcaster, at the Young Women's Leadership Summit on June 14. Organizers sent out a Pinterest mood board of suggested looks ahead of the summit. JAKE DOCKINS/NYT A look at the recent fashion history of prairie and sundress styles makes this notion head spinning. The first wave came almost a decade ago, when Batsheva Hay began producing clothes inspired by her childhood obsession with Laura Ashley's Victoriana calico and floral printed dresses. Hay's upbringing in Queens was far from Ashley's very sincere life in the British countryside — the designer recalls reading that Ashley would bring fresh fruit from her farm into the office — but her printed prairie dresses, with puffed shoulders and ruffles on the cuffs and hems, became an unexpected hit, with celebrities like Chloë Sevigny, Natalie Portman and Erykah Badu wearing them out and about in New York and Los Angeles. Related : Advertisement 'The idea was that they were like a treat for me — these feminine, girly dresses that contrasted with my very corporate career as a lawyer, or that gave me something 'modest' or traditional to wear for Shabbat dinner that still allowed me to express myself,' Hay said. 'It was very much winking at this old-fashioned femininity.' Both Hay and her customers often wear the dresses with something unexpected: combat boots, or a baseball cap, or an outrageous lip color or hairstyle that make it clear the wearer is playing with these old-fashioned ideas about domesticity and womanhood. 'A lot of women feel like they need to f*** it up somehow.' Batsheva's dresses became a symbol of female empowerment — a statement that you could embrace traditional femininity without looking the part of the oppressed housewife. Other brands launched in the years following that also seemed to celebrate a more 'classic' concept of femininity with varying degrees of irony. New Yorker Sandy Liang has a cult following of Gen Z fans who love her ballerina-inspired sportswear. Then there is Doen, a line featuring simple nightgown-inspired dresses started by two sisters in California, as well as Loveshackfancy, a New York-based label that makes Laura Ashley-esque florals in much sexier cuts, often with bare midriffs or exposed hips. Hay's dresses continued in popularity as trends like cottagecore, a pandemic-era frenzy that romanticized country life, and modest fashion began permeating women's wardrobes. But increasingly, Hay says, she has seen dresses on conservative women — women like Hannah Neeleman, also known as Ballerina Farm on social media, who is often considered the beacon of the tradwife movement — that very much resemble hers. Advertisement 'It's really fascinating to see,' Hay said. 'They take the idea of these dresses, this romanticized idea of living in the country, and interpret it very earnestly.' Cottagecore practitioners were just fantasizing that they wanted to move to the country and become a stay-at-home moms — until something shifted and a lot of women suddenly, sincerely, wanted to. Attendees at the Young Women's Leadership Summit in Grapevine. Many women often pair their prairie and sundress styles with something unexpected: combat boots, or a baseball cap, or an outrageous lip color or hairstyle. JAKE DOCKINS/NYT Last year, Evie Magazine, which is often called Cosmo for new conservatives, released what it calls the 'Raw Milkmaid Dress,' a fitted frock with puffed sleeves and a plunging neckline that emphasizes the décolletage and hugs the waist. It recalls the simple white dresses Marie Antoinette had made for her respites at the Petit Trianon, where (in a presaging of the cottagecore movement, perhaps) she played house and pet barnyard animals to escape the complex voyeurism of Versailles. Brittany Hugoboom, Evie's founder, said in an email interview that her team designed the dress for a cover story with Neeleman when they couldn't find the perfect milkmaid dress for their photo shoot. Hugoboom pointed to shows like 'Bridgerton' as the reason behind the revival of milkmaid styles. 'We took all our favorite elements from 18th-century French 'peasant' dresses, Regency era bodices, pieces worn in iconic films, and made it modern enough that supermodels would wear it to brunch,' she said. Related : Evie has also introduced 'The Perfect Sundress,' a style with a built-in bra, which Hugoboom says sold out in 48 hours. 'Evie was always envisioned as a 'one-stop shop for femininity,'' said Hugoboom, whose publication is perhaps best-known for its Instagram account, with over 220,000 followers double-tapping posts that celebrate a traditional brand of femininity: the hottest guys of all time, 'how to stay madly in love with your husband' and clips of tradwives like Nara Smith speaking about the challenges of motherhood. She plans to introduce more clothes in the future. Advertisement 'Instead of competing with men, many of us want to lean into our feminine traits like beauty, sensuality, softness, and charm,' she said. 'In recent years, trends have shifted toward women dressing for other women. We'll clock a Row handbag or a Khaite top and nod. But a lot of trends, like mom jeans or oversize blazers, aren't looks men love. So our goal was simple: dresses that women love to wear and men love to see women wearing. We love men, and we love being women. To me, it's a sign that the gender wars may finally be cooling off.' Biz Sherbert, a brand consultant and writer who often covers beauty standards and style in the second Trump era, describes conservative style not through a garment, per se. 'A lot of people are trying to define it because so much value is placed on it,' she said. 'Like, 'these are the women we're fighting for,' or 'this is what we need to preserve.'' Melania Trump may be the face of American conservative womanhood, but she most often wears highly tailored, almost armor-like styles that seem to protect her like a shell, along with tall spiked heels. It's far from the romantic styles of cottagecore. Related : Advertisement Sherbert also sees women on the right making tweaks to more traditional styles, but they are in the name of sex appeal instead of eccentricity — a high neck top with a very short skirt, or pearls with a minidress. 'There's an implicit sense of how a man would see this,' she said. 'A woman might say, ' Oh, that dress is cute.' But the real deciding factor would be a man saying, 'Oh, that's not a vibe.'" Attendees at the Young Women's Leadership Summit in Grapevine. Brittany Hugoboom, founder of the conservative magazine Evie, said that "many" of her customers "want to lean into our feminine traits like beauty, sensuality, softness, and charm." JAKE DOCKINS/NYT For Sherbert, the turning point when ultrafeminine styles moved from cheeky to sincere was the mania around tiny little bows in late 2023. 'On the TikTok shop, I would see Trump 2024 merchandise that was super coquette,' she said, referring to the TikTok aesthetic that emphasized ultra girly femininity. 'It was using this visual language that I had seen come up through Sandy Liang and people inspired by her,' said Sherbert. 'It was this brand of pastiche femininity that was so strong, and people [described as] reclaiming girlhood, but no one could ever substantiate why that was radical. It was vaguely feminist but ill-defined.' So how could so many women see different things in the same dress? 'People are consuming a lot of the same content, and then they go down different ideological rabbit holes,' she said. 'Maybe in this case, Republicans or conservatives are better at walking the walk of these lifestyles: They're actually going to go homestead. I'm not just going to live in Brooklyn and have this cottagecore fantasy.' Many of those in the new conservative movement, Sherbert pointed out, have been influenced by the culture and politics of an over-scrutinized New York neighborhood called Dimes Square, a pandemic party zone that nurtured a sense of skepticism around the left. Incidentally, Sandy Liang's shop is right in the middle, and Batsheva is just a few blocks away. Advertisement
Vogue
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Isabel Marant Resort 2026 Collection
When Isabel Marant, the brand, goes in for romance, it's always with a touch of grit. Take florals: garden blooms may be the classic trope for spring, but here creative director Kim Bekker grafted them with a lashing of Victoriana and the Far West to come up with a different, more nuanced attitude. 'We wanted to create a compelling contrast between delicate and tough elements,' Bekker offered during a showroom preview. She wasn't just talking about the women's pre-collection; the men's lineup was plenty poetic, too. When treated as all-over motifs, florals cropped up sprinkled like polka dots over a draped jersey dress, or as a kind of a hybrid between an ikat and a tie-dye motif. More impactful, however, were abstractions rendered through laser cutting on a white leather minidress or etched in metal studs and gradient eyelets on a black velvet jacket. Fans who go in for a little cowboy inspo will have fun with the western-leaning blouse and black dress here. But this collection is just as much about Victoriana, with cinched waists, ruffles, and revisited mutton sleeves-as-power shoulders. Refreshingly, save a couple of very pretty numbers in densely-enough worked lace, the brand isn't leaning hard on transparency. 'Sexiness doesn't need to be nakedness,' Bekker quipped. Instead, soft fabrics, faux fur, and lace made for easy, feminine silhouettes muscled up a bit with strong statement earrings. Edginess came in staples like raw denim, leather jackets, and boots that nodded westward but were carefully dosed and filtered by way of the Place des Victoires. Speaking of Parisian chic, the cult, slouchy, minuscule-heeled Edrik boot is back for tucking in billowy trousers or pairing with stick-straight jeans, now with laser-cut moons that wink as the wearer walks. But there's a new low ballerina boot in town, too: the Ferix seems to be Isabel Marant's answer to mesh. Take a closer look, and you'll see those cut-outs are tiny hearts—how in the world they pulled that off without going 'cute' is the brand's secret sauce.
New York Post
24-06-2025
- New York Post
4 Canadian roadtrips with a luxury twist
O Canada! She's a beauty but she's also at your convenience. Hop in your car, aim the GPS north and you've got an international trip. But where to go? We tapped Lonely Planet's Caroline Trelfer to offer some classy destination dupes that sub in for a few of our favorite summer escapes this side of the border. Swap the North Fork for Niagara-on-the-Lake Drive time from NYC: About seven hours. 4 Drink in this wine-soaked border town. Destination Ontario Vibe: Small town Victoriana. What to expect: This breezily charming, retro-accented small town anchors one of Canada's best wine regions and comes complete with killer waterfront perches. Mark on a map: Niagara-on-the-Lake sits right on the border with America, just across the river from Youngstown. Where to stay: Embrace the maximalist 19th-century vibe of the town by staying at the historic Prince of Wales hotel. with wood-paneled walls and overstuffed chairs. Or, opt for the riverfront Harbour House Hotel, which has a superb spa. What to do: There are more than 100 wineries here, all specializing in cool climate varietals so take your pick (book a tour with the Winery Guys so you can really indulge). 'This is one of the few places in the world known for ice wine, made with grapes picked and pressed several months after the initial harvest while they're still frozen in December or January,' said Trelfer. Once you've sobered up, head out to the Shaw Festival, named after George Bernard, which runs through the summer and fall drawing a quarter million folks each year. One highlight for 2025: Cole Porter's classic 'Anything Goes.' Where to eat & drink: Pick up a Canadian-style, crunchy-topped butter tart at the Niagara Home Bakery, Trelfer added, but sit down for supper at Treadwell Cuisine, a high-end farm-to-table spot with a superb locally skewing wine list. 'The best value is the three-course dinner tasting menu, with or without pairings,' she said, which starts at $84 per person. Need to know: It's home to North America's oldest golf club, a nine-holer on the shores of Lake Ontario established exactly 150 years ago — and open to the public for tee time. Swap the Adirondacks for the Laurentians Drive time from NYC: Around nine hours. 4 These lush mountains will have you riding high. Gaelle Leroyer Vibe: Canuck country living. What to expect: This is a winter ski destination that's more than appealing in summer and fall, with more than 16 parks and reserves in the region. 'They're known for rolling hills, thousands of fresh-water lakes and cozy log-cabin chalets,' said Trelfer. Mark on a map: Val David is the regional hub. Where to stay: The seven minimalist A-frame cabins at Farouche Tremblant are embedded in a 135-acre forest, allowing complete natural immersion, plus there's a small Nordic farm on the property for locavores. What to do: Bike a stretch of the 140-mile Le P'tit Train du Nord, a one-time railway line turned activity track or head to the Mont Tremblant ski resort, which is quilted with biking trails outside ski season. Parc National du Mont-Tremblant features 400 lakes and six rivers, and is the ideal place for a hike or two amid rare silver maples and red oaks. Where to eat & drink: Come for a Quebecois specialty at breakfast or lunch at the 80-year-old diner, Au Petit Poucet — try the maple-smoked ham, or pouding chômeur, a syrup-drenched bread pudding. Make sure to spend a summer evening on the terrace at the Archibald Microbrewery. Need to know: The Laurentian peaks are at a much lower average elevation than the Adirondacks, priming them for families and more amateur outdoorsy types. Try a beginner route at Via Ferrata du Diable. Swap Cape Cod for Andrews-by-the-Sea Drive time from NYC: Eight-and-a-half hours to Calais, Maine, then 20 minutes over the border. 4 History lives in this typically English outpost. New Brunswick Tourism Vibe: Newer New England. What to expect: This is Old Country, and much of the area has remained untampered with for centuries. 'It retains the look of an 18th-century British colonial settlement, with many buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries intact,' said Trelfer. Mark on a map: St. Andrews is the base for exploring the entire peninsula. Where to stay: Most rooms at the Treadwell Inn in the heart of town have private balconies, the ideal perch to sit out and watch the bay. Otherwise, try the more resort-like Algonquin — its red-roofed, mock Tudor design inspired Stephen King's description of the Overlook Hotel in 'The Shining' after he stayed there. What to do: There are whale-watching cruises from June to October, leaving from market wharf, or you can simply stroll down the gift shop-lined Water Street. Visit the painstakingly restored octagonal Pendlebury Lighthouse, too, dating back to the 1830s. Given the town's name, you'd expect superb golf here, and indeed, there are plenty of courses nearby, including an award-winning one at the Algonquin. Where to eat & drink: Grab seafood chowder or a grilled lobster sandwich at the Niger Reef Tea House, then compare the recipe with the same chowder at the Gables. Expect a creamy, shellfish-packed soup at both. Need to know: The waters here rise and fall dramatically, meaning there's a major difference when tide is in or out. The shape of Passamaquoddy Bay, and the tidal resonance, mean they rise and fall 28 feet or so twice each day. Swap the Hamptons for Prince Edward County, Ontario Drivetime from NYC: Around seven-and-a-half hours. 4 The geography of Sandbanks Provincial Park is beachy keen but you'll need a day-use reservation. Ontario Parks Vibe: Maple syrup meets Norman Rockwell What to expect: Think the East End of the 1960s or '70s, an artsy enclave where the main appeal is vineyards, crafts breweries and high-end thrift stores. Mark on a map: Look for the towns of Picton, Bloomfield, and Wellington. Where to stay: One major moment here was the opening of an outpost of the Toronto hipster hub the Drake hotel 10 years ago (many locals refer to life 'before the Drake' and 'after the Drake'). It brought a renewed energy to the area and is still the prime perch. Otherwise, try a cottage at the Lake on the Mountain Resort. What to do: Trelfer's tip for the beaches at Sandbanks Provincial Park here is crucial. 'You need a day-use reservation,' she said, which can be booked five days in advance via the park website, 'It's recommended, especially for busy summer weekends.' The best family beach is Outlet, though you'll likely skip the crowds heading to Lakeshore. The famous dunes here are, of course, at Dunes Beach. Where to eat & drink: Scarf fresh oysters on the lakeside at the Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar and try some natural wines at Stella's Eatery. Make sure to carve out time for a wine tasting tour, though, and check the Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association website to plan the best route for you (Hillier is a great starting point) Need to know: The beaches here can be rocky rather than universally sandy, as they're on a lake, so bring waterproof shoes.
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Father's Day Gift Guide 2025: The Best Luxury Hotel Gifts
These salmon flies are hand-tied in Scotland and sold by the Fife Arms. Luxury hotels are used to catering for - and enchanting - a clientele who are used to having the best of everything. Their superb curation of experiences also extends to their boutiques. Here are some of the best gifts to treat the father in your life. This Edinburgh hotel has opened a shop that shares its Victorian aesthetic. Edinburgh's most experiential hotel - The Witchery- has linked up with the city's most famous leather goods specialist MacKenzie. Inspired by the hotel's exuberant Victoriana, the Gladstone Overnight Travel Bag (£1595) combines leather and brass fittings with the finest Scottish, fully waterproofed canvas. Designed for weekend breaks, the large main compartment has a pocket suitable for a small laptop or a wash bag. The base is reinforced, and solid brass feet keep it off the ground, ensuring your bag is fit to take you on a lifetime of adventures. Bamford London has produced a new watch for the Hotel du-Cap-Eden-Roc on France's Cote d'Azur. Just in time for Father's Day, Hotel du-Cap-Eden-Roc has launched the Bamford Riviera Watch – a limited-edition collaboration between the iconic hotel in Antibes and the luxury watch company Bamford London. This sleek timepiece comes in three Mediterranean-inspired hues: Sea Blue, Sky Blue, or White. With its stainless-steel casing, self-winding movement, waterproof design, and the iconic Eden-Roc lifebuoy detailing the second hand. The Claridge's Cocktail Gift Set will help your father get a taste for Fumoir, Claridge's famous bar. Revisit - or anticipate - a trip to Fumoir, Claridge's justly venerated cocktail bar with this Claridge's Cocktail Gift Set (£175.00). A deeply delicious dive into the hotel's Jazz Age (see also the hotel's Bright Young Things Sleepover package). The set comes with two ready-mixed bottles of Fumoir's Old Fashioned and Negroni. The gift also contains a copy of Claridge's The Cocktail Book, plus olives and mixed nuts, wrapped up in a gift box with ribbons and a fully authentic sense of indulgence. Taurus is the new blended whisky from the Torridon hotel in Scotland. One of Scotland's best-kept hotel secrets, the family-run Torridon hotel in Wester Ross has just launched the limited edition Taurus Whisky (£125). Blending a two-grain whisky with a single malt, with hints of aged apple, stone fruits and vanilla, Taurus Whisky is a labour of love born from The Torridon's owner, Dan Bristow and his best friend Hamish, who hails from a distinguished distilling family. Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland Since it opened a century ago, Scotland's most famous hotel has been known as the Glorious Playground. With the opening of the Gleneagles Sporting Club, there's even more reason to love Gleneagles. Produced in Scotland with 100% Lambswool Shetland Cloth and inspired by the surrounding Ochil Hills, the Tweed Flat Cap (£130) comes in three sizes and is tailor-made for strolls across the countryside. The Newt has a new collaboration with the cult Niwaki producer of garden implements. In a particularly apt cross-pollination, Somerset's acclaimed Newt hotel and gardens in Somerset has joined forces with the cult Niwaki garden tool company. A blend of horticultural expertise with Japanese craftsmanship, the range includes the Niwake Samue jacket in Newt green and the Hori Hori tool (£38), a gardening tool for digging, weeding, and planting bulbs, engraved with The Newt's logo and accompanied by a custom canvas sheath. The Fife Arms in Braemar has showcased Scottish crafts since opening in 2018. Yes, Scotland is strongly featured on this list, but its craft traditions are currently in a very sweet spot that utilises both heritage skills and innovation. The Fife Arms has been instrumental in championing these. Based on the River Dee, TwinPeakes is dedicated to the art of fly fishing and has created a collection of bespoke salmon flies most suited to Highland fishing spots. The Fife Arms Salmon Fishing Tin (£145) has nine flies that are each individually hand-tied in Scotland using a palette of the Fife Arms colours. For different conditions in the season, the flies are presented in an engraved aluminium fly tin made by renowned fly tin maker Richard Wheatley Ltd and lined with sustainable British wool. These cricket socks epitomise Estelle Manor's playful approach to its boutique's offering There's nothing wrong with socks as a Father's Day gift, especially if they come from Estelle Manor, the ultra-hip Oxfordshire members' club and hotel. These nicely retro Estelle Manor cricket socks (£20) will multitask for other sports too and have plum detailing. The Hoxton has collaborated with Barc London to produce matching sweaters for dogs and their humans. For all the dog dads out there, the Hoxton Hotel group has collaborated with Barc London to produce a collection of matching knits. With two patterns - Out of Office and Holiday Club - using the colour palette of the global Hoxton group, each jumper helps support local dog shelters with a 10 per cent donation from the profits. Made from 100 per cent cotton, human ($60) and canine versions ($40) come in XS to XL versions.
