7 Prada Nylon Bag Dupes to Fuel Your 90s Revival

7 Prada Nylon Bag Dupes to Fuel Your 90s Revival

Friday, 31 January 2020

Trends from past decades come back and forth faster than you can say animal print. One decade that keeps on coming back for more is the 90s. Mom jeans, scrunchies, crop tops and platform trainers are just a few of the icons that have made it back into our everyday wardrobes over 20 years later. One of the most recent nostalgic styles to have made a comeback is the nylon shoulder bag. The most famous of the bunch? The Prada nylon bag. 

Miuccia Prada first starting using the synthetic fibre in the 80’s. Nylon was seen as the ultimate ‘anti-luxury’ material at the time and was reserved for packaging only. Prada said “Suddenly nylon started to look more intriguing to me than couture fabrics. I decided to introduce it to the catwalk and it challenged, even changed, the traditional and conservative idea of luxury. I am still obsessed with it”. The ultimate combination of high fashion and sports luxe, they are a true poster girl for 90s styles and one of Prada’s most recognisable pieces to date.

“Suddenly nylon started to look more intriguing to me than couture fabrics. I decided to introduce it to the catwalk and it challenged, even changed the traditional and conservative idea of luxury. I am still obsessed with it" MIUCCIA PRADA

 

The infamous bags were first released in the 90s and early 2000s, but have recently been reissued and are back with a bang. In recent months, they have been seen on the arms of many celebrities and fashion bloggers including Kylie Jenner, Elsa Hosk and Marianna Hewitt. They come in a whole array of colours from minimal monochrome, neutrals and pastel and bright shades. 

The real deal will set you back at least £500, so here are a few picks of the best dupes with a budget-friendly price tag: 

Weekday, £30

Urban Outfitters, WAS £24 NOW £18

Topshop, WAS £18 NOW £16

PrettyLittleThing, WAS £15 NOW £18

Ego, WAS £34.99 NOW £17.49

Asos, £18

Mango, £19.99

Hello, Soho : NYC Travel Guide

Hello, Soho : NYC Travel Guide

Tuesday, 28 January 2020

This article was originally written for a Whistles contract magazine.


Soho, an acronym for the location: South of Houston Street, is a neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City and is the home of our very first Whistles Store in the USA! Known for its shopping, innovative galleries and many restaurants, there’s an array of things to do in this buzzing downtown neighbourhood. To mark the grand opening, Team Silhouette have hand-picked our favourite mix of classy and unmissable Soho hotspots for the perfect travel itinerary. 

Stay

Soho Grand Hotel, 310 West Broadway

Tucked in between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, the Soho Grand Hotel couldn’t be in a more prime location. Staying here will place you directly in the thick of Soho and just a stone’s throw away from some of the area’s most popular hotspots. Concrete floors, a mix of luxurious leather and plush fabrics, cast-iron detailing and an array of exquisite art and wall paintings are just a handful of the beautifully unique characteristics that have awarded this hotel the name of Manhattan’s first luxury boutique hotel. The rooms have a warm, honey-like colour palette with statement mahogany furniture and copper details. While the rooms aren’t as big or elaborate as the public areas of the building, their modest size makes them welcome and cosy like a home away from home. The Soho Grand Hotel is an absolute haven for trendsetters and culture lovers alike. 

Credit: Soho Grand

What to do

Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street

Opened in 1970 with just 50 seats and a $19,000 annual budget, Film Forum is the only independent, non-profit cinema left in New York City and one of the very few left. It now has 489 seats and offers an array of rare and hard to find movies fresh from Cannes and Venice film festivals as well as mainstream blockbusters. Complete with Instagrammable features like neon signs and the retro movie theatre marquee, Film Forum is the perfect place for film buffs that want a taste of American tradition. 

Credit: Film Forum

Eden Fine Art Gallery, 470 Broome Street

Soho is bursting with art galleries that made the neighbourhood a contemporary art hotspot in NYC. The Leslie-Loham Museum, The Earth Room and one of the most famous, the Eden Fine Art Gallery. It’s a gallery bursting with colour, pop art and wacky personality. A trip here will awaken your senses with unique contemporary art all sharing the same theme: happiness. You can expect lively paintings of the cartoons Mr. Monopoly and Donald Duck and celebrities tattooed head to toe in the Louis Vuitton monogram. 

Credit: Eden Gallery

City Winery, 155 Varick Street

New York’s only fully functioning winery, City Winery is a definite Soho hotspot. Not only is It a winery but it is also a 350-seat concert space that showcases amazing upcoming musical talent as well as some well-known names in the industry including Sinead O’Connor, Lady Antebellum and Wyclef Jean. It’s the ultimate two-in-one evening. You can learn to make wine and taste an impressive selection too, discover new artists and dance the night away to live music. 

Credit:  City Winery

Eat

Balthazar, 80 Spring Street

Two decades after this iconic French brasserie was first opened by Restaurateur Keith Mcnally, Balthazar is still praised as the best bistro in Downtown Manhattan. Snails, onion soup, steak tartare and moules frites are just a few of the French classics on the elaborate menu served at all hours. The kitchen is known for never putting a foot wrong and is loved by locals, tourists and celebrities. Tarnished mirrors, dark woods, white table cloths and red leather booths give the interior a real French retro feel along with a buzzing atmosphere, you’d think you really were in Paris. Not just a Bistro but a bakery too, the Balthazar bakery is also recognised as one of the best in Soho, serving delicious pastries, patisseries, cakes and bread it’s a perfect destination for breakfast or a quick bite. 

Credit: Balthazar

Unwind 

Y7 Studio, 430 Broome Street

New York City is known as the city that never sleeps, so it’s important to take some time out of your trip for some downtime. What better way to unwind than a spot of yoga in a classy Soho studio loft complete with panoramic views of the hustle and bustle of the neighbourhood below. The studios are heated to around 28 degrees Celsius using special infrared technology, which encourages blood circulation. Instructors lead classes in semi-dark, candlelit rooms, with three key steps to the workout: warm-up, core vinyasa flows, and relaxing cool down. After a visit to Y7, you’ll be fully recharged and ready to resume your exploring. 

Credit: Y7 Studio

Cervical Cancer: "I was angry at myself for not having a smear test"

Cervical Cancer: "I was angry at myself for not having a smear test"

Monday, 27 January 2020

Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in women, with around 3,000 people being diagnosed each year in the UK. Shocking statistics like this show how absolutely vital it is that all women need to feel comfortable and confident in attending regular smear tests, but sadly this isn’t always the case. 

The consequences of missed appointments can be life-changing and someone that has experienced this first hand, is Isabel Munoz-Newsome, the front woman of London-based electro post-punk band Pumarosa. 

Munoz-Newsome hadn’t had a smear test before, but when she started seeing some unusual symptoms, she started to worry and knew it was time to bite the bullet. She remembers: “I just started getting a shadow of blood, but very faint, in my pants everyday. The doctor could tell straight away that something was wrong”.

In 2017, Munoz-Newsome was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She says: “It’s pretty shocking because you feel like you’re a young person and you shouldn’t be getting news like this”. In the same week as her diagnosis her husband released their debut album The Witches. It should have been an exciting time but Munoz-Newsome it was incredibly difficult, she explains: “For the last few years that’s all we wanted and it was finally happening. It was difficult to enjoy it. I remember that you feel like you might die… because you might”. 

Munoz-Newsome, like many others, says that she continuously put off the test because she felt uncomfortable about the procedure. “I was ashamed of taking off my trousers in a doctors surgery, which is ridiculous. I felt a sense of shame about having my vagina looked at,” she says.

A study by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust shows that embarrassment about the body plays a huge part in the lack of attendance for between a third and half of women in the UK, which is something Munoz-Newsome really felt herself: “I was angry at myself for not having a smear test. I was angry with society for making me feel ashamed about my body”. 

“It’s wrong that we feel that sense of shame about our own bodies. Women shouldn’t feel like that. Just go. Have a smear test, it’s a tiny bit uncomfortable. But it’s way more uncomfortable to have an operation” 

Luckily, her diagnosis was early enough for doctors to catch it and remove the cancer from her body, she explains: “I had a radical trachelectomy. They take out your cervix and the top of the vagina.” 

“We happened to have our Glastonbury gig three weeks after my operation and I was just determined to do this gig. It’s something that we’ve always wanted to do. It was important for me to do that. It hasn’t defeated me!” 

When caught in its earliest stage, more than nine in 10 people with cervical cancer survive. That 10 minute appointment that we all dread really can work wonders and many lives depend on them. So do as Munoz-Newsome says and “Just go. Just take that smear test!” 

But if the thought of that still makes you feel a bit iffy, you’ll be thankful to learn that new innovations are being developed to help ease your worries. Things like home testing kits, accessible screening for people with disabilities and non-invasive urine tests are here to help those that just can’t bring themselves to go. 

Let’s hope that Munoz-Newsome’s story acts as a motivation for more women to attend their screenings and that we see a rise in the amount of smear tests being taken.