Pack these books for Coachella: Your music festival reading lineup

Calling all bookworms! Welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter.
I'm Meg. I write shut up and read, a book newsletter. I'm also on BookTok.
It's festival season. And no, I don't just mean The Times' Festival of Books happening at the end of the month (see you at my panel…?). I'm also talking about Coachella and, unfortunately, Stagecoach. Whether you're heading out to Indio, or enjoying the annual exodus of Angelenos, here are some books that give Coachella Valley vibes. As usual, you'll also find the latest in lit news below, plus, we hop on the phone with the Best Bookstore in Palm Springs.
Bikini Kill frontwoman and third-wave feminist punk icon Kathleen Hanna looks back on her life with introspection and candor in 'Rebel Girl.' She unburies trauma, writing frankly about personal traumas, including sexual assaults she survived as a teen and young woman, and reflects on how she made it out to the other side.
When I was 18, I went to Coachella. I should have been at home reading Sarvenaz Tash's 'Three Day Summer.' Tash reimagines 1969 Woodstock for the YA crowd, focusing on the budding romance between teens Michael and Cora against the backdrop of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead.
Before the Yuma tent, there was bloghouse. 'Never Be Alone Again' by Lina Abascal is an essential text on an under-documented era of music. Featuring a foreword by A-track, and interviews with everyone from Flosstradamus to Steve Aoki, this book is a time capsule that will have you scrolling through the Cobrasnake's archive and yearning for illegal MP3s.
'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test' by Tom Wolfe. Because, duh.
'A Visit from the Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan is a structural marvel. Egan time travels across 40 years in her postmodern Pulitzer Prize-winning book, passing the baton among 13 protagonists, zig-zagging her way through the story of music mogul Bennie Salazar, his klepto assistant Sasha, and a cast of kooky characters. Reading this book for the first time is a transcendent experience.
Taylor Jenkins Reid's 'Daisy Jones and the Six,' obviously. This list wouldn't be complete without the historical fiction novel loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac. Told as an oral history, the book weaves together interviews from the band members spanning nearly five decades. When you're done, binge-watch the television adaptation starring Riley Keough.
'The Final Revival of Opal & Nev' by Dawnie Walton follows a fictional iconic and interracial Afropunk rock duo, Opal Jewel and Nev Charles, who are on the brink of reuniting for the first time in over 40 years. Covering their reunion is Sunny, a Black journalist who has a personal connection to Opal, and is determined to land the tell-all story behind the pair. Walton's debut novel feels so authentic that I guarantee you will be double- and triple-checking that these characters aren't based on real people. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Forty years after Woodstock, co-creator Michael Lang and author Holly George-Warren wrote the seminal text for the festival. 'The Road to Woodstock' gives readers more than a behind-the-scenes look, it gives them backstage access, from finding Max Yasgur's farm that would ultimately host the fest, to negotiating with the Who and landing Jimi Hendrix — even if it cost an extra couple thousand dollars.
Lollapalooza's impact cannot be understated. That's the argument convincingly made in 'Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival' by Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour. In their oral history, the pair interview hundreds of artists, tour founders and Lollapalooza organizers, among others. In a review for The Times, Marc Ballon calls the account a 'fun, dishy and surprisingly moving read.'
(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)
Even warriors and queens, and warrior queens, risk it all for love. Join me — and legendary romantasy authors Melissa de la Cruz, Kristen Ciccarelli, Rachel Howzell Hall and Amalie Howard — at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books for a discussion on revolutionary romance. Tickets required.
In early 2020, Albert Jones was sitting in his cell on San Quentin's death row as he had every day for nearly three decades, when reports of a mysterious respiratory illness started to circulate. Through it all, Jones kept detailed journals chronicling his anxiety over catching the 'killer virus.' And when he did contract COVID, he recounted his agonizing recovery. Now, a Sonoma County bookseller who sees Jones' collected works as a rare glimpse into one of America's most notorious cell blocks is selling some of his writing and prison memorabilia at a New York City book fair.
Krysten Ritter was on vacation in Mexico 13 years ago when a man on a bike approached her. He was looking for his partner who vanished without a trace. In her new novel, which she co-wrote with Lindsay Jamieson, she takes that incident and turns it into a 'hall of distorted mirrors' thriller called 'Retreat.'
At 50, Chelsea Handler has it all, including her sixth No. 1 New York Times bestseller, 'I'll Have What She's Having.' 'I'm so proud of myself for never falling into getting married or having a baby when I know those things aren't natural to who I am,' she tells The Times.
In Kevin Nguyen's gripping novel, the U.S. government sets up internment camps for citizens of Vietnamese ancestry following a wave of terrorist attacks. Lauren LeBlanc reviews 'My Documents' for The Times.
This week we hopped on the phone with Paul Bradley Carr, Silicon Valley journalist turned co-owner of the Best Bookstore in Palm Springs. Carr and his partner Sarah Lacy relocated to Palm Springs in 2019. To their dismay, there was no bookstore in town. So in 2022, they opened their own. Though Carr says at his age the ideas of festivals 'exhaust' him, the Coachella Valley local offers up a recommendation for both festival revelers — and avoiders.
What are the most popular titles at your store lately?
The No. 1 thing that's been flying off the shelves is this Facebook book, 'Careless People.' That's just selling by the bucketload. Since Facebook tried to stop it, we can't keep it in stock. That book was not going to do well. ... [Now] everybody wants this book.
And then the other one in Palm Springs is 'The Guncle' by Steven Rowley, which just keeps selling. We sold more than a thousand copies. It won the Thurber Prize last year. It's set in Palm Springs. It's a deeply funny book, but also about grief. It's got something for everyone.
'The Snowbirds' by Christina Clancy has just started flying as well, which just came out a couple of weeks ago.
What are upcoming titles you're excited about?
The No. 1 I'm most excited about is my own book. It's called 'The Confessions.' … It's really a book about how we trust technology with all of our secrets and what happens if technology decides to confess them all on our behalf. It's the AI thriller for people who definitely don't want to read an AI thriller.
I'm also very much looking forward to 'Notes to John,' the Joan Didion book about the letters that she wrote to her husband about her therapy sessions. It's a collection of those. It's wild.
Vauhini Vara's new book, 'Searches.' Her sister died and she got ChatGPT to write an article about it to figure out the connection between humanity and technology and how technology can help us deal with human things. And this is the book spinoff where she explores human consciousness and technology consciousness. It's a really surreal book.
On the mystery side, 'Fair Play' by Louise Hegarty is f— amazing. … It's a really modern, interesting, bizarre take on the murder mystery. I'm only about halfway through, but I cannot wait for this book to be in store. It's brilliant.
Can you recommend a book that gives festival energy?
I'm 45 years old [laughs]. The idea of festivals just exhausts me. I want to stay at home with a book and not go to a festival. But I understand the premise of your question.
I would stay at home and I would read Sarah Tomlinson's 'The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers,' which is a brilliant book about fame and fandom and rock stars. It's the novel for if you have read 'Daisy Jones and the Six' and you're wondering what else to read.
The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs is located at 180 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs 92262
See you in the stacks — or on Goodreads!

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Los Angeles Times

8 hours ago

• Los Angeles Times

Why this author wrote about creative women as they aged: ‘They made much of less'

In this week's newsletter, we have a chat with Susan Gubar, whose new book, 'Grand Finales: The Creative Longevity of Women Artists,' profiles seven creators who found a second wind in their advancing years. We also look at recent releases reviewed in The Times. And a local bookseller tells us what's selling right now. Seventeen years ago, Susan Gubar was handed a death sentence. A distinguished professor emerita of English and women's studies at Indiana University and the co-author (with Sandra M. Gilbert) of 1979's 'The Madwoman in the Attic,' a groundbreaking work of feminist literary theory, Gubar in 2008 was staring down a terminal cancer diagnosis. A clinical trial involving an experimental drug prolonged her life and gave her the impetus to tackle a new project about seven artists — George Eliot, Colette, Georgia O'Keeffe, Isak Dinesen, Marianne Moore, Louise Bourgeois, Mary Lou Williams, Gwendolyn Brooks and Katherine Dunham — who entered a new phase of creative ferment and productivity as they grew older. I talked to Gubar about her new book, the myth of old age and the persistent stereotypes attached to female artists who may be perceived as having outlived their usefulness as creators. (Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to whose fees support independent bookstores.) Can you talk about how the book came about? In 2008, I was told that I had 3-5 years to live with late-stage ovarian cancer. The standard treatment was ineffectual. But then in 2012, my oncologist encouraged me to enroll in a clinical trial that was experimenting with a new drug. After nine years in the trial, she then urged me to take 'a drug holiday' since long-term use of the medication could cause leukemia. I am still on that holiday. An unanticipated old age made me appreciate the wonderful gifts longevity can bestow. In researching your subjects, what do they all share in common? All of my subjects are artists who experienced the losses of aging. They needed canes and wheelchairs and helpers while they suffered the pains of various diseases and regimens. One coped with blindness, another with deafness and still others with the loss of intimates. Yet in the face of such deficits, they used their art to exhibit their audacity, mojo, chutzpah, bravado. They're exemplars of Geezer Machismo. All of your subjects are women, who have a much tougher time in terms of earning respect and attention as they age. Can you speak to the obstacles they had to overcome as they reinvented themselves as artists in their advanced years? The stereotypical old lady is invisible or risible, but we know that many elderly women thrive. My old ladies did not approach their life stories as prime-and-decline narratives. Instead they reinvented themselves. In part, they managed to do this by changing their objectives as artists. They moved from the stage to the page or from elite to popular forms. Some of them underwent religious or political conversions that energized their last years. They fully understood the losses of old age, but they did not settle for less. Instead, they made much of less. What's interesting about these artists is that — contrary, I must admit, to what I thought would have been the case — these women were supported by men who became their benefactors, and helped them to negotiate their careers. Quite a few of the women that I write about were helped by much younger men in their lives, who became facilitators. This is true for George Eliot, Colette, Georgia O'Keeffe, Louise Bourgeoise, Mary Lou Williams and others. Williams, the great jazz pianist, was helped by a Jesuit named Father O'Brien, who helped her get control of her copyrights. Georgia O'Keeffe, in contrast, has been championed by photographer Alfred Stieglitz, but she had to leave him in her midlife to establish her autonomy late in life. He was very controlling, even though he definitely established her reputation. She was aided in her later years by a man young enough to be her grandson. You are an octogenarian, and writing a book isn't easy, as you know. Where do you find the inspiration and the strength to keep going as a creator? What keeps me going is what kept my subjects flourishing in their seventies, eighties or nineties. Any sort of creative activity involves expression, which is a great antidote to depression. It may take the form of sculpting, painting, playing an instrument, teaching a dance routine, making a quilt or a garden, establishing a park or a prize, you name it. Without my two current writing projects, I'd be lost. Even (or maybe especially) in our dismal political climate, ongoing creative projects make each day an adventure. Heather Scott Partington reviews 'Fox,' Joyce Carol Oates' mystery novel about a murdered pedophile. 'Fox has the bones of a potboiler but is supported by the sinew of the author's elegant structure and syntax,' writes Partington . Leigh Haber weighs in on Jess Walter's book 'So Far Gone,' calling the author a 'slyly adept social critic [who has] clearly invested his protagonist with all of the outrage and heartbreak he himself feels about the dark course our world has taken.' Daniel Felsenthal thinks Geoff Dyer's memoir 'Homework' is somewhat meandering, yet 'bursts with working-class pride, a fond and mournful belief in the possibility of the British welfare state.' And Paula L. Woods talked to five mystery writers about the inspirations for their new books. This week, we're talking about hot books with Nat Eastman, the manager of Chevalier's Books on Larchmont Boulevard in Hollywood, the oldest independent bookstore in Los Angeles. What books are selling in the store right now? We've been moving Percival Everett's 'James' and Ocean Vuong's 'The Emperor of Gladness' hand over fist. Thanks to BookTok, Asako Yuzuki's 'Butter' has become a mainstay on our bestseller list. We also had the honor of hosting Bryan Byrdlong for a reading from his debut poetry collection 'Strange Flowers,' and we've been handselling it right and left ever since. What are your perennial sellers? Kaya Doi's series of picture books, 'Chirri and Chirra,' is a smash hit around here. Joan Didion and bell hooks are reliable customer favorites as well. As an indie shop, though, we love the deeper cuts too — whether that's 'Água Viva,' literally any Yoko Ogawa work or something from our zine collection. Are you seeing more young people buying books? Despite all the reports about declining literacy rates among young folk, our children's section makes up a quarter of our sales. We really try to carve out a space for the next generation of readers with programs like storytime, a middle-grade book club and summer-reading punch cards. To us, messy shelves are annoying everywhere except the kids' section!

Washington Post

10 hours ago

• Washington Post

The perfect man exists. He's called a ‘book boyfriend.'

He's respectful. He listens when she talks and remembers what she says. He would probably kill for her — and he would definitely die for her. Needless to say, he would not have to be begged to take out the trash. He is what romance readers call a 'book boyfriend.' On BookTok and Bookstagram — the thriving social media communities dominated by romance and fantasy readers — the term has become ubiquitous. 'Book boyfriend' describes characters who seem to have strode, galloped or brooded onto the page from somewhere in the recesses of the reader's deepest desires. If you have ever closed your eyes and imagined waking up in Pemberley to a shirtless Fitzwilliam Darcy asking if you would do him the honor of accompanying him on a turn about the park, you could say that you've had a book boyfriend. Simply put, a book boyfriend is a character you can't stop thinking about — and longing for — beyond the page. Conversations about book boyfriends tend to be as wry and playful as two protagonists flirting on a yacht off the coast of Italy. Readers use the term as shorthand to convey a particular reading experience. It does not describe imaginary friends. 'We know what we read is fiction,' said Jeanette Moreno, a BookToker whose running list of top book boyfriends features 49 carefully selected names. 'We're not delusional.' 'When we read a romance book, and the main character is a billionaire who takes a woman on a date and flies her to France, we know that's not real,' she said. 'We don't care that he's a billionaire or that he buys her jewelry. We care that he remembered she doesn't like pickles in her sandwich, and he takes her coffee to bed. It's the little thoughtful things that really stick with us.' Romance book sales continue to soar, bolstered in part by readers who pass around these lists of fictional men as if sharing the details of a particularly gentle dentist or a skilled massage therapist. Publishers market new romance books with the words, 'Let me introduce you to your new book boyfriend.' The phenomenon seems to speak to a new, or more heightened, way that some readers are fulfilling their emotional needs through fiction. It also seems to reflect strain in heterosexual dating dynamics: Men are from Mars, women are conducting emotional affairs with fictional astronauts. 'If you want to talk about what romance really is, it is a genre that tells us about how people want to live their lives,' said Marcela Di Blasi, an assistant professor in the Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies Department at Dartmouth who is working on a book about the politics of romantasy, the popular genre that combines romance and fantasy. 'People who don't read romance or romantasy might hear the term 'book boyfriend' and come to the same conclusions that people came to when 'Madame Bovary' came out,' she said. In Gustave Flaubert's classic 1857 novel, Emma Bovary reads so many romance novels that she 'became herself, as it were, an actual part of these imaginings,' slowly ruining her life by living as if she were a romantic heroine. But book boyfriends aren't just an escape into fantasy, Di Blasi said. They give readers a blueprint for talking to their loved ones about how they want to be treated and how they don't. Consider Malakai, the romantic lead in the 2022 novel 'Honey & Spice' by Bolu Babalola. Malakai has a 'lethal' smile, and he makes the protagonist laugh. He appreciates her mind and tells her, 'I like me better when I'm with you.' Babalola said that hearing that her character has been heralded as a book boyfriend is 'the biggest honor.' But she doesn't see the man she wrote as an exercise in fantasy. 'I want people to come away thinking that there's hope to find people like this in real life,' Babalola said. 'The things that I give a male protagonist, they are not far-fetched things: It's kindness, it's tenderness, it's seeing the woman as an individual and knowing her ambition.' Are fictional men, with their jutting cheekbones, thick wallets and bottomless wells of empathy turning women off flawed-yet-corporeal men? Female romance readers sometimes struggle with the question. Some men feel that book boyfriends have set an unreasonable ideal. Moreno said she hears from men all the time who tell women readers, 'It's so hard for us because you compared us to the book characters that you read!' But are men really suffering from comparisons to their fictional counterparts? Moreno says that in her actual dating life, few men do things as basic as offering to pay for coffee, holding a door open or texting her to ask if she got home safe. Reading about better men in novels, she said, 'makes you think, 'Wait — no, I do deserve better!'' 'Why do men get so frustrated about us having book boyfriends?' she wondered. 'Is it just because they can't step up?' Indeed, the real-life book boyfriend is not a contradiction in terms: On social media, a man who raises his girlfriend's chin to kiss her gently on the head, or a man who reads in bed, is labeled a real-life book boyfriend. And plenty of real-life couples keep lists of book boyfriends, while also staying true to their real-life boyfriends and husbands. Great book boyfriends who live in books may tell us about how we want to be loved. But they don't offer a set of instructions that can or should be followed precisely in life. Peeta Mellark of the Hunger Games series is considered an iconic book boyfriend for his yearning heart and strategic mind — so committed is he to Katniss that his love only waivers when the government injects him with a venomous mind-control substance. On the other hand, Rhysand from the mega-popular 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' by Sarah J. Maas is widely celebrated as an all-time great book boyfriend in part because he heals and protects protagonist Fayre. But he also sexually humiliates her and coerces her into spending time with him. Of course, neither the fantastical nor the problematic book boyfriend is new. In 1848, a literary magazine reported that 'New England States were visited by a distressing mental epidemic, passing under the name of the 'Jane Eyre fever.'' Boarding schoolgirls and governesses were the most likely to be afflicted, the writer reported, as well as young men who, inspired by the book's male protagonist, 'began to swagger and swear in the presence of the gentler sex, and to allude darkly to events in their lives which excused impudence and profanity.' This was, presumably, a result of women and girls expressing attraction to a made-up character who kept his wife in an attic and who, the text tells the reader repeatedly, isn't even handsome. Like today's book boyfriends, Mr. Rochester's impact seems to be a joint production of the writer's deftness and the readers' wild imaginations. As in 'Jane Eyre,' book boyfriends in the 'dark romance' genre commit acts that would send real boyfriends to prison. 'I think readers are very aware that there is a difference between a fictional man on the page written by usually a woman or femme, and an actual human man who has been shaped by society,' Di Blasi said of violent and controlling book boyfriends. 'Having these characters is a way for a lot of readers to explore those things in a safe way.' A more unique and recent trend, Di Blasi noted, is romance novels in which 'men learn from their mistakes.' In books such as those by the writer Adriana Herrera, 'they are accountable,' Di Blasi said. 'They don't wait to be educated by the women in their life.' This is quite a contrast to Jane Eyre who, 178 years ago, had to go crawling door-to-door begging for porridge and then nearly married her creepy cousin before Mr. Rochester was changed enough for the two lovers to reconcile. Recently, Babalola gave a talk about her books at a high school. A teenage girl raised her hand and said that she loved reading 'Honey & Spice,' and confessed: 'It made me not want to date these guys in high school.' If a guy wasn't going to act like her best friend, be fun to hang out with and add value to her life, what was the point? Babalola was happy to hear a teenager articulate that you don't have to just accept whatever a man offers if it isn't what you really want. 'At the crux of it, I just want women to maintain their standards,' she said. 'And here's the thing: I don't think it's necessarily 'high standards' to want a man who's kind, and loving, and tender.' Jenny Singer is a freelance writer in San Francisco.

Cosmopolitan

10 hours ago

• Cosmopolitan

15 ways to wear gingham outfits, as the picnic print becomes everyone's favourite summer staple

It's official: summer is fully in bloom. What does that mean? Well, apart from setting out to find the perfect nostalgic pair of jelly shoes and strategising ways to make denim work in this heatwave, we're also thinking a lot about how to integrate gingham into our wardrobes. And when we say 'gingham', no, we're not meaning just any old check print (nor are we referring to houndstooth, tartan, or plaid, thank you very much). We're very specifically talking about g-i-n-g-h-a-m: the picnic tablecloth print, turned beloved summer wardrobe pattern. Lately, gingham has been everywhere: from Bella Hadid x Frankies Bikinis prairecore bikinis and midi dresses to Copenhagen fashion influencer-style gingham blouses and scrunchies. But there are also plenty of other ways to style the trend if you want to branch out from swimwear and Copenhagen street style: whether it's festival-friendly bloomer shorts (y'know, the ones that have been soooo popular this szn), a voluminous bubble skirt, Sabrina Carpenter-esque retro capris, or even tailoring. Below, we've rounded up a whopping 15 ways to wear gingham, complete with shopping recs hand-picked by our fashion team. And, yep, we tracked down the perfect gingham bandana for ya... Thank us later! Behold: gingham bloomer shorts. Bloomies proved to be one of the dominant trends at Coachella this year, and the micro shorts with lacy fringing are undeniably comfy and generally easy to wash, making them a winner on practicality alone. Style with a peasant blouse or crop top and stick on a pair of cowboy hoots and, congrats, you've ticked the gingham, bloomie and western trends all in one... If you're anything like us, you're always looking for a summer staple that can take you from work meetings, to dinner, to a nice ol' winebar. And voilà: the gingham midi dress has got your back. Despite the summery pattern, the longer hem length is a bit more formal (dare we say...'grown up'?) and can work for all manner of occasions depending on your choice of accessories. We'd opt for heeled flip flops or kitten heels for a date/drinks, loafers for work, and jelly shoes for a summery casual day out. If you are looking to prolong the indie sleaze trend, well, we don't blame you! The late 2000s and early 2010s are a treasure trove of under-explored nostalgia, and a bubble skirt is an easy way to tap into this time period and the era's love affair with maximalist silhouettes (à la the peplum). The trick here is to let the skirt take centre stage, so try your gingham bubble skirt with a short-sleeved tee or a plain tank top. Product Details There's a reason that 'jeans and a nice top' was a generation's guiding motto for assembling an outfit: it just works! With a gingham top, you can easily summer-ify a pair of jeans, and bring a bit of sunshine to your outfit even if the British weather necessitates a more sensible fit. However, you can also go full gingham and try a pair of gingham trousers in a contrasting colour, styled with some sandals. This blouse features tie straps and a crinkled taffeta material with a red and white check pattern. We love a good shirt. You can style your gingham shirt over a pair of matching gingham boxer shorts (see below!) or use it as an eye-catching top to go with linen shorts or trousers, and a simple pair of trainers. Depending on your work vibes, you can also wear a gingham shirt with a pair of light trousers to the office: the sky's the limit. The Classic: Linen, Green Gingham. Our mid-length, flattering fit shirt meets lightweight linen in this cool-but-cute shirt. Pair with the matching boxer shorts for a co-ord look or throw over a white t-shirt and jeans. Designed in London, made in Turkey Product Details Slightly dropped shoulder Single buttoned, regular cuff Two pleats across the yoke Materials 100% Linen with Shell buttons. Made in Turkey. Fit Advice Take your normal size, intended for a slightly loose fit The model in image 1 is 177cm/ 5'9" and wears a UK10 The model in image 2 is 179cm/ 5'10.5" and wears a UK10 The back length of a UK10 is 71cm/ 28" Find out more about our Shirt Shapes and Sizing Product Care Machine wash at 30°C or below, on a regular cycle with similar colours. Hang to air dry after a quick shake, and to ease the ironing effort, always hang on a hanger. If possible, avoid direct sunlight unless the fabric is white, and never tumble dry. Ironing is optional due to the relaxed nature of the shirt but is recommended for a pressed finish. It's an easy fabric to iron: make sure the shirt is reversed, use low-medium heat, and finish by steaming. We would always recommend rolling instead of folding to help reduce wrinkles. Personalisation Whether it's for yourself or a gift, our monogramming service is the perfect personal touch to add to your WNU shirt. For inspiration and to learn more, take a look at our Monogramming Page As mentioned above, a pair of gingham boxer shorts can work well in a co-ord with a matching (or contrasting, if you're feeling wild) gingham shirt for a nice lunch date or a cute day out. You can also style with a baseball cap, t-shirt and trainers for a more low-key, comfy look (FYI, it works v well as an airport fit). If you're meeting friends or a date for an al fresco dinner or cocktails, a gingham mini dress can be a great option. There are so many different variations, from a more structured, strappy gingham dress to a short and sweet cutesy, gingham, mini dress with a peter pan collar. Regardless of the style, you can tap into a western/prairiecore vibe with a pair of cowboy boots or go more preppy with a pair of ballet flats or Mary Janes. If you're looking for a statement summer wardrobe piece, look no further. On holiday, everyone needs a lightweight pair of trousers, and selecting a gingham pair in an eye-catching colour is a great outfit hack. Dress up with statement jewellery and a strappy top and sandals, dress down with a pair of Birkenstocks, a denim jacket and a simple tee. This product has a smaller fit than usual. The easy pull-on style of these green and white gingham wide-leg trousers makes them perfect for pairing with dressed up or down outfits, made from a comfortable cotton blend with an adjustable elasticated waistband and side pockets. Regular fit Elasticated waistband Wide leg Cotton-blend Side pockets Short to fit inside leg 27" x 69cm. Regular to fit inside leg 29" x 74cm. Long to fit inside leg 31" x 79cm. XL Tall to fit inside leg 33" x 84cm. 65% Recycled polyester, 35% Cotton. Items with the curve logo are available in sizes 18 and above., Our tall collection is designed to fit women 5'10" and above. This has been proportionally increased through the body, leg and sleeve to achieve the perfect fit. Available in sizes 8-20. Midi skirts are a staple of two major summer trends: westerncore and boho chic. With gingham, you're taking things well up a notch. Wear with a peasant blouse and boots for the former, and a long tank top and a medallion belt (yep, those are back) for the latter, during festival season. You can also rock a more structured, contrasting top in a neutral like black or white and put on a pair of smart sandals and you've got the ideal look for a garden party, dinner at a friend's house, or a particularly trend BBQ engagement. 'Gingham' and 'tailoring' aren't words that immediately seem to go together but, like with peanut butter and jelly and other unlikely yet iconic duos, they work together perfectly. From blazers to waistcoats or smart trousers, there are a number of gingham tailoring options out there, which tend to work well when styled with smart sandals, loafers or ballet flats (the latter in leather/pleather, not mesh or jelly, if you're going into the office). We recommend opting for either a larger check and/or darker colours to make this one work appropriate, if that's your aim. Heading on a beach holiday this summer? An easy way to tap into the gingham trend is with gingham swimwear, either a one-piece or a bikini. Despite obviously having a purpose by the beach or pool, depending on the level of support required, bikini tops can also double up as a tiny crop top in a pinch (specifically in a laidback club or bar, or for a relaxed day of mooching). Level up your poolside look with a pair of heeled flip flops and a straw sunhat. Composition & Care While it's summer, we still need a cover-up from time to time. A gingham jacket works perfectly for chillier days when styled with regular capri pants and a t-shirt, or with a full gingham look (bonus points for contrasting colours). This one's great for the weekends or for nippy evenings on holidays. Gingham can serve major retro vibes and nowhere is this truer than when applied to gingham capri pants. Capri pants have had a major resurgence this summer for their 90s-chic energy, but a pair in gingham throws it back even further, channelling a Sabrina Carpenter 1960s nostalgia. Rock yours with with some matching headgear (see below), a crop top, and some espadrilles for a party-perfect, TikTok-ready look for when you're bopping around to Sabrina's latest single on the dance floor. House of CB is a leading British womenswear brand, internationally acclaimed for its feminine, luxury and versatile pieces. Scruncies are a fave for a reason, a way of delivering a fun hair look even when you're between washes. When it comes to the gingham trend, a fun hair accessory in the pattern can be an easy way to dip your toe in and see if the look works for you. Try it in a bright colour to inject some boldness into an otherwise lowkey look. Our red bandana scrunchie features a gingham edge trim. We suggest pairing it with our Macy tote bag, available in the same print. More about me Bandanas, particularly in gingham, are going to be a major hair look this summer. They work well with festival attire like handkerchief tops and short-shorts, or with a more westerncore look like denim shorts and cowboy boots, or even your bikini. Megan Wallace (they/them) is Cosmopolitan UK's Former Sex and Relationships Editor covering sexual pleasure, sex toys, LGBTQIA+ identity, dating and romance. They have covered sexuality and relationships for over five years and are the founder of the PULP zine, which publishes essays on culture and sex. In their spare time, they can be found exploring the London kink scene and planning dates on Feeld.