How to navigate family politics this festive season
For many of us, awkward conversations have become a mainstay of winter gatherings. The festive period promises a lot: turkey, tinsel, and a soundtrack of perennial arguments. For a large portion of us, the season has become something other than a celebratory get-together and more of an endurance test, especially...
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Opinion – stop letting men get away with silence
The belief that another person will complete us means that many people are settling for the bare minimum in relationships, rather than taking the time to get to know themselves as an individual. For modern dating to work, we need to recognise the importance of reciprocal communication between partners...
Why Miss Universe has triggered a ‘wokeness’ debate
The beauty pageant is being hailed as the death of wokeness, and the result of the ‘Trump effect’. Victoria Kjær Theilvig, a 21-year-old Danish woman, is Miss Universe 2024. She’s blonde, blue-eyed, and undeniably beautiful – a fact that should been met with applause and little more. Instead, her win has ignited...
What’s up with people hiring witches on Etsy?
The phenomenon isn’t as uncommon as you might think. Like many individuals, Riley Wenckus felt distraught and disempowered in the aftermath of Trump’s re-election. Wenckus was particularly furious at Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, and the key role he’d played in Trump's victory. So she turned to an unconventional...
Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year is ‘manifest’
Meaning ‘dream’ or ‘willing something into existence,’ it beat out ‘brat’ and ‘demure’ after a surge of celebrity-inspired popularity on social media. Clearly, 2024 was all about positive thinking. ‘Manifest’ has been named word of the year by Cambridge Dictionary. Though it’s more than six centuries old, it’s been given new...
Has being a ‘roadman’ finally gone out of fashion?
It’s 2024… ‘low them tings there People, especially kids, will adopt what’s deemed to be fashionable. Thankfully, the ‘chav’ to ‘roadman’ arc appears to be on its last legs in England. Growing up in south London in the noughties was incredibly fun. Your mates were always out after school on bikes...
Are Christmas markets losing their appeal?
We’re only halfway through November, yet Christmas markets have been open across the UK for weeks already. Are these once-magical festivities becoming too blatant of a cash grab? Although the team at Thred always looks forward to our annual Winter Wonderland trip, we’re not oblivious to the fact that we’re basically queuing up to get scammed. You know the drill: cosy wooden chalets, glittering trinkets, the wafting smell of grilled sausages,...
Exploring Gen Z’s love of horoscopes
From Aristotle to A-listers, astrology has been popular for centuries. Gen Z is particularly obsessed, with star signs playing a major role in how they interact on social media. Whether you believe in the power of the Zodiac or not, star signs have been in magazines since 1930, when the Sunday Express printed a birth horoscope for Princess Margaret Rose on August 24. Those of you who can...
Are cigarettes on trend again?
Amid the resurgence of smoking among celebrities and influencers, a recent study shows that 57 per cent of young people think it’s fashionable, despite the risks being so well-known.
Of every trend to make a comeback, smoking was an unlikely contender.
It’s 2024, after all, the year that saw efforts to address nicotine addiction take centre stage.
In the UK, Labour has banned disposable vapes and
Is ‘little treat’ culture sabotaging your financial future?
Coping with the stressors of everyday life isn't easy, but is rewarding ourselves with a little treat anytime we complete a task really necessary? In recent years, a tantalising trend has taken hold of the internet. It's been celebrated on TikTok, showcased in memes, and glorified in comfortingly relatable social media posts. I'm talking about ‘little treat’ culture, whose message is simple: go on, buy yourself a little something nice! Perhaps a...
