To protect ourselves and our most vulnerable community members, we’re spending nearly every waking moment inside—so we’re looking to spruce up our living spaces however we can. At the same time, the suffering economy is driving everyone to tighten spending and be mindful of purchases—which is why we’re looking to H&M’s chic and budget-friendly home section for everything we need to fill out our spaces for cheap.
The retail giant, which recently donated $500,000 to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, has a surprisingly wide selection of everything from bedding to kitchenware, allowing for tasteful additions to your living space that you can feel good about. Plus, the brand is offering free shipping on orders $60 and up, and you can get 20% off by joining its free membership program. So whether you’re finally starting that plant family you set out to build this spring, or are just trying to keep all your dirty sweatpants in an aesthetically-pleasing vessel, there’s something for you on this list. Ahead, all the cute finds we’re adding to cart from H&M’s Insta-worthy home section.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
RIP, summer 2019—we will miss you and your slip dresses. But know that we will be wearing cashmere to your funeral.
See, sweater weather isn’t just a time of year—it’s a state of mind (or a coping mechanism, depending on your outlook). There’s no better way to welcome the sudden chill than by layering all of your favorite knits until you forget what it was like to go outside without a coat on.
Of course, the most luxurious layer of all is cashmere. And for a long time, it was synonymous with “expensive.” And while you can definitely find versions to invest in, brands like Reformation, Naadam, and Everlane sell great affordable cashmere sweaters that are just as cozy for a fraction of the price. And the feeling of soft, fuzzy cashmere on a chilly fall morning? That’s priceless.
Check out some our favorite affordable cashmere sweaters below, and shop your way to the best sweater weather yet.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Festival fashion has become its own category of dressing. Stores have entiresectionsdevotedto it. But it’s not necessarily something you want to invest a lot of money in, considering how much it cost to get out to the festival in the first place and especially thinking about the conditions you and your outfit will find yourselves in: out in the elements for hours and around thousands of people for multiple days on end. More often than not, everything you so carefully packed comes home with some sort of damage—or, worse, has disappeared altogether. When Ariana Grande is on the agenda, though, a missing scrunchie should be the last of your worries. Instead of shelling out a fortune for accessories that end up torn, muddied, or otherwise abandoned, stick with the affordable finishing touches in the following gallery that are just as festive. All the bucket hats, belt bags, and heart-shaped sunnies you could ever want—but also, wouldn’t feel hurt to lose—are ahead.
When I was in high school, I had a Gossip Girl–themed sweet sixteen. I find this hilarious for multiple reasons, but particularly because I insisted the DJ remix Kristen Bell’s voiceover of “xoxo, Gossip Girl” into multiple songs throughout the night. Every detail was meticulously planned down to the outfit: I wanted to channel Serena. But when my best friend suggested maybe I was more like Blair, in my affinity for ruffles and type-A neuroses, I’ll never forget what I said in return: “Are you kidding me? I would never wear a headband.”
Ten years later, I have bought multiple padded velvet headbands within the span of a couple of weeks. I can say with confidence they’re absolutely the kind Blair Waldorf would’ve approved. And while there really isn’t anything new about the headbands I’m currently obsessed with, my perception of them has completely shifted, and it appears everyone else’s has too. Headbands are no longer solely a symbol of preppy dressing and Queen B ruled adolescence, thanks in large part to Prada.
For the label’s spring 2019 show, designer Miuccia Prada sent models down the runway who exuded a different kind of femininity—one that was girlish but also kind of dark, which was defined by the hair accessories they wore. The padded headbands (in every color from blush pink to bright yellow) were seen in every look, paired with leather dresses worn with sheer socks and baby doll dresses styled over boy shorts. They really felt more renegade than prep school mean girl.
After seeing the images everywhere online, I wanted nothing more than to emanate this strong Prada girl energy. Unfortunately, the vibe doesn’t come cheap: a simple Prada satin headband costs $240, while an embellished one will run you anywhere from $970 to $1,100.
Buy Now: Deeply Padded Black Flock Velvet Headband Alice Band, $54.78, Etsy
My search for velvet padded headbands quickly led me to DesignByHummingbird, an Etsy shop run out of York, UK, with 274 five star reviews and 10 pages of what I imagine headband dreams are made of. I immediately ordered a plain black one for $27 and an embellished one (reminiscent of the studded Prada design) for $58.
When they arrived, I placed one on top of my head and decided this was how I was meant to live. I now completely understand why Kate Middleton is always wearing a headband, they’re basically the closest you can get to wearing a tiara in public (in a way that’s socially acceptable). I started wearing mine all the time, and it has been the source of almost every single compliment I receive. People who see me in it—friends, strangers, friends of strangers—demand (yes, demand) to know, “Where did you get that?!”
My favorite thing about headbands, more so than how regal they make me feel, is how they have successfully made every bad hair day not so bad. When my outfit feels too boring or my hair feels too greasy, I throw one on and it automatically makes everything better without me having to put in any additional effort. So the next time someone calls me Blair Waldorf, I’ll gladly take that as a compliment. I would definitely wear a headband.
If you shopped at Madewell between 2013 and 2015 or at sister company J.Crew between 2015 and 2017, you’ve appreciated the work of Somsack Sikhounmuong. The designer had a much-celebrated 16-year career at the company, serving as Madewell’s head of design before replacing Jenna Lyons as chief creative officer of J.Crew. But in September 2017, he left—and has mostly been out of the design spotlight since.
Though he did take some time to travel and not be the creative director of a major American fashion brand, Sikhounmuong has been working behind the scenes on an exciting new fashion project: the creative relaunch of Alex Mill, co-designed with the brand’s founder, Alex Drexler.
Alex Mill is a brand Sikhounmuong not only has a professional connection to—Alex Drexler, who cofounded it in 2012, is the son of former CEO and chairman of the J.Crew Group Mickey Drexler—but also shops at, personally. “I’d always appreciated the brand tenets, whether it was quality or [making] easy clothes for everybody,” Sikhounmuong says. He and the elder Drexler had kept in touch, even after both had left the company. (Drexler departed his position as CEO in 2017, before Sikhounmuong; earlier this year, he stepped down as chairman of the board, but remains an advisor for J.Crew Group.) “He called me up one day and asked if I’d be interested in meeting Alex of Alex Mill. I was like, Yeah, of course—I’d always been a huge fan of the brand, and I [thought I] probably should start looking for something soon,” Sikhounmuong remembers.
For his part, Alex Drexler was interested in Sikhounmuong’s background in women’s design—until now, Alex Mill has only offered menswear, but women have expressed interest in its pieces. It felt like a natural next step for the company, especially with Sikhounmuong on board. Alex Mill’s inaugural women’s collection, for spring 2019, offers “easy clothes, uncomplicated clothes—clothes that you look at and don’t have to think too much [about],” he says. Translation? Tons of pockets.
Courtesy of Alex Mill
Like its menswear, Alex Mill’s womenswear is made up of a laser-focused collection of pieces. “We were talking as a team [about how] people don’t really need more clothes—they just need the right clothes,” Sikhounmuong says. “It’s not five or six pairs of pants. You don’t need a lot to look good. You might just need these few pieces and every season you come back and collect a few more.” It’s a strategy he’s learned about and adopted since joining Alex Mill, and it’ll affect what you see with every coming season: “[Each collection] will be a buildup of the last season. It’s about taking things that we love and not abandoning them, but [rather] tweaking them. For spring, we have this short jacket; in the fall, you’ll see it in a new color and in denim. Sometimes we’ll look at something and [decide] we don’t tweak it—it’s okay to not have to change things every season, because it’s much simpler that way.”
Sikhounmuong’s time off after J.Crew has had an influence on how he approaches this collection too. “I remember thinking every single day how I loved how much time I had, and [thinking about] how to maintain that once I took a job,” he says. “The idea of these clothes is that, hopefully, they’ll save time—you don’t have to overthink what you’re going to wear, so you [can] do other things. You just get up, put it on, and don’t overthink it.”
Courtesy of Alex Mill
In all of Sikhounmuong’s design work, his aim is to create pieces that are approachable and accessible. One of Alex Mill’s mottos is “uniforms for individuals”—the brand interprets “uniform” not as clothes that makes everyone look the same, but rather as outfits that simplify your life. Individuality comes in through small customizable elements incorporated into the design: pins that can be added or removed, hearts stitched between buttons on a blouse that can be revealed or hidden, ties on a trench coat that can be closed or left hanging. The pricing of the collection also aligns with that goal: Everything’s under $200, with most pieces between $35 and $175.
Fans of Sikhounmuong’s work will be happy to know that one of his signatures made it into his first Alex Mill collection. “It’s funny—every time I show this stuff to people, the shirts always come up,” he says. “I always love a great shirt, whether it’s vintage shirt or men’s or oversized.” The Alex Mill version of the classic button-down are pretty standard when it comes to the cut, but are set apart by “very subtle points of designs” (like the hearts between buttons) that bring an emotional element to them.
Courtesy of Alex Mill
“These pieces are built to fold into your own existing closet—a lot of these pieces are ones that are going to be in there forever, hopefully,” he says. “I think so much of this stuff is meant to bring joy. I get that that phrase has sort of been played a lot, but honestly, it’s so true; there are so many things out there that are serious, whether it’s clothing or whatever, and it’s always nice to see something that just makes you smile. It’s just that emotional connection that makes you want to buy something or participate in the brand.”
Alex Mill’s Sikhounmuong-designed collection drops today on the brand’s website, as well as retailers like Nordstrom, Barneys New York, and Goop. Check out the full lookbook and product offering below.
If you’re still clinging to the idea that your trusty bomber jacket is all you need to leave the house, quick reminder here: It’s officially winter, and that means its time to break out the heavy artillery when it comes to outerwear. Rather than resign yourself to the same old black parka from here till spring, though, let this be the season you buy a new coat that you’re actually excited to wear—a puffer jacket, more specifically. It doesn’t need to be a big investment. There are actually plenty of puffer jacket styles you can buy for less than $150, and even more if you can manage $250.
After a few seasons of seeing a sea of supersize puffer jackets outside the shows at New York Fashion Week, chances are you finally see puffers as a winter wardrobe essential you need and not just something your mom used to make you wear. Luckily they’ve never been more on trend and the current selection of puffer jackets aren’t just warm but cool. From plaid to rainbow to floral, shop the 10 best puffer jackets under $250 below.
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