Sunday 23rd November 2025

Culture

Brown boots, black boots, and the politics of autumn style

Autumn always brings a question of existential importance: brown boots or black boots? It’s more than a colour choice; it’s a subtle declaration of intent. Fashion might be dismissed...

“You’re going to make mistakes”: Katie Robinson on fashion and sustainability

Katie Robinson is a sustainable fashion journalist, content creator, and campaigner, with experience working...

Alternative Oxford: The changing stereotypes surrounding body modifications

Cienna Jennings visits Oxford’s renowned tattoo and piercings studio, Tigerlily, to speak with the...

Fashion around Oxford – Iggy Clarke

Iggy Clarke, the president of the 2025 Oxford Fashion Gala, shares her style secrets and where she’s shopping right now.

Val Lewton’s 75-Minute Masterpieces

A lot of old movies are boring. That admission may cost me my credibility as a film nerd, but it’s true. But there are classic films that even my limited attention span can wholeheartedly enjoy, and very high on that list are the horror movies of Val Lewton.

Pinks ribbons: The stagnation of a story

"As much as progress has been made, breast cancer remains a deadly, frightening disease that has cut many, many lives tragically short."

Reclaiming Taylor Swift’s Songwriting Genius

On Tuesday 25th of January 2022, Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn woke up and chose violence – or at the very least, a...

These boots are made for livin’: Queer footwear at Oxford’s sparkliest ball

When I showed my friend the dress I was going to wear for the Glitterball (a floor length beige dress covered in rainbow sequins...

Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Warning: article contains spoilers The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has a reputation for fun films for casual people. While this doesn’t necessarily detract from the...

The politics of pink: A brief history of pink

"the ever-changing significance of the colour pink has worked to define and redefine its own politics."

Wearing the colour pink

"just as paler pinks bring to mind troubling questions about our femininity and how we express it, brighter pinks can tread a fine line between feminine power and caricature."

The Black Sheep: On Princess Diana’s statement sweaters

Though she is often remembered for her most daring and glamorous looks, especially the infamous Revenge Dress, I find the Princess of Wales’ casual looks featuring statement sweaters even more iconic. Some have described them as ‘grandma sweaters’ or ‘campy’, but it is clear that they remain influential and appreciated in fashion.

Pythagoras’ Nightmare: Reincarnation, Coldplay and the Music of the Spheres

Don’t get me wrong. The album is upbeat, cheerful, maddeningly optimistic and, at least intermittently, catchy for most of us mortals. But something tells me it’s not quite the empyreal sound Pythagoras would have had in mind.

Exclusive report! The fashion trends to rock 2022

When Madi, Iustina and I introduced ourselves on the now-rebooted Cherwell fashion Instagram (@cherwellfashion – give us a cheeky follow), we each answered the...

I’m a student… get me out of here!

It is a thought that fills me with me with apprehension. A feeling so confusing that even my stomach does not understand whether to...

Discovery or Rediscovery?

"There is a euphoric wonder spun when artists like Billie Eillish and Dua Lipa emerge with albums so assured and confident that they immediately dominate over experienced, veteran creatives, or when debut works with less than universal acclaim are celebrated by the niche who wish to state, ‘I liked them before they became cool’. The artistic debut has always acted as a magnet, in the sense that critics seem to take pleasure from attempting to be the first to celebrate new voices in the field."

New Year’s Resolutions: On the art of failing

"You might have made some mental goals before midnight, or contributed some flimsy ambitions to a conversation about self-love, or maybe even written a list in your notes app (that vast, interminable junkyard), but the chances are you have, or will, fall behind. I will be the first to say that I lasted an embarrassing three days on a goal to exercise daily."

Dirk Bogarde’s Psychosexual Nightmare

"But when I talk of Bogarde ‘telling the story of himself’ through his performances, I’m not just talking about a few quirked eyebrows and suggestive comments. What shines through in so many of his films is compelling bitterness. Within the Wildean wit and affable flamboyance was a cold, grudge-bearing streak: he had a number of fellow actors and directors  whom he inexplicably viciously turned against, including John Mills and Richard Attenborough. On film work, he stated flippantly but firmly in a letter to film critic Dilys Powell, "I detest the job and most of the time I detest the people.""

Blacking Down

Blackfishing is a word that though more or less unknown little more than five years ago, has now become part of everyday speech. While...

Back To School: Sex (Re)Education

The well-established mix of humour and honesty that Sex Education brings to these themes is a refreshing approach, and enables an exploration of a huge variety of sensitive issues regarding sexuality, as well as more light-hearted everyday adolescent dramas.

Rewriting the detective story for the modern age

A hero, vested with the authority of the law, doggedly pursues every lead that comes their way. With methodical tenacity, they unravel a web of lies to uncover the moral transgression at the centre of the plot. Truth is established, the guilty are punished, and order is restored. Details vary, but a basic structure persists: the detective drama formula has long been a mainstay of television.

Review: West Side Story (2021)

CW: sexual assault. For musical theatre purists and sceptics alike, Steven Spielberg’s reboot of West Side Story remains a hard sell. According to the naysayers,...

Review: Songs of the Silenced // Musketeer Productions

In the maelstrom of reinterpretations of misunderstood Homeric women and Greek tragedy revivals, the show’s lyrics stand out for consistently centring the core themes and questions asked by the ancient texts themselves.

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