Don’t miss THE GLOSS MAGAZINE, out today, Thursday January 4, with The Irish Times …
A Fresh Start
Today, just like every weekday at THE GLOSS, we performed the same routine: we got to The Courtyard, unlocked our offices, switched on the lights, cranked up our computers. The last person to have their coat on walked down the Main Street to the coffee shop to pick up the team’s flat whites, skinny cappuccinos and americanos – all extra-hot, hoping Dawid, our proudly newly naturalised Irish citizen barista, was on duty. (He makes the best coffee.)
We cherish our daily routines dearly – they are acts of privacy in a world accustomed to playing out the banal-made-perfect day-to-day online. As author Eliane Glaser says: “Living in a culture that simultaneously demands perfection and orders us to be happy with our imperfections, produces a paralysing dilemma.” In a culture torn between the security and pleasure of the routine and the need to be extraordinary, the middle ground, or average, may actually be “our best life”.
But we need to be careful about what average means now. So-called Ms Average of our times, Mrs Hinch, the former hairdresser from Essex whose cleanfluencing Instagram account dedicated to displaying various aspects of her at-home life and glorification of domestic cleanliness generates an audience in thrall to banality, epitomises how far away from average we now think average is. And it also reminds us of Simone De Beauvoir’s 1949 book, The Second Sex, when De Beauvoir took aim at housework as torturously repetitive and inane, stunting the self through endless, ubiquitous domestic routines and rituals that offer “little affirmation of individuality”. Why on earth do we, 75 years on, celebrate, elevate and worship those who show us how to wipe down a surface!
But properly, quietly average, living our lives in contented acceptance, that’s an idea we can get behind. The middle ground is a good place to inhabit. Forget an idealised image of how life should be and make peace with how it is right now. Could 2024 be the year to ditch the pressure for our routines to be amazing, and embrace the everyday, non-performatively, and in private?
Inside the issue: Susan Zelouf shares pearls of wisdom and desire; Aislinn Coffey shows how to layer up stylishly; Maria Neuman explores the benefits of an early morning routine; Edel Coffey selects good books for January reading; Ciara McQuillan picks out the best new restaurants to try this year; Tim Magee reveals his 2024 travel wishlist; Sarah Halliwell shares new year beauty highlights; Wine Editor Julie Dupouy selects bargain bottles; and THE GLOSS X TheShopkeepers.com announce the winners of the Best Shops in Ireland.
For all of this and much, much more don’t miss THE GLOSS January issue out Thursday January 4, with The Irish Times.
THE GLOSS ON THE NEWSSTAND
If you miss THE GLOSS in The Irish Times, you can now pick up a newsstand version of the magazine, which is in selected supermarkets and newsagents on the following day after publication every month. This smaller format has a cover price of €4 …
We also offer a subscription service to this version of the magazine: six issues delivered to an address in Ireland costs €60. Follow this link to subscribe.