holiday shopping
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The Glow Up's Guide to Giving: The Brims Have It
There are hats, toppers, lids—and then, there are Brims. Founded in 2016 by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers Archie Clay III (Tuskegee) and Taj Crutch (Troy University), Brims’ collection of limited-edition fedoras and caps is made in America and made to “inspire confidence in everyday life.” “We wanted to be American-made and focus on finding…
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100% That Knit: Lizzo Is the Latest to Land on a Christmas Sweater
Just when we thought we’d already seen the most outrageous knitwear this holiday season has to offer, here comes one with that “Juice”—well, kinda. At the very least, this series of sweaters comes with a seriously conscious twist. For the third year in a row, U.K.-based socially responsible and environmentally friendly enterprise NotJust Clothing has…
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The Glow Up's Guide to Giving: This Holiday, Do the Right Thing for the Cinephiles in Your Life
It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Spike Lee’s groundbreaking film, Do the Right Thing hit cinemas, but we recently got a reminder that the film many consider Lee’s magnum opus is older than many of our readers (making those of us who saw it in theater feel…well, let’s just say it still…
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The Glow Up’s Guide to Giving: Give Them Their Kicks
A funny thing happened this year at ComplexCon Chicago: I was turned into a late-blooming sneakerhead. Don’t get me wrong: I have plenty of sneakers, and I know what I like. And of course, I’m no stranger to the culture—though I may not have considered myself a “sneakerhead,” per se, The Glow Up has watched…
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The Glow Up’s Guide to Giving: This Season, Help Them Spoil the Skin They’re In
If you, like me, aren’t blessed to live in a warm climate during the winter months, no doubt skincare rises on your list of concerns on a seasonal basis. As the temps drop, our melanin is more vulnerable than ever to ashiness—not to mention the inevitable chapped lips and windburned cheeks. While skincare may not…
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The Glow Up's Guide to Giving: The Biggest, Blackest, Most Beautiful Reads of the Year
“Coffee is the color,” sang Roy Ayers—and the lyric proves true on the gorgeous crop of coffee table-worthy tomes published this year. From fashion icons to iconic works of art, black representation was strong in the publishing world this year, leaving us with books that are as powerful as they are pretty to look at.…
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The Cat Is Back: Baby Phat Relaunches With a Surprise Drop and a New Generation
Last spring, when Kimora Lee Simmons announced that Baby Phat was coming back, those of us who enjoyed the label at its ‘90s and early-aughts heights admittedly got a thrill—though we knew full well those velour tracksuits might not look quite as flattering on us 20 years later. (Fun fact: According to a release from…
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The Glow Up's Guide to Giving: It's the Little Things
Call them stocking stuffers, Kwanzaa presents, or“just because” treats, but we all know that sometimes the best gifts come in little packages. And while we firmly believe in quality over quantity, there’s no reason you can’t give both this season (as those of us lucky enough to have fond memories of counting our presents as…
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Let It Blow, Let It Blow, Let It Blow: With Apologies, Walmart Pulls a Sweater Showing Santa Doing…Cocaine?
There are ugly Christmas sweaters—and apparently, there are cocaine-fueled ones. Take, for instance, the ill-advised sweater Walmart is currently apologizing for, which depicts a bug-eyed and grinning white Santa (because Megyn Kelly already told us he ain’t black) bearing what appears to be a straw in hand, ready to snort up the lines of “snow”…
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The Glow Up's Guide to Giving: The Gift of the Radiant Child
As we all well know, for Christians, the height of the holiday season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ—the young man who, according to the Bible, was immaculately conceived, born to save us and ultimately died for our sins (with a promise to return). But strangely, it was another young man who…