Loud, proud and printed with everything from polka dots to flowers, there’s a pair out there for everyone

My parents were ... brought up Methodists. My mother had an enduringly complicated relationship with the material world which I have inherited, along with my father's appetite for absolute quality.

It helps posture, eases back pain – and makes your beergut vanish. No wonder sales of fitwear for men are booming. Josh Sims puts the latest pair of 'wonder pants' through its paces

They have appeared side by side in high-end department stores for decades, and from now on Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein will be part of the same company.

The kit

Is it a pair of sunglasses, is it a cunningly disguised 4GB USB flash drive? It's both! These Calvin Klein shades would suit James Bond down to the ground. You, too, if you want to keep your computer files by your right temple. Price £120, go to marchon.com

Coveted designer Kinder Aggugini is set to open a temporary store in London's elegant shopping district, Mount Street, later this summer.

From girdles to gussets, anti-cellulite knickers and push-up bras, an exhibition celebrating the history of women’s underwear opens tomorrow at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum.

Remember the '80s, when big hair and even bigger shoulders were the height of chic? The designers at New York Fashion Week won't let you forget.

An embarrassed Oprah Winfrey says she's "fallen off the wagon" of healthy living and has ballooned to 200 pounds (90 kilograms).

'Boris Johnson, a cuddly sheepdog? Not any more – just ask Jacqui Smith'

Keep your feet cool with a pair of these funky flip-flops

From perfect scents to luscious lotions, we select the best summer products

Each human tragedy has its socio-economic dimension. The terrifying abduction of Shannon Matthews is coolly discussed as a portrait of a debased white working class, with its multiplicity of fathers and attendant social workers. When Madeleine McCann went missing we rapidly absorbed the context. The parents were doctors, ambitious, gym conscious, dressed in high street chic. The holiday destination, Mark Warner in Portugal, was family minded and middle class. The McCanns felt safe to leave their children in the room, because they were among their own people.