The year was 1377 to 1399 and a man by the name of King Richard II of England had invented the cloth handkerchief. According to surviving documents written by his courtiers, square pieces of cloth had been used to wipe his majesty’s nose.

Fast forward a couple of hundred years to the 1920s and the handkerchief had made its way into the fashion world where it began gracing the pockets of men’s jackets – this is where it earned the name of ‘pocket square’. By the 1960s distinguished actors such as Cary Grant, Fred Astaire and Gary Cooper all rocked one.

The pocket square died off briefly in the coming decades only to be resurrected again in the late 2000s thanks to a popular show called Mad Men which championed the iconic dapper looks of the 60s.

These days you’ll find pocket squares made in fabrics in everything from silk to cotton, linen, wool and even denim.

Now that the history lesson’s over, here’s how to fold every type of pocket square.

The Presidential Fold

A classic in every sense, the Presidential fold is for the clean and conservative gentleman – sharp enough but not ostentatious or loud (think Don Draper). It’s also the easiest to fold and can suit business or smart casual occasions.

• Place the pocket square face down
• Fold it in half from right to left (even length)
• Fold it in another half from left back to right but this time leave a 1cm gap on the right side (uneven length)
• Fold it in half from top to bottom
• Fold the bottom up and behind the front
• Adjust pocket square to fit the size of your jacket pocket

The Stairs Fold

One of the harder ones to fold, the Stairs fold is one go to style for formal events without going over the top. Here’s how to do it.

• Place the pocket square face down
• Fold it in half diagonally from the top right to the bottom left to create the first step of the stairs
• Pinch the fabric two inches (5cm) below the first stair and fold up to create the second stair below the first stair
• Repeat the above process again for the second stair – this will form the third stair
• Hold all the steps in place and fold them all in half diagonally, making sure to place the top left portion behind the bottom right portion
• Whilst holding the stairs in place, fold the right side behind and to the left
• Fold the left side to the back and to the right
• Finally, fold the bottom up and behind the front
• Adjust pocket square to fit the size of your jacket pocket.

Cagney Fold

This one’s named after the legendary movie star James Cagney. It’s basically a four-point fold in reverse that’s suitable for both business and casual looks.

• Place the pocket square down flat
• Fold it in half to form a triangle
• Fold one corner across to create a secondary tip at the top
• Repeat the same for the other side to create another tip
• Fold the right side of the pocket square to create a sharper point at the bottom
• Repeat the same for the left side
• Fold up the bottom corner to create the 4th tip at the centre
• Place and adjust pocket square in the jacket pocket

Single Point Fold

The single point fold is simple, elegant, classic and one of the best folds for your everyday wear. There’s also versatility in the fold with a simple turn to expose the folded edges of the point. Or just keep it nice and simple with a clean triangle.

• Place the pocket square face down in the diamond layout
• Fold it in half evenly from the left and bottom corners across to the top corners
• Fold it in half again from the right and bottom corners to the top corners
• Fold the top right corner across to the centre
• Bring the left corner to the right
• Fold the bottom point up to the back
• Adjust the pocket square to fit your jacket pocket

Two Point Fold

It’s designed to be slightly off-centre and that’s the point. This one’s another conservative fold which best suits formal occasions.

• Place the pocket square face down in a diamond position
• Flip the bottom corner up to the top corner to form twin peaks
• Take the right corner to the left past the centre point
• Flip the left corner over to the right
• Fold any remaining corners to the back
• Fold the bottom part to the back
• Adjust pocket square to fit your jacket pocket

Three Point Peak Fold

This one’s for the dressier man when compared to the single point and two point folds. On the flip side, it’s designed to show off your most dazzling pocket square so reserve this one for parties, weddings or events.

• Place the pocket square face down in the diamond position
• Flip the bottom corner up to the top
• Take the right corner up to the left of the first peak
• Take the left corner up to the right of the two peaks
• Fold the right edge inwards towards the centre
• Repeat with the left edge towards the centre
• Fold the bottom to the back
• Adjust pocket square to fit your jacket pocket

The Puff

The preferred fold of TV reporters who have no idea what they’re doing and no time to actually how to fold a pocket square. It’s simple but very casual so keep this one out of the office.

• Place the pocket square faced up flat
• Pinch and pull up from the centre
• Create an ‘ok’ sign with your fingers and run the pocket square through it
• Grab onto the centre
• Fold up from the bottom and place it behind the front
• Adjust accordingly

So there you have it, a simple guide to how to fold a pocket square for very occassion.

RELATED: How To Wear A Pocket Square
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Performance cars are kind of like burgers. They’re tasty, can be quite bad for you (well, your wallet at least) and you can add all sorts of toppings to them if you really want to pig out. Is an Audi not enough for you? Why not get the S model, or the RS model if you’re feeling extra hungry for horsepower?Even more performance car delights can be found if you leave a brand’s showroom, too. While most performance marques have their own in-house ‘go fast’ divisions (Fiat has Abarth, Mercedes-Benz has AMG, Nissan has Nismo, etc.) some are also served by tuning companies who specialise in their brand’s vehicles. Ford has Shelby, Honda has Mugen, Porsche has RUF… You get the idea.BMW is easily the most complicated when it comes to this sort of thing. Not only do their have their own in-house performance tuner, BMW M, but then they’re also looked after by multiple tuning houses, such as AC Schnitzer and G-Power, who add their own brand of special sauce.But the absolute cream of the crop; the burger with the works when it comes to BMWs (or tuning houses in general) is Alpina. Rare as hen’s teeth even in their home country of Germany, it’s always exciting when we hear of one of these insane cars making its way Down Under.Which is why we’re here today: in a rare piece of good news to cap off 2020, BMW Sydney has just brought the very first – and so far only – Alpina B3 Touring to Australia.

For those of you not in the know, Alpina is one of the OG German tuning houses, and arguably the most respected. In their 55-year history, they’ve only ever worked on BMWs – a real point of difference which speaks to their BMW expertise – and have a particularly unique relationship with the Bavarian brand.Despite being a separate company, Alpina’s processes are integrated into BMW’s production lines, which also means that they’re classified as a manufacturer instead of just a motorsports tuner. In fact, a weird quirk about Alpina cars is that they have two VINs: firstly, BMW makes the donor chassis, which is given a VIN, and then Alpina modifies the car, crosses out the old VIN, and stamps in their own. Alpinas also have their own unique badging which replaces the BMW badge on their cars: a crest with a carby and a crankshaft, a nod to their motorsport heritage.RELATED: Rare As ‘Rocking Horse Sh*t’ BMW Alpina C1 On Sale In AustraliaBasically, BMW M models and Alpinas get made on the same assembly line… But then they go in very different directions. Where BMW’s M division, which is just a subsidiary of BMW itself, has a track-focused philosophy, Alpina likes to do things a little differently.They put more emphasis on luxury, higher torque, and often come to different conclusions about how to achieve power gains. All Alpina models are turbocharged (not all M cars are), and Alpina likes to install their own manumatic transmissions. Despite their more luxury-focused direction, Alpinas regularly outperform their M brothers – so you get all the spice as well as all the creature comforts with an Alpina. They’re simply the ultimate BMWs. And we’d argue the B3 Touring is the best car Alpina’s ever made.

Look at this handsome devil. It’s based on the seventh-generation BMW 3 Series but makes 55 more kW compared to BMW’s hottest in-house version of the car, the M340i Touring (340kW vs. 285kW) despite using the same powerplant, the twin-turbo 3.0L B58 inline-six.Sure, BMW M’s new M3 (and its coupe version, the M4) are more powerful than the B3 Touring (the standard M3/M4 making 353kW and the Competition models making 375kW). But the B3 beats them hands-down in the luxury department, benefitting from a hand-stitched Lavalina leather and wood-grain interior. More importantly, it beats them when it comes to practicality – there’s no M3 wagon being sold Down Under, or anywhere for that matter. At least, not yet…RELATED: Hotly Anticipated BMW M3 Wagon Prototype Spotted On German RoadsHell, the M340i Touring that we compared the B3 Touring to just before – which commentators have called ‘the closest thing to an M3 wagon’ – isn’t even sold in Australia. The best we get is the 330i Touring which only makes 190kW from its turbo four-cylinder. Thankfully, the B3 fills that fast wagon void in BMW’s lineup.In short, the B3 Touring is more comfortable, more practical, and faster than the competition, while also being far kinder on the eyes (not only do the Alpina graphics and badging look great, but the B3 Touring doesn’t have the divisive ‘nostril’ grille the upcoming M3 wagon will be cursed with). Hungry yet?

This rare beastie has already been delivered to what we can only imagine are some very happy customers, so don’t go running out to try and pick it up. But the fact that one even made its way Down Under is good news.We’re big fans of fast wagons here at DMARGE, so getting even one of these cool cars on our streets is a win. Fingers crossed it’s the first of many that BMW Australia will bring to showrooms in the new year – or, if they can’t get enough Alpinas to meet demand, they’ll start offering their hotter 3 Series wagons to fill the void… It’s called optimism, people.In the meantime, we’ll gaze on lovingly and be very happy on behalf of its new owners. Viel Glück.

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The post BMW Alpina B3 Touring Lands In Australia appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

For such a rough-and-tumble kinda guy, Conor McGregor dresses surprisingly well.While the Irishman certainly has a penchant for gaudy luxury brands and lavish spending (particularly when it comes to his watch collection) he holds his own when it comes to fashion. Case in point: this slick double denim fit – or his consistently stylish suiting game.But just like his fighting record, he’s by no means undefeated. Sometimes he lets his worst impulses get the best of him, like with this “Billi no mates” Gucci ensemble he decided to wear to the pub earlier this month.His latest style move has got fashion fans divided, too. As part of a social media storm ahead of his next fight, the 32-year-old self-described “face of the fight game” shared a photo of himself inside an MMA octagon, wearing a $1,500 Versace ‘Crete de Fleur’ cotton robe over the top of some Under Armour compression shorts, his hands all strapped up, ready to brawl.

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Wearing a Versace robe in the ring is the clothing equivalent of dabbing away your sweat with a bundle of cash. It’s one hell of a statement.It’s not the first time McGregor has indulged in some big-ticket casualwear. Earlier this year he was spotted casually traipsing around Monaco in a $3,400 David August tracksuit and unironically donning Dolce & Gabbana for a gym session. Must be nice being a millionaire…RELATED: Floyd Mayweather Lives Up To ‘Money’ Moniker With Luxurious Dior EnsembleMcGregor’s social media blitz, of which this Versace flex is a part, is all part of the mindgames and preparation the brawler is known for ahead of a tumble. McGregor is hard at work training for his first fight in over a year, scheduled to take on American brawler Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on January 23.In other news, social media star (and professional sneaker ruiner) Jake Paul has also challenged ‘The Notorious’ to a boxing match, offering him $50 million to step into the ring against him – but McGregor’s yet to comment on that prospect.

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The post Conor McGregor Workout In $1,500 Versace Robe appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Football is filled with big stars and even bigger personalities, but none come close to Cristiano Ronaldo.Ronaldo is arguably the greatest football player of all time, a lofty claim that many football fans would be quick to dispute. What’s harder to argue with is his bank balance, as he is undoubtedly the highest-earning football player in history.Indeed, Ronaldo’s real treasures aren’t the trophies in his gigantic cabinet or the value he brings to any team he plays on… No, it’s the frankly outlandish purchases he spends his billions on. In particular, he’s got a decidedly ‘unique’ taste in watches – and by unique, we mean unbelievably gaudy.Now it seems he’s passed that taste in timepieces on to his son, 10-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr. Father brought son along to front the cameras at the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony in Dubai yesterday – there to pick up the gong for ‘Player of the Century’ – both Ronaldos showing off some rather expensive wrist candy while they were at it.Senior once again chose to rock his 1 of 1 Franck Muller Cintrée Tourbillon (worth around 1.5 million USD), but Junior joined The Flog Watch Party with an iced-out Rolex GMT-Master II (worth about half a million USD as well).

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Now, a father buying a nice watch for his son is one of those heartwarming, time-honoured traditions; a special part of growing up. Indeed, one only has to think of one of the most successful marketing slogans of the last two decades – “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”Ronaldo has taken this idea to a truly unnatural conclusion, though. Who on earth thinks giving a 10-year-old a watch worth half a million big ones is a reasonable idea? Most of us would be quite happy with a Tissot, thank you very much. Or a Patek, if we’re really going to live up to the slogan.RELATED: Liverpool FC Star Virgil van Dijk Celebrates Premier League Triumph With Rare Patek FlexBut with great power comes great responsibility. Or tacky, expensive watches, in this instance. If Ronaldo Jnr is really going to live up to his father’s name, he needs to start cultivating a taste for the ‘finer things’ alongside his football skills.While Ronaldo Snr’s watch is decidedly more expensive than his son’s, both pieces are made from 18ct white gold and feature baguette-cut diamonds. Oh, and because a watch covered in diamonds wasn’t enough, Jnr also rocked a diamond chain. No such thing as spoiling someone for love, apparently.

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The post Cristiano Ronaldo Gifts Son Classic Rolex Watch appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Americans think of themselves as hard-drinking, hard-partying people, but the reality is far more sedate.

According to the World Health Organisation, the United States sits at #48 in the list of world’s biggest drinkers, below countries like Canada (#40), the UK (#25), Germany (#23) and even Australia (#19). At least they beat China, who sits at #89… Russia comes in at #4, however.

But if you break it down by US state, things get more complicated. Utah, which drinks the least out of any US states, would place at #111 if it was a country, below even Muslim-majority countries like Albania, Côte d’Ivoire, Lebanon or Bosnia & Herzegovina, according to federal statistics. On the other end of the spectrum, America’s biggest drinking state, New Hampshire, would unseat Belarus as the world’s #1 alcohol consumer per capita if it too was a country.

That’s surprising considering how tough alcohol laws are in the US. Not only do you have to be over 21 to purchase alcohol, but many states still have ‘dry counties’ where you can’t purchase alcohol at all (such as Moore County in Tennessee, which ironically is home to top-selling whiskey distillery Jack Daniel’s) as well as strict open container laws…

Except for Louisiana, which benefits from a bizarre loophole that’s created a unique drinking culture in the partying Southern state that doesn’t exist anywhere else in America, and we’re sure would be quickly adopted by Australians if the laws let us.

Enter the drive-thru daiquiri: basically, an alcoholic slushie that you don’t even have to leave your car to buy.

The New Orleans or Louisiana ‘daiquiri’ has little in common with the style of cocktails that they share a name with. While a ‘traditional’ daiquiri is a simple, classic drink whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice and sugar, a Louisiana daiquiri is a frozen, churned concoction of multiple fruit flavours and strong neutral spirits, with creative names like ‘Swamp Juice’ or a ‘Booty Call’.

Cheap, vibrant, potent and tasty, there’s daiquiri bars all over the state, and it’s quite common for people to buy them by the gallon for parties or street gatherings. The drive-thru takes the convenient nature of the daiquiri to the next level, by offering fast-food-like service for the party-starting drink.

“It’s generally accepted that the first drive-thru daiquiri stand opened in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1981,” The Kitchn relates, as Louisiana had no laws against drinking and driving at the time. (It’s still legal to walk the streets with an open drink container, as long as it’s not made of glass or metal – styrofoam or plastic is a-okay).

“Luckily, Louisiana has since caught up to other states on the whole ‘no drinking and driving’ thing, and you’re no longer allowed to have open containers of alcohol in a moving vehicle… [but] the law doesn’t apply to ‘any bottle, can, or other receptacle that contains any amount of frozen alcoholic beverage unless the lid is removed or a straw protrudes through the lid.'”

Louisiana, and particularly its biggest city New Orleans, is well-known around the United States and the world for its unique culture which blends 18th-century French, Italian, Haitian, Spanish, French Canadian, Native American, and African influences.

New Orleans, in particular, has a well-established reputation as a party town, thanks to its thriving musical and cultural scene, as well as the aforementioned laissez-faire approach to alcohol consumption. Indeed, the unofficial state motto is “laissez les bons temps rouler” (a Cajun French translation of the English phrase “let the good times roll”) – which reflects the carefree attitude of the city and the state, particularly when it comes to imbibing.

Drive-thru daiquiris then can be seen as a natural extension of the wild, good times-focused culture of the area, as well as a novel solution to dealing with the humid Southern heat.

Australia is also a bloody hot place, and we Aussies are similarly carefree (plus we love a drink). Another American warm-weather alcohol trend – the rise of hard seltzers – has also found its way Down Under, so it would be easy to imagine drive-thru daiquiris really taking off here… If only the law allowed it. Governments here don’t take so kindly to the idea of open alcohol containers, so we don’t see the drive-thru daiquiri surviving in Australia.

RELATED: Australians Will Struggle With New Drinking Guidelines, Statistics Suggest

Sadly, the drive-thru daiquiri stand might not even survive much longer in Louisiana, thanks to the devastating effect of the COVID-19 crisis this year. As Vanity Fair reports, The Bat Kiss has crippled the local economy, which relies on hospitality and tourism. Naturally, drive-thru daiquiri stands have had to close down too, as they’re an obvious vector for disease transmission.

Fifteen years later, Louisiana and New Orleans have still yet to really recover from the hammer blow that was Hurricane Katrina. COVID-19 has only added to the state’s woes and it’s hard to see how drive-thru daiquiris – vulnerable small businesses with a tight profit margin – will survive past 2020.

Fingers crossed this unique facet of American culture will continue to thrive. Worst case scenario, we can all start spiking our 7-11 Slurpees. Can we get some Everclear down here…?

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The post Louisiana Drive Tru Daiquiri’s Are All The Rage appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

2020’s been a grim year for Australians when it comes to travel.Not only have we been prevented from travelling internationally, but domestic travel has also been severely curtailed thanks to border closures and the prospect of hotel quarantine deterring travellers. While there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for some states, the recent Sydney COVID-19 cluster has got us feeling like we’ve taken one step forward, two steps back.According to Health Minister Greg Hunt, the Australian overseas travel ban is expected to be in place until 17 March 2021. On top of that, our national carrier Qantas has also announced that they’ll be requiring passengers to have a COVID-19 vaccine if they want to board an international flight – and seeing as the vaccine rollout hasn’t started yet, things are still up in the air.So it seems most Aussies won’t see the inside of a plane for a little while. Thankfully, Emirates has come in clutch with an exciting new announcement that’ll give us something to look forward to once international air travel becomes a reality once again.The Dubai-based airline just revealed their overhauled Airbus A380 in-flight experience, unveiling a new premium economy offering as well as enhancements across every cabin offering. Emirates has never offered premium economy before, so it’s a big move for the well-regarded airline.

Their new premium economy cabin, which offers 56 seats in a 2-4-2 cabin layout, is sure to be an absolute paradigm shift. Not only do they boast a generous pitch of up to 40 inches, but Emirates’ premium economy seat is also 19.5 inches wide, and reclines 8 inches into a comfortable cradle position with ample room to stretch out.The premium economy seats are supercar-level luxurious – a somewhat appropriate aesthetic for an airline from the supercar capital of the world. The luxurious cream-coloured anti-stain leather seats have stitching details that almost evoke a Bentley Continental GT or Genesis GV80’s comfy buckets, the lashings of wood panelling only heightening the luxury car comparison.Business class on Emirates’ A380s has also seen an aesthetic refresh in line with the business class on Emirates’ Boeing 777 Gamechanger planes, but considering how good premium economy looks, we wonder if it’s even worth splashing out for the upgrade. There’s no details on the pricing for premium economy yet, so we’ll reserve our judgement until then.RELATED: Travel Analyst Explains What Convinced Him To Get Back Onboard The Infamous Boeing 737 MAXThey didn’t forget about first class, with the 14 private first class suites on their A380s becoming slightly wider with taller doors, for even more privacy and comfort. Cabin detail and finishes have also been refreshed with new motifs and colours, from the sweeping stairs that lead from the main deck to the upper deck, to refreshed design trims and modern fittings in their famous Shower Spa – a lavish offering that Emirates has become famous for.Finally, Emirates’ already quite respectable A380 economy offering has also seen a subtle upgrade, with new ergonomically designed seats that come with full leather headrests and flexible side panels. All cabin classes are equipped with the latest generation of Emirates’ award-winning ‘ice’ inflight entertainment system, too.

“The Emirates A380 is already one of the most sought-after travel experiences in the skies, and now we’ve made it even better,” Emirates Airlines President Sir Tim Clark relates.

“While others cut back, Emirates is working hard to restore the products and services that we’ve had to suspend or adjust due to pandemic precautions, and introduce new offerings and enhancements. True to our fly better promise, Emirates continues to invest to offer our customers the best possible experience.”

It’s a bold move for the airline. While Emirates has garnered praise for their approach to COVID-19 safety this year, they – like virtually all airlines – will have no doubt had a rough 2020. Fingers crossed this new premium economy will help them bounce back into 2021.Emirates has a particularly strong presence in Australia, serving airports in our five biggest cities and flying to over 120 destinations across the world from the Land Down Under. That means we’re better served by them than other big tourist destinations (and sources) such as France, Germany, Italy or Japan.While we’d love to get our bums in their new premium economy seats, we’re just looking forward to travelling anywhere. Even Air Koryo would be tempting at this stage…

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The post Emirates Premium Economy Is Coming To Australia appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Today, we have unprecedented access to technology. With screens, buttons and microphones quite literally at our fingertips, we’re not left wanting when it comes to daily, automated assistance.A huge sector within the technology industry as a whole is fitness wearables. These small devices are worn on the wrist in place of – or as well as – a regular wristwatch, fitness wearables have the ability to tell us how fast our heart is beating, distances we’ve travelled, and can even provide messages of encouragement to keep us going when times get tough. While much has already been said of the ubiquitous Apple Watch (and its Android-toting rivals), one of the most recognisable names in the fitness wearable landscape is Fitbit.Boasting a string of devices that offer accurate heart measurement among countless other features (including incredible battery life), if you’re only concern is to track steps, your daily run or your heart rate, there aren’t many better devices on the market for a similar price. Or are there?Becoming increasingly smitten with online marketplace Wish (which we have previously used to source a convincing Richard Mille knock-off and an $80 smartphone), we once again perused the pages and found a $9 fitness wearable that looks alarmingly similar to the aforementioned Fitbit, yet had a price tag that seemed too good to be true (even the postage cost more). So, in the name of masochism journalism, we clicked buy and awaited our new purchase with vigour.

First impressions were good. For a $9 device, the ‘Wishbit’ felt surprisingly well-made, rocking a silicone rubber strap (in our case, a red one) and a solid-feeling central unit. We needed to charge it before the first use and, assuming it charged in a similar way to the Fitbit (by way of a separate cable that housed a charging plate) we were a little confused since there was no such cable in the box. This is where the ‘Wishbit’, in our opinion, shines. The strap is removable, and upon pulling away the top portion, you’re presented with a USB-A connector, meaning you plug the central unit directly into a USB plug to give it some juice. No more instances of mislaying cables around the house is incredibly good news in our book.Like Fitbit, the ‘Wishbit’ has a companion app. We’re not sure why, but we weren’t able to create an account to sign into it (perhaps English instructions would have helped instead of the default Mandarin). However, you’re still able to perform the majority of functions without. The app was still able to track our daily movements and workouts, and you can set a step goal for each day, and the device will vibrate once you reach it. Elsewhere, the app is surprisingly helpful and intuitive. You’re able to make adjustments to settings on the device, such as choosing which apps can have their notifications mirrored, which hand you wear it on, and you can even use it as a remote to take a selfie from a distance. It works, too.

The ‘Wishbit’ continues to belie its bestowed name by not only offering heart rate measurement – which, while never produced the same figures as our Fitbit Inspire 2, was never far off (we can’t be sure which one is more accurate) – but also by monitoring your blood pressure level. This is something not offered by all Fitbit devices and again, while we can’t quite vouch for its accuracy, does enough to provide some sort of greater indication of your overall health. If $9 could be the difference between knowing when you may need to go to the hospital sooner than anticipated, and keeling over, then it’s money well spent if you ask us.We did encounter a few minor niggles during our time wearing the convincing-from-a-glance device on our wrist. Firstly, it’s not as comfortable as a Fitbit. While a rubber strap may be soft and flexible, it’s cheap-ness does come into play. The buckle isn’t nearly as soft as the one on our Fitbit, and it digs into the wrist a little too much to the point where we had to keep taking it off to offer our wrist some respite.  Also, the screen itself isn’t that amazing. Not impossible to see at all, but at the same time not entirely clear, not being able to quickly see the number of current steps at a glance proved to be one #FirstWorldProblem too far.But, of course, you have to remember that this thing did cost just $9. Even a basic pair of passive headphones would set you back more than that, and they don’t have a microcomputer inside, the ability to tell the time, track your steps and even monitor your heart rate. If you’ve been wanting to get yourself a fitness companion but don’t yet want to dig deep to get yourself a Fitbit or any other device from the likes of Apple, Garman or Suunto, you can’t really go wrong.While those devices can effectively become personal trainers, offering encouragement and daily reminders to get up and get moving (the ‘Wishbit’ only has daily alarms and reminders to let you know when you’ve been sitting for too long) and they may be a little quicker to use in operation with much clearer screens, the ‘Wishbit’ offers plenty for a bargain price. For near-as-makes-no-difference step-tracking accuracy, a handsome design, solid battery life and features you would only expect of a more expensive device, we can genuinely recommend it.Now we just need to think of a new nickname for it.

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The post Fake Fitbit Review: 7 Days With Very Surprising Results appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Fashion is a fickle thing.

There’s so many unspoken rules – like which blazer buttons you’re supposed to do up, how you shouldn’t wear a patterned tie with a patterned shirt, how you’re supposed to remove a suit’s sleeve tag before you wear it… Or that you should never wear compression tights without shorts over the top.

Now, if you’re a member of the fairer sex, then it’s not so bad. Women can get away with it (although it doesn’t mean they should – everyone knows an ‘activewear mum‘ that ought to quit while they’re ahead).

For men, though? It’s arguably the ultimate men’s fashion crime, worse than even socks with sandals. No-one’s told Shia LaBeouf, however, who’s somewhat of a repeat offender when it comes to compression tights sans shorts.

But like any habitual criminal, LaBeouf can’t stop. He’s addicted to this life of crime, and indeed he’s doubled down with the distasteful exercise getup, spotted on the streets of Los Angeles with his girlfriend Margaret Qualley last week wearing the very same Nike compression tights as before – without shorts – plus rocking a greasy mullet and ‘speed dealer’ Oakley sunglasses.

Let’s be honest here: he looks like the kind of dude who owns a jetski or would come up to you at a bus stop and ask you for $2.

But that’s entirely the genius of his outfit: Shia just doesn’t give a single f*ck any more. (Although maybe there are some things he really should care more about…)

It’s also worth putting things in context. He’s going for a run around the block, not attending a red carpet. Sure, if it was us, we’d probably ditch the sunnies and throw some shorts on, but to each their own, we suppose.

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We feel pretty safe to say that if you think about the words ‘Americans’ and ‘dieting’ in the same sentence, the outcome will almost always be negative. Large portions, fast food takeaways and a nonchalant attitude towards exercise is the (stereotypical) American way, so it may not be all that surprising to learn that many Americans who attempt to put themselves onto a diet, fail.The world isn’t short of dieting fads, whether it be a ketogenic, carnivore or even a Mediterranean diet, we’re not exactly left wanting when it comes to being told what we should or shouldn’t eat in the pursuit of weight loss.Now, new research conducted by OnePoll has unearthed some of the reasons why that is the case. A participant group of 2,000 Americans who had all admitted to going on a diet within the last five years uncovered the fact that many of them had, in fact, attempted four diets in that time period “and quit prematurely during half of them.”The biggest dealbreaker? “Restrictive eating.”Naturally, with many diets, you have to either limit the amount of food eaten or completely change the foods you already eat with much healthier options. Seemingly unaware of this, 37 per-cent of the survey group failed at their attempt to diet because cutting out favourite foods ‘drove them crazy’.73% of the 2,000 said giving in to the temptation of junk food, in general, was the main cause for them not sticking to their dieting goals, while 69 per-cent said they called it a day because they weren’t seeing results soon enough.

I’m going on a diet tomorrow. So I have to eat all the junk food in my house tonight.

— Areola Grande (@uhhhhhoksure) September 30, 2018

Of course, dieting by its very definition means to restrict eating or to change your eating habits in order to lose weight. But you can’t always expect to see major results overnight. The rate at which you lose weight will vary from person to person. If you have a low BMI (your body mass index derived from dividing your weight by your height to give a result that determines if you’re underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese) then you’ll start your diet with a low weight in the first place.This means you have less weight to lose, so you’re unlikely to see huge differences on the scales in the first few weeks of your new eating regime. If you’re on the larger side, however, your body will react more drastically to the sudden change and you should start to see the pounds drop off at a much faster rate.At least, that is if you’re actually able to stick to a diet – and considering 67 per-cent of the survey group said that as soon as they failed to stick to theirs for a brief period, they became so frustrated they gave up – it’s likely this trait is shared by many other aspiring weight losers.Indeed, this frustration can lead to stress, which, as we’ve written about before, can also be a deciding factor in one’s ability to lose or maintain weight. High stress levels can inhibit weight loss, whilst lower stress levels can aid it.Dieting alone won’t provide all the ingredients for sustained weight loss either – and that is even if you’re able to stick to your meal plan, which can become ‘boring’ after some time – as it would need to be followed in line with an exercise program. You may find that a reduction in carbohydrates will make you appear slimmer, but you’re more likely to be losing water weight as opposed to body fat, something working out can certainly help with.But, as the OnePoll study found, a new eating regime is more likely to be followed if calorie intake is tracked (53%) which, understandably, is easier said than done – something I can personally vouch for – but many of the respondents agreed that using a calorie tracking app made the process much easier.Ultimately, committing to losing weight is just as much of a psychological battle as it is a physical one. If you have the strength to rid your life of junk foods for a consistent amount of time, you will overcome one of the biggest obstacles and will find losing weight to be a much more enjoyable experience.

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