Cheshire Oaks have teamed up with a celebrity stylist to create ‘Style on Screen’ top tips this summer
We spoke to stylist Ryan Kay to learn more about how the silver and small screens are influencing trends this summer and how you can take inspiration without just hopping on a bandwagon.
Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet is back with another brilliant event this summer called ‘Style on Screen’ and we’ve been getting to learn all about how TV and film can help update our wardrobe.
Inspired by some of the biggest releases of the year like Barbie and the Sex in the City spin-off, And Just Like That…, their latest project is to help inform those who love fashion and being in front of a camera, as well as those who are less comfortable, on how to build a wardrobe in keeping with current trends.
Once again, taking cues from the current aesthetics Hollywood has to offer, Cheshire Oaks and the McArthur Glen group have teamed up with local celebrity stylist, Ryan Kay, to help create looks around contemporary movies and TV shows and give you some sound advice.
Ryan made a splash at London Fashion Week back in 2016 and has been building up his portfolio and reputation ever since, working with some of the UK’s most popular designers, businesses, celebrities and, crucially, multiple productions involving the screen.
From collaborating with the likes OK! and HELLO! Magazine, to styling celebrities like Olivia Attwood, Fleur East, Lucy Fallon; Gemma Owen, Gemma Atkinson and Amy Childs just to name a few — not to mention working on Strictly, Saturday Night Takeaway, Eurovision and more — this guy is in demand.
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Lucky for you, following the official ‘Style on Screen’ event, where up-and-coming influencers, aspiring performers and members of the general public turned up to learn more about this summer’s looks, the Warrington-born fashion and brand consultant handed out some of his top tips.
Ryan’s top tips
1. Pairing different shades of the same colour — let’s say for instance, you want to recreate the Barbie since it’s everywhere at the minute, start off by seeing what pinks you already have in your wardrobe and build from there. As Ryan sees, it’s about “choosing accessories within the same tonal family… A bag and shoes that complement each other like this will help the outfit feel pulled together and deliberate.”
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2. Don’t wear trends if they’re not your style — “I love taking looks that I love on the catwalk or on-screen and get inspired on how this can work with pieces that I already own”. Once again, it’s about trying to restyle things you already own into new looks.
‘The Style on Screen’ event was about showing people how you can replicate a look on a budget using brands and key pieces that you can find around places like Cheshire Oaks’.
3. Contrasting textures — by combining pieces with different textures and materials, “even simple outfits can look more premium and interesting. For example, a pair of structured trousers look great with a slouchy jumper, or a satin skirt looks fantastic with a crisp white shirt.” The only caveat is that if you do mix, try to stick with a neutral colour palette — “too many colours and textures will look like you got dressed in the dark.”
4. Layering — The idea is to be versatile and build multiple outfits with just a few key pieces. He suggested things like layering a crop top over a shirt to create some structure or wearing a dress underneath a skirt to create a different silhouette.
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5. ‘A bag for life’ — “The perfect investment piece of a bag is one that you can wear day-in, day-out”, says Ryan, and styling it with your outfit can be an interesting challenge. “You can add a scarf around the handle of a bag to integrate it into the look”, and again, you can either have textures and colours match or let it pop on its own.
Credit: Cheshire Oaks
When we asked Ryan if he had one tip for those who have absolutely no clue about fashion (i.e. the person writing this article), he said that it’s all about “sustainability” and rather than just buying loads of fast-fashion pieces, the trick is to “select key items and make as many looks with them as you can”.
He also said that one thing he would always recommend is “a proper, tailored suit because it’s forever a timeless piece” and one that you can also spin into different seasons depending on the colours and how you accessorize it.
As he sees it, you can get “about 10 different looks” out of just one suit, so it’s well worth investing in a good one that you can then dress up or dress down.
It’s nice to see stylists like Ryan bringing the world of high-end London-centric fashion back up North and giving us a chance and the tools to recreate the trends and styles we see on screen.
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And last but not least, you can of course find pretty much everything you need to recreate the Barbie look, the Carrie Bradshaw look or pretty much any other style, be it one you’ve seen on screen or even just something more familiar to you at Cheshire Oaks.
Watch this space, we’re going to look absolutely mint this summer and so are you!
Featured Image — Warners Bros/Cheshire Oaks/HBO Max
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You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Manchester’s Deansgate
Daisy Jackson
There’s a brand-new menu of smokehouse-style BBQ dishes being served up on a sunny terrace on Deansgate.
Motley, the neighbourhood bar and restaurant on the corner of John Dalton Street, has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen.
That means they’ve got a whole load of new dishes, slow-cooked over hickory wood, that are bringing a taste of a Deep South BBQ to Manchester city centre.
The smokehouse-style meats are all seasoned in-house and cooked for hours, for a perfect fall-off-the-bone experience.
It might be an authentic American smokehouse menu, but it’s firmly British too, with most products locally sourced.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
Motley are calling on local suppliers like Althams Butchers (established since 1856) for their meat, plus greengrocers R Noone and Son, and Cheshire Farm for their real dairy ice cream.
Signature dishes on the new menu at Motley include slow smoked brisket, seasoned in Motley’s signature rub before being slow-smoked for more than eight hours.
There’s also a beef short rib with a chimichurri sauce, and a pork belly strip that’s seasoned with sage and onion and finished with a panko breadcrumb crust.
And for the veggies, there’s a vegan smoked veg kebab with courgette, mushrooms, bell pepper, sweet corn and red onion drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce.
Motley has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen / Credit: The Manc Group
Prices across the board start from just £16, served with beef dripping fries, rainbow slaw, pickles and homemade beef gravy.
As for small plates, you can expect short rib bonbons, homemade corn bread, spicy chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower, mac and cheese, and frickles.
House favourites like steak, vegetable hash, salads, and burgers will remain on the Motley menu.
Victor Gonzalez, food and beverage manager at Motley, said: “Our new signature smoked dishes are all crafted and seasoned in-house then slow cooked for hours over hickory wood to create rich and smoky melt-in-your mouth flavours.
“From our slow-smoked brisket to our home-made sides, everything has been carefully crafted to bring an authentic taste of the deep south to Manchester and we can’t wait for guests to try it.”
Motley can be found at 2 John Dalton Street on the corner of Deansgate in the city centre.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Coffee Rules: The Greek-born cafe that’s gone on to become a beloved Greater Manchester brand
Danny Jones
It’s rare that you find a place in an already saturated food and drink scene like Greater Manchester’s that genuinely comes across like a local community cornerstone, but that’s exactly what we got when we visited Coffee Rules in Salford.
We went for a brew, one of those viral iced coffee we’ve seen on socials, and maybe a nice bite to eat – but we left with much more and the impression that these lot are onto something big.
Opened in Arta back in their home country (also up in the northwest, by the way), they’ve never struggled to get queues out the door, and it’s no different here. This one is run by two siblings, 23-year-old Thomas and his younger brother Marios, 30, who have been smashing it since 2023.
Since launching their growing UK brand in the likes of The Meadows neighbourhood – one of two they have in the city of Salford alone, the other being Swinton – they’ve brought the lines with them. With authentic Greek food and drink like this, it’s not hard to see why.
They’ve now expanded to more than eight sites total, including one still keeping their own local reputation alive over in Athens, and this looks to be just the beginning.
Having not only spread across the ten boroughs but further out into the region with their Liverpool locations as well as a Yorkshire stronghold up in Sheffield, there’s more to come from Coffee Rules, both in terms of premises and their plans to take on the rest of the brunch game and beyond.
Suburban Mancs may have already seen the regular midday and weekend crowds that pack out their Chorlton venue, the Rusholme one is often filled with fresh-faced uni students in need of their caffeine fix, and it’s an increasingly similar story for those based in Bolton.
Or maybe you’re one of the many people based in Manchester city centre, who nip to their quiet, tucked-away corner of Ancoats for a fresh bake or even to have your eye caught by some of their merch with that modern mythological-inspired logo.
Whichever one happens to be closest to you, you’ll have the same satisfying experience, from sipping on speciality coffee and the scran, to the service and all-around atmosphere.
They’re also about to start hosting board game nights over at their Salford site, where they’ll be making the most of their large terrace with plenty of seating, which also has the added bonus of a retracted pergola – perfect for sunny days or simply sheltering from the Manc rain.
One thing we also noticed was just how many locals not only popped in throughout our time there, but the sheer number that had chosen to start their day at this particular spot.
There’s a regular Greek crowd, of course, but there’s also the native Salfordian and those currently residing in and around the up-and-coming area, who were pulling up in the large car park and taking a pew, or even those just looking for quick and top-quality grab-and-go stuff.
In fact, it’s one of the quickest venues we’ve seen fill up that fast in a hot, Med minute.
Speaking of, whether it be one of their superb Spanish lattes, or the equally sweet, sultry and viral ‘Freddo Cappuccino’, or their traditional spanakopita, not to mention their many Mediterranean pastry variations, there’s a big call for pretty much everything on the menu.
We could go on at length in listing what impressed us about just this one Coffee Rules branch, and we’ve made many trips to their Chorlton one in the past already, but it’s probably best that we just urge you to give it a try sometime soon. Trust us, you won’t be disappointed.
This is one of the fastest-growing franchises in the UK, and it’s no wonder they keep pulling in plaudits and invites to bigger and better industry within the industry as time goes on events over the past few years.
Oh, and one more thing, there’s plenty of savoury stuff that you’ll likely fall in love with, but we highly reccommend ordering the red velvet. Wow…
Danny Jones -
14th July 2023 
