Dune’s sell-out lockstock sandals are back in stock: Our honest review
The fateful combination of being an editor on a shopping section and being easily influenced by fashion trends is bad news for my bank balance. Zara welly boots taking Instagram by storm? In my basket. Blush is the new bronzer? Sign me up.
So when Dune’s dupe of the coveted Chanel dad sandals returned for spring/summer 2021, I was ready to invest.
Regrettably, the more popular something is, the stronger my desire is to snap it up, and boy do these high street lockstockk sandals fit the bill. They initially launched in May 2020 and sold out within a week, before being restocked (with an 800-strong waitlist of eager shoppers) and selling out once more.
Last year’s dad sandal trend was born thanks to Chanel’s pricey pair, which will set you back an eye-watering £2,500, so when Dune’s £110 alternative came onto the scene, it was no surprise that every influencer started donning them.
While they were out of stock last year, some eBay sellers were flogging pairs for double the price as shoppers were desperate to get their hands on the designer dupes.
Read more:
As flat footwear continues to dominate catwalk trends this year (thank god, as we’re not ready to return to heels yet), the ugly sandal is here to stay, and the high street brand’s offering is back with three new colourways.
My impulsive shopping habit means that I managed to snap up a pair to put to the test, but they are selling out fast, so you’ll need to act quickly if you want to rock them too. Read on for my review of the Dune sandals that everyone is talking about.
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Dune London lockstockk double strap flat sandals Buy now At first, I had to question whether I could justify spending just over £100 on a pair of sandals, as I wouldn’t usually consider them an investment shoe, like a pair of boots or heels, for example. But the main selling point for this pair is they go with quite literally anything: leather-look leggings; a white tee and a blazer; a floaty midi dress; jeans – you name it. But to get my money’s worth, I was planning on wearing these all summer, so they had to be comfy. Other high street brands including Public Desire have already created even cheaper Chanel dupes (£24.99, Publicdesire.com), but I always find that spending that bit extra on shoes makes a huge difference when it comes to comfort, and that was true of this Dune pair. The real leather sandals feel comfortable and cushioned, but also sturdy and long-wearing. Ideal to dress up or down, I’ll be wearing these on summer pub crawls and warm sunday strolls alike. The quilted leather isn’t too shiny or plastic looking – an effect you can get with cheaper pairs – and the gold hardware feels high quality too. As I have wide feet, I always appreciate an adjustable element to a shoe, as you can really tailor the fit. The Velcro straps at the back of the sandal help you do just that, but I’d say the fit is quite generous, so size down if you’re between sizes. The chunky nature of this sandal surprisingly makes your feet look smaller, in the same way that chunky trainers make your legs look slimmer. If you’ve got large feet and were unsure as to whether you can pull these off, you’ll be surprised. I went for the classic black colourway for versatility, but there are six other options to choose from. I’ve got our eye on the multi-coloured tweed pattern that would add a smart touch to a casual fit, the light camel shade that will pair well with the all-brown look that everyone is obsessed with currently, and the blue denim pair that just screams summer. Buy now £ 110 , Dune {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}}
For more fashion dupes read our review of the M&S slingbacks that look just like Chanel’s £700 pair
IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing.
Here’s Why Chanel Contos Wants You To Keep Conversations Around Consent Going
This week, Victoria revealed that it will be shifting towards providing compulsory consent classes across all state schools as early as next month.
The move is massive, expanding on the Respectful Relationship program already in place in Victoria, which, before today, centred broadly on relationships but didn’t zero in on the deeply problematic issue of consent. The shift has been triggered by the Victorian Government’s consults with Sydney-born sexual assault petitioner Chanel Contos, whose Teach Us Consent petition has earned almost 40,000 signatures since launching just a few weeks ago.
While Victoria’s action is a step in the right direction, Australia’s sex education system as a whole has long been criticised.
For years, and in some cases—decades—there have been calls to broaden the curriculum in a number of ways, to feature more inclusive experiences around sex. This study called for an overhaul of sexual health programs back in 2013, stating that the system deeply fails young same-sex and gender-fluid or gender-questioning people. There’s also been a movement to educate young people around sex as a means of mutual respect rather than a “conquest” and more recently, one of the more fundamental anchors of teaching sex to all—addressing what really defines consensual sex, the only kind of sex that should ever be had.
The last few weeks have been like a reopened wound into Australia’s endemic culture of, as former Prime Minister Julia Gillard might put it, “sexism and misogyny". There are renewed appeals to address Australia’s inconsistent approach to what defines sexual consent, with ages of consent and definitions varied depending on which state or territory you live in. The idea of “consent apps” has sparked fiery national debates. Horrific experiences from Brittany Higgins, Saxon Mullins, and Grace Tame have surfaced and sadly resonated with thousands, with former NRL player, and mental health advocate Joe Williams prompting on the ABC’s Q+A special Consent airing that “we need to demand better”.
Chanel Contos’ petition site also features over 3,500 testimonies related to alleged sexual assault incidences in high school—stories that feel eerily all too familiar. For Contos, and for the tens of thousands of voices joining her, and the many more staying silent, it’s time to radically change sexual consent education in Australia.
Here, we chat with Contos about how her petition got off the ground and why it’s important to keep these conversations going.
So, How Did This All Start?
“It started with an Instagram poll posted to my Sydney following asking, ‘Have you, or has anyone close to you, ever been sexually assaulted by someone who went to an all-boys school?',” says the former Kambala student.
“I then asked for testimonies of the assault, only detailing the school of the perpetrator, not their name. Testimonies started coming in, and I created a petition with the intention to show principals of schools around Sydney—but then it really took off.”
Contos has since collected thousands of testimonies of alleged sexual assault and violence, and while this number is still climbing, the reality is that almost one million Australian women have experienced sexual assault perpetrated by a male in the last 10 years.
“Even though I knew sex education wasn’t adequate in Australia—I didn’t know it was this bad and so inherently sexist,” Contos says.
“Barely anyone was taught about female pleasure. The clitoris was removed from diagrams in certain schools in biology and sex ed. Abstinence is widely taught. We are not equipping younger generations to have pleasant sexual experiences. The thousands of testimonies were confronting—but not at all surprising.”
What’s The Overarching Problem?
Australia’s justice system is flawed when it comes to supporting survivors of sexual violence—this investigative piece by the ABC reports that more than 140,000 sexual assaults were reported to police in the last 10 years and police rejected almost 12,000 of these. What’s worse is the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare actually deems sexual assault as a major crisis in Australia and reports (Sexual Assualt In Australia 2020) that young females in their late teens are more likely than other Australians to be victims of sexual assault, with young males of the exact same age group most likely to be recorded as perpetrators.
This is where Contos believes core change and education need to happen around sexual consent.
“We need to teach what rape culture is, we need to teach that we live in one,” she says.
“We need to teach what toxic masculinity and slut-shaming is and discourage it. We need to explain that victim-blaming is currently the norm but that is not okay. We need to teach about queer sexual education and consent. We need to teach girls that when they are ready to have sex, they will enjoy it. The narrative that all men want is sex, that girls must avoid it, and that sex is only pleasurable for men makes it really hard for girls to differentiate between consensual and non-consensual situations.”
Now, What’s Next?
At this point, Contos describes the culture of sexism in Australia as something she feels is still significantly “omnipresent” and while the last few weeks have been a tsunami for change, there’s still so much ahead.
“I have 4,000 testimonies that haven’t yet been reviewed. This needs to be done as soon as possible but [it] is draining,” she says. “I am in the process of creating a pro bono committee of professionals who can advise me on how to direct my campaign, and in creating a proposed holistic curriculum. Next, is to take this further in other states and territories and get it spoken about in parliament, the media, and schools across the country.”
As for how we can all help keep the traction on this going, Contos urges everyone to keep sharing the petition, keep emailing your school or old schools and keep emailing your state and Federal MPs.
In NSW, there’s now an e-petition you can sign calling for consent to be taught earlier to reduce the extent of sexual assault experiences among young people in NSW. It requests that holistic sex education be included in the curriculum, addressing facets of toxic masculinity, rape culture, slut-shaming, victim-blaming, sexual coercion, and enthusiastic consent, as well as queer sex education.
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Design credit: Dom Lonsdale
The Bachelor NZ power rankings: Moses finally gets his pash on
Tara Ward delivers the power rankings for week four of The Bachelor NZ, as Moses Mackay’s search for love takes a dramatic turn.
Listen to The Real Pod recap a week of pole dancing, pottery and pashing on The Bachelor NZ. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.
Welcome back to another exhausting week of The Bachelor NZ, where our intrepid singleton Moses Mackay inched closer to deciding which woman he wants to be friends with the most. All of them! None of them! I can’t keep up and neither can Moses, even though this is week four and so far we’ve enjoyed 11 episodes of sweet, sweet nothing. There have been more paddleboards than pashes and more cheese platters than cheesy romance, and I have had enough.
I am Lydia, standing on the edge of a cliff, writing Moses’s name on a piece of fruit and lobbing it into the sea. I am Negin, leaving Moses hanging on a high five and I am Lana, visibly cringing as we mould a cup of misery on the pottery wheel of life. Things were so dire the women took to pashing sandwiches and licking plates to get some action, and the greatest group date was when the women drove through the KFC drive-thru. What a journey! What a moment! This love affair with The Colonel might be the best slow burn we’ll see all season.
It seems the women are also tiring of this wicked game. Devaney located the nearest exit and it looks like Chanel Excel is about to CTRL+ALT+DEL her way out of this shitshow as well. What if all the women decide to leave and the finale is just an hour of Moses offering his final rose to Art Green? Oh, how we’d laugh-cry, because this is exactly what could happen after Moses announced he might not choose anyone at the finale.
Hold onto your sides, because HAHAHAHAHA!!!! That Moses is such a trickster, and if he doesn’t pick a girlfriend at the end of this convoluted dance I will channel Annie and wrestle The Bachelor NZ franchise to the ground and smoosh its face into the floor until enough time passes for me to regret everything and then cling to its back and beg for forgiveness. That’s how healthy relationships work, right? Right.
Just jokes, because Moses is indeed feeling the pressure over choosing a lady friend, and if it takes him 11 episodes to swap saliva with one of these babes, then it’s fine. Does that mean that finding everlasting love in five weeks is an unrealistic expectation? Is the Pope Catholic, or is the Pope an opera singer eating chips in a Nelson art gallery during a one-on-one date?
Hard to know for sure, so let’s climb aboard the wobbly paddleboard of love and drift off into the rankings.
SENT HOME:
Devaney
Devaney sent herself home because she wasn’t feeling anything for Moses, but my theory is she left because she heard the next group date would be a shitty talent quest where the women would need to publicly embarrass themselves to win 10 lousy minutes with The Bach. Full credit to Devaney, because knowing the perfect time to leave a party is a talent in itself.
Negin
Things looked hopeful for Negin when Moses chose her for a one-on-one date, but it was clear there was nothing romantic between the two. When Negin left Moses hanging on a high five, it summed up her experience on The Bachelor NZ: a lovely time, but no connection. Fly free Negin, fly free and eat all the frozen berries you want.
Lydia
Lydia did not have a good week. She was hassled for not doing the dishes even though she was clearly putting dishwashing liquid on her make-up brushes, and she became so annoyed at not getting the one-on-one date that she wrote Moses’s name on an orange and hiffed it off a cliff. She also refused to take part in the talent quest, a smart move considering it is 2021 and women should not have to perform for a man to be considered worthy of his attention.
Also, Lydia threw the orange while wearing a classic Eeyore dressing gown, and had she not herself been thrown out of Moses’s own fruit bowl of romance, this would have given her #1 position in the rankings. Sad.
Lou
Lou found herself trapped in the friend zone when Moses decided their relationship could never be romantic. Listen, romance is overrated and what Moses really needs is someone who can eat a whole lemon without making a face or use Negin’s bikinis as an eye patch, and Lou ticks both those boxes. Goodbye Lou, I hope Moses sat on that random trampoline to think about his actions for a very long time.
THE FINAL FOUR
- Lana
There’s a lot to say about Lana’s week, and most of it involves this strange thing that happened at the rose ceremony:
It’s not clear what Moses was up to, but it sounded like he said “Zorro” when he pressed his sweaty palm directly over Lana’s perfectly made-up face. Sure, why not, nothing else made sense this week. Lana sang her heart out in the talent quest and Moses took her on a one-on-one pottery date, where she was Demi Moore and he was Patrick Swayze and Lana reckoned the whole thing was “cringey”.
Cringey, as we live and breathe! These two lovebirds pressed their lips against a block of clay and immortalised their cringe forever, and if you tilt your head to the left and hum slightly into the wind as you look at this photo, you’ll hear the faint echo of one precious word: Zorro. Zorro. Zorro.
- Chanel Excel
This week’s cliffhanger suggests Chanel Excel will wipe her cells and delete her rows and eliminate herself from the competition, and this must not stand. First, Warner Brothers must release the tapes of Chanel’s Excel-joke talent quest entry, because one Excel pun is never enough. Secondly, Chanel Excel is the best thing about this hectic KFC drive-thru to love, and anyone who says “ladies and gentlefullas” must not go gentlefulla into that good night.
- Shanae
I finally found proof that Shanae is putting all her eggs in one basket, but then again, once you go yoga paddleboarding and eat fruit on a beach with someone, can you ever go back? The answer is no, especially after you accidentally reveal that one of your competitors is into open relationships. Eggcellent work, Shanae.
- Annie
Annie and Moses have two tickets on the Love Boat, destination Final Rose. She wowed him with her interpretive dance skills and then they kissed on a boat, snuggled in a grapevine and river rafted until they turned into hobbits, or something. “Her idea of putting movement to poetry, I was like, yo!” said Moses, and I was like yo! when they finally smooched. Art and Matootles pashed in their season too, so yo! the rest is history.