Kezia Rice

27th May 2022

How to Go Clubbing By Yourself

After nearly two years of on and off closures, going to a nightclub still feels like a revelation – there’s a sweaty hedonism in the air that wasn’t around in the simpler times of 2019. But what to do if your pals aren’t as committed to hearing every beat drop within a 20 mile radius as you are? Before you write off the idea of going clubbing by yourself, take a moment to consider the benefits that a night out alone can bring: No getting dragged along to endless smoke breaks. No losing people in

Stylist • 23rd May 2022

Should I stop my friends from commenting on my love life?

The world has been gripped by the court case between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp – almost unnaturally so. The nature of the case requires the jury to cast judgment on the couple’s relationship, and so it seems that anyone with an internet connection has felt entitled to do the same. When a case presents so many details, it’s instinctive to piece together your own narrative of events, but the only people who know what really occurred behind closed doors are Heard and Depp, whatever trending TikTo

Dame • 27th April 2022

Are Things Moving Too Fast? How (and Why) to Take It Slow

Many of us know the feeling of being swept away in the heady rush of a new relationship. Time ceases to run at a normal speed. Work commitments seem trivial. Texts from friends reminding us of Friday night drinks threaten to burst our loved-up bubble.

But common sense tells us that abandoning reality to fall deep into a new relationship is risky business. While it might feel crazily good to speed from zero to one hundred in a matter of hours with a new partner, feeling such emotional intensity

Good On You • 14th April 2022

Why Outfit Repeating Is the Coolest Thing You Can Do for the Planet

It’s time to ditch the unhealthy idea that outfit repeating is a fashion faux pas. Here’s how to rock the same clothes over and over while still looking and feeling fresh.

In a culture shaped by fast fashion, one of the biggest modern-day sins you can commit is to wear the same outfit on TikTok or Instagram more than once. Whilst you’d have thought that clothes were purchased to be worn again and again, in the world of online content creation, your wardrobe’s purpose is to warrant a break in sc

Business Insider • 6th April 2022

I bought a one-way ticket to a new city to chase my dream. Here's how I got freelance work and free housing from my network to do it.

• Chris Naydenov knew no one in Berlin when he moved there to pursue his dream of photography.
• He took a job as a janitor to make ends meet while he promoted himself and made contacts.
• This is how he became a cohead of a digital-marketing agency, as told to Kezia Rice.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Chris Naydenov, a 24-year-old photographer in Berlin, about how he supported himself when starting out. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up

Metro • 27th March 2022

I lost my mum 6 years ago - seeing Happy Mother's Day social media posts hurts

On Mother’s Day 2016, I didn’t wake up with the same urgency as I had in previous years.

There was no need to scour the garden for spring flowers to arrange in a vase. I wasn’t coordinating an elaborate breakfast with my sister while my dad kept my mum out of the room, until we were ready to invite her to her specially laid place at the kitchen table.

I no longer had a purpose on Mother’s Day, because I no longer had a mother.

This was a reality I had been processing for the last seven months

25th March 2022

Why Mother's Day Is My Least Favourite Day Of The Year

I normally bury any resentment about not having a mother deep in the pit of my stomach. But at this time of year, the feeling reappears and curdles like sour milk, growing more bitter as Mother's Day approaches and I'm reminded of what I no longer have.

19th March 2022

Has Main Character Energy Gone Too Far?

When news broke that Putin had invaded Ukraine , individuals around the world began questioning how they could help victims of the crisis. Former 90210 actress AnnaLynne McCord had the answer. As she expressed in her (deep breath) spoken word poetry video , if only she had been Putin’s mother, her love for him would have altered his intentions and prevented global conflict. The video predictably went viral, with viewers asking how AnnaLynne thought that centring herself as the solution to war i

Metro • 8th March 2022

International Women's Day is a holiday in Berlin – why not in the UK?

March 8, 2021 was my first International Women’s Day in Germany. It was a Monday, but I didn’t go to work that day.

Instead, I met up with a friend to enjoy one of the first days of spring weather.

With Berlin still in the midst of lockdown, we treated ourselves to takeaway falafel, which we enjoyed sitting by the canal, watching ducks swim past as we tucked into lunch.

My friend and I talked about a lot of things that day, but the misogyny we had both experienced was a common theme.

We were

Vice • 17th February 2022

How to Have a Great Night Out Without Drinking

The sober night out was radically different to her usual experience. On a heavy night out, she’d often end up curled up with her head on her knees, waiting for her friends to call a taxi. The enjoyment she got from partying sober inspired a gradual switch to semi-permanent sobriety.

Abi’s initially fearful reaction to the thought of going clubbing without the social lubrication of alcohol is pretty relatable. I spent the summer of 2021 either drunk or hungover, and attempting a sober night out

Metro • 29th January 2022

Going out clubbing tonight? Why don't you try it sober?

Last June, I watched the England vs Germany Euro 2020 football match with a group of friends in a pub in Berlin.

When England won 2-0, I celebrated like a true Brit: By getting completely drunk and throwing up everywhere.

The next morning, I woke up with a terrible hangover and even worse post-drinking regret. I called my dad for moral support.

‘Kez, half of England probably threw up last night,’ he reassured me. ‘And we’re through to the quarter-finals!’

He certainly had a much more casual

Refinery29 • 12th January 2022

Did Having A Type Stop Me Finding Love?

I’m not alone in seeking out a specific look in the people I date. Khloe Kardashian married one 6ft+ basketball player and had a baby with another; Jennifer Lopez got together with two of her backing dancers; Kate Moss’ exes include near-identical, dark-haired rock musicians. In her song "All Too Well", Taylor Swift recently declared – with a considerable amount of side eye – Jake Gyllenhaal's type to be women in their early 20s. Even when you’re a celebrity whose DMs are undoubtedly overflowing

Stylist • 16th December 2021

Going ‘out out’ is a bloody great workout (if you can do it sober)

After months of isolation, spending back-to-back nights partying this summer felt nothing less than necessary. During lockdown, I’d been doing early morning workouts and weekend runs just to keep myself sane. But when bars and clubs reopened, my daily routine soon slipped into a new cycle: work, drink till the early hours, barely sleep, repeat. I wasn’t initially bothered that my workouts had fallen by the wayside. As Strong Women writer Chloe Gray wrote a little while ago, sacrificing sport for

Stylist • 7th December 2021

“Being the social secretary in my friendship group is draining – it’s like a full time job”

Now, as the Christmas party season kicks into gear, all I want to do is stroll into a bustling pub full of my friends and have an ice-cold cocktail thrust into my hands by one of them. But like many others, I feel a heightened pressure to take on organisational tasks to keep my social life thriving. I spend my evenings researching events, coordinating timetables and making bookings. Every spare minute during my workday, I’m on WhatsApp relaying arrangements. It gradually hit home that my friends

The Independent • 25th November 2021

Black Friday isn’t just bad for your wallet, it’s damaging the climate

Black Friday has become infamous for insanely cheap deals, frantic online check outs and apocalyptic images of customers fighting over TV sets. It’s no surprise that, according to a recent survey by idealo.co.uk, nine out of 10 shoppers find Black Friday highly stressful.

The same survey also revealed that 24 per cent of shoppers regret their Black Friday bargains. But the impact of these unwanted purchases goes beyond a tinge of self-loathing when checking your post-Black Friday bank balance.

Grazia • 14th November 2021

Love Island's Millie Says She Manifested Love And Success - Would It Work For Me Too?

Last summer, Millie Court left the Love Island villa as the show’s winner, with £50,000 and a new boyfriend by her side. She truly appears to be living her dream life.

Metro • 31st October 2021

Eco-friendly brides share how they reused and upcycled their wedding dresses

Even as modern brides and grooms choose to subvert outdated wedding traditions, one custom that prevails is walking down the aisle in a one-of-a-kind outfit.

But investing so much money, time and fabric into a wedding dress that you only wear once makes little sense.

As we become increasingly aware of the fashion industry’s staggering contribution to global warming, wearing an outfit on just one occasion is the ultimate fashion faux pas: 2021’s version of pairing socks with sandals.

Even cele

Vice • 7th October 2021

The Post-Lockdown Stress of Having the 'Best Night Out Ever'

When I moved to Berlin from the UK in September 2020, I had barely any experience of the city’s nightlife. My first few weeks were spent exploring the bars and clubs that were open, before the second lockdown hit in November. The reaction I got from Berliners I met was usually sarcastic: “What a great time to move here” or “you’re not seeing the real Berlin”.

Once Germany’s lockdown was finally lifted in May this year, I had a lot of catching up to do and embarked on a messy, summer-long club c

The Independent • 25th July 2021

Opinion: Love Island has to end its toxic relationship with fast fashion

Love Island is truly the TV show that everyone can’t stop watching. Critics point to its lack of diverse casting, perpetuation of unrealistic beauty standards and predictably heteronormative storylines. Today, I’ve got something else to add to the long list of areas where Love Island could do better.

Unlike the majority of former contestants, who break up mere weeks after declaring undying love under the cameras and the sun, Love Island has been engaged in a long-term, if toxic, relationship wi

Stylist • 13th July 2021

“Why I’d rather go for a run than a drink on a first date”

When people hear that my first date of choice is to go running together, they often think I’m crazy. “How can you jog and talk at the same time?” or “Don’t you both get really sweaty?” and “How does that even work?” One friend joked that my penchant for asking guys to go jogging with me has primal undertones – as though by testing their fitness on the first meeting, I’m scouting for a healthy mate. In reality, I’m just on the hunt for an active, outgoing guy who is up for a challenge. Those who