Governmental garçons: how politics turned French style on its head

A new book celebrating French style is coming out, just as France is changing its view on fashion. Blame Nicolas Sarkozy, blame the recent burkini ban, but French fashion is now all about boyishness

How brows became the beauty obsession of the decade

Fluffy, HD or microbladed, eyebrow grooming is a boom business thanks to icons such as Cara Delevingne

London houses are second most over-valued in world – UBS

‘Bubble index’ rates Vancouver as city with most unsustainable house prices and puts several other cities in middle of bubbles

Stay on the Ecuador farm that produces the world’s most expensive chocolate

A bar of To’ak chocolate sells for a tooth-splintering $345 – but a stay in a treehouse in the Ecuador rainforest where it originates costs just $15 a night

Foundation stone: leading architects on the homes that shaped them

How does your childhood home influence the one you make yourself? Seven leading architects look back at the foundations of their career

From catwalk to checkout: how Burberry is trying to reinvent retail

The raincoat maker caused a stir at London fashion week by using its shows to sell to customers immediately – not making them wait for designs to hit stores