The 9 Absolute Best Things to Buy this May: From Rainbow Eyewear To Royal Wedding Condoms

With festival season looming large on the horizon and the rainbow brights trend showing no sign of abating, we’ll be snapping up these tonal cat-eye sunnies by need-to-know indie eyewear brand Jeepers Peepers. With their rimless frames and sugary three-tone colour gradient of baby pink, powder blue and yellow, these specs are the easiest way to add a directional twist to any summer outfit. Team them with a simple tee and this season’s must-have raw-edge indigo denim for major casual-cool brownie points. £24.

From his East London home, photographer Chris Dorley-Brown has documented the evolving landscape of his neighbourhood for close to thirty years, but his new project looks at the lives of its residents. Now those images are yours to peruse in The Corners, a beautiful coffee table book published by the small but mighty Hoxton mini press. Using multiple exposures to create vibrant street scenes, Dorley-Brown’s dynamic work is full of life and movement, depicting unassuming corners of East London and the people who have passed by them since he began shooting in 2009. As Dorley-Brown explains: “An Orthodox Jewish family and a woman pushing a pram appear on the street corner of a half demolished building, when in reality they were never there at the same time.” £30

If you’ve found yourself lamenting your lack of IRL social interaction as you scroll through your Twitter feed for the umpteenth time, it might be time to take a break from your palm-sized portal. That’s easier said than done, of course, but this dinky pocket book from School of Life, designed to ‘bring sanity to your most intense technological relationship’, is genuinely helpful. A tongue-in-cheek look at social media culture featuring imagined Instagram posts by John Ruskin and ‘likes’ by the Pre-Raphaelites, this is a subtle reminder that your social feeds are not your lifeline. Time to unplug, tune out and switch off. £8.

With June marking the turn of a fresh flock of talented grads to showcase their best work to the fashion industry, long-time global ambassador for GFW Henry Holland has designed four bespoke tote bags to mark the occasion. On sale at Primark for a purse-friendly £3, the bags feature Holland’s signature vivid stripes, slogans, polka dots and animal motifs, with nearly a half of proceeds going to the Graduate fashion Week Foundation. If you’re headed to the festivities at Brick Lane’s Old Truman Brewery next month, make sure you’ve got one of these bad boys on your shoulder. £3.

Dreading your next long-haul flight? Get your beauty sleep in style with these plush silk eye masks by Jessica Russell Flint. Combining British heritage-inspired themes with contemporary colourways, each hand-painted and generously padded design is made from the softest silk. We particularly love the alphabet range, emblazoned with an initial and its corresponding illustration: F for Fries, P for Peacock and X for – you guessed it – Xylophone. The optimum gift for the sleep-deprived friends in your life. £32.  

‘Inspired by early mornings’ might be a bit of an oxymoron for most of us, but Anya Hindmarch’s latest waxy offering has us seriously excited to wake up. Blending notes of Arabica beans, cedar wood and spices from across the East – with a dash of frankincense and amber thrown in – the 100-hour burn candle forms part of Hindmarch’s debut fragrance collection, Anya Smells. Its freshly brewed coffee scent isn’t just for mornings, of course – light this candle at your desk or when you get home from work for the warm, comforting invocation of a cup of steaming Joe. Extra fuzzy-feeling points for the adorable googly eyes design. £150.