Nicky's Rag Tales

Funky after 40 by nickysragtales featuring All Saints

How to do Funky after 40 or (50) With Levis 501’s making a comeback available from Urban Outfitters and Power shoulders everywhere I’m having lots of deja vous moments. It can be a bit of a minefield if you, like me love fashion but hate to look either like you’ve tried too hard, or worse still, great from the back but a shock when you turn around! So if you did the shoulder thing first time around can you get away with it again? I say go for it but with a word of caution. Make shoulders the one and only statement with accessories kept to a minimum. No drama anywhere else and wear heels to give a balanced look.
If you like the idea of revisiting your 501’s wear them turned up with a blazer and t-shirt. Statement funky coloured heels and bag and you’re good to go.
For great Trendy clothes go to All Saints but avoid wearing it top to toe. One statement piece is all that’s needed.
Leather is so now and the biker jacket can definitely be worn at any age. Wear it over a dress for a smart but undone look.
Accessories are a really cheap way to go funky and the latest huge trend for big scarves and snoods are worth considering. Top Shop and River Island have lots at reasonable prices.
If (and only if) you have great pins don’t be afraid to go for short skirts. With some leg showing make sure to cover every other area. That applies to other body parts too. The old rule is a good one. Only show off one area at a time!

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Om Diva Window Display

George’s Street Arcade is one of those fabulous spaces that always yields something interesting. Om Diva is one of those finds, a treasure trove of girlie fashion from the Far East for both Women and Children. The owner Ruth Ni Loinsigh has an obvious eye for an eclectic mix of colourful fashion with accessories a very strong point. Upstairs has a great vintage section and prices are through the mid price range. A place to rummage with clothes packed tightly on bling bling hangers, go rummage!

Kate Mc Quillan, Om Diva

Kate Mc Quillan was on hand to show me around in what seems a very relaxed atmosphere. I spotted a great twisted grey and black scarf that is half the price of similar ones elsewhere so I’ll definitely be back for that.

Accessories with that wow factor

Multi coloured shawls and scarves

Fab and Totally on Trend Shoes

Om Diva is situated at 21/22 Market Arcade, South Great Georges Street, Dublin 2 t. 00353 2 6334611 e. omdiva@gmail.com

Chlolate dream shift with chiffon ties

This Cholcolate coloured shift dress has taken me to many cocktail and dinner parties and never fails to impress. It needs little accessorising like many of my vintage pieces

Pale blue pearl encrusted Shift

Bronze dress with bronze braided Cardigan/Jacket Pale green/turquoise a-Line shift

Red wool with wool lace top, great with black opaques, boots and a long jacket

Pale green A Line shift Dress

This Pale green A Line dress was bought off a market stall in Cows Lane when the open air market started there on a Sunday. It cost 50euro and I bought it without trying it on. It’s a perfect fit and works dressed up or down and has been worn time and time again. One of the lovely things about wearing vintage is that you are seasonless and always ‘In Fashion’ providing your accessories especially footwear is bang up to date.

One of the nicer things about being a lover of fashion over several decades is that my collection of clothes that I just can’t seem to part with grows. Most of these vintage pieces have been constant wardrobe companions for several years. The Chanel Suit for example was bought twenty six years ago in Jenny Vanders (now in Drury Street Dublin but then in the George’s Arcade) for the enormous sum of £100. I remember putting down a deposit and paying it off over a couple of weeks. It’s from the 60’s and has a glittery thread running through the pink in true 60’s style. I have worn the Jacket and the skirt separately but perhaps the time has now come to wear it as a suit? The lining is pink silk with the intertwining CC’s all over it. Since Mademoiselle Chanel didn’t die until 1973 I like to think that perhaps she oversaw the making of my particular suit.

My 60's Chanel suit

The Kimono robe is hand made and lined in silk. All hand stitched it is really a piece of art work and happily sits in my lounge on the clothes stand in regal fashion.

Vintage Hand Made Kimono Robe

The fun and flirty dress came from Wild Child six years ago and took me complete with fishnet tights and long black gloves to a valentines ball where the theme was a dash of red.

Fun and Flirty

Blue chiffon with beaded white top Dress

The Blue Chiffon dress has such a tiny waist that I don’t know how I ever wore it. I’m dreaming of the day I get back into it but until then it remains a thing of beauty hanging in my wardrobe!

Skin and Bones at London Fashion Week

Designers and Fashion Houses, big players in the Fashion Industry, still don’t get it. They don’t get the responsibility (or lack of) that many of them continue to display when they use catwalk models that are very obviously unwell.

At the age of 12 I was 5′9″ and at that time (many moons ago) a giant among my peers, always stooping to try to shrink into the background. My parents sent me to modelling school to learn deportment. It all sounds very grand now but was very important and the result was that it gave me huge confidence teaching me that it was good to ‘walk tall’! Following that I was stopped on the street by a very reputable Model agency. They however looked me up and down and proclaimed that I would have to lose weight, a subject that hadn’t entered my head until then. I never took them up on their offer but what followed was years of thinking that I was fat and huge issues resulting around food which of course resulted in me piling on the pounds and yo yo dieting for years. Years of constant worry and thinking about what I was going to eat or not going to eat. I spent 15 years of my life with those issues taking up my mental energy.

I am increasingly angered by many of the photographs that continue to come from the Catwalk collections. I want to see girls with shape that show off the clothes, not have them dripping off a skeletal frame.

I’m happy to say that those of us who work in the Fashion Industry here in Ireland have a somewhat more laid back approach and it was heartening that at the recent bloggers brunch all of us around the table looked healthy as we tucked into the hearty fare on offer.

So to all of you who wield influence and make decisions. Please, please take responsibility to identify models with food related illnesses, to help them and above all NOT to hire them.

A sad Neu Blu Eriu boarded up

Now I know this is not a typical upbeat fashion shot but I passed Neu Blu Eriu yesterday to find it all boarded up. The sign on the window says something about water damage but my sense is that we are all slowly drowning in difficult trading conditions right now. Their website has been shut down so I presume that I will have to go to Harvey Nichols to get my Philip B hair products from now on.

I have always loved Charity Shops. They offer the possibility of a great find and at the same time the knowledge that the charity is benefiting. So on my walk to town the other day one Charity shop caught my eye. The Irish Cancer Society shop on the Rathmines Road. Probably because it was so well laid out and the clothes were placed on the rails with easy access. I think it took all of two minutes to find two seriously good value pieces. First up was a John Rocha tweed coat with leather collar and leather half arms.

It cost 25euro and I absolutely love it. The belt shown in the picture is from my wardrobe but it will look great open with jeans and boots. The second find was a Paul Costelloe wool jersey dress. Well cut simple and with a belt and a long jacket or cardigan and black opaque tights with ankle boots it will be just the business. It cost all of 10 euro.

Paul Costelloe Jersey dress

Now with a large bag and very happy with my purchases I continued over the Portobello bridge and passed Christy Bird an antique and bric-a brac shop I have passed every day by car to and from work. What a feast for the eyes, a veritable treasure trove and a Dublin landmark.

Christy Bird Portobello Dublin

Continuing along South Richmond Street and on into Camden Street I headed for the Cake Cafe which is behind the wonderful Daintree paper shop where I always buy the paper for my Showroom invitations that I send to customers twice a year. Go through the shop and you find yourself in a secret garden where the cafe is situated. Gorgeous teas, home baked cakes all served on an eclectic mix of old fashioned tea sets. Try the lemon slice, my mouth is watering now at the thought truly yummy. They also do great breakfasts and hearty lunches in a truly glorious setting. A must visit for every visitor to Dublin and a treat for all who are lucky to be nearby. The end to a very satisfying day.

The Cake Cafe

Ah.... a nice cuppa tea

Fancy a salad?

I left the car at the garage as it has been crying out for a service and started out on foot from the South Dublin Village of Rathgar on my way into town. Rathgar has some interesting and worthwhile shops . I headed for one of my favorite shops The Rathgar Bookshop which has a great selection of eclectic titles along with excellent knowledgeable service. On the way however I found myself inside the new boutique bEUYS and bEUYS and met the owner Fiona Cummins who recently came to Ireland having previously worked in one of my favorite London Boutiques Browns on South Molten Street.

bEUYS and bEUYS owner Fiona Cummins

The interior space is quite soothing and simply laid out with three labels of particular interest. From London the Margaret Howell collection of beautifully tailored pieces and with her roots firmly placed in Menswear the Women’s collection has that beautiful quality of simplicity. Using tweeds linen and cotton Margaret Howell is one of those timeless designers who understands and delivers lasting pieces.

Bruuns Bazaar Bag 150 euro

Bruuns Bazaar from Denmark was established in 1994 and has a huge following for it’s relaxed and elegant collections. This Hold All tote could easily work as a day bag or alternatively as a weekend shopper.

Jewellery 'For The Birds'

For The Birds is handcrafted and designed by Mother and Daughter team Marion and Rachel Mc Cann. They have combined their talents and the jewellery which is wire based has pearls and feathers as well as stones and gems thrown into a fabulous mix. All hand made in Ireland and available from bEUYS and bEUYS.

Leather Dress Bruuns Bazaar 450euro

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bEUYS and bEUYS is located at 99bRathgar Road, Rathgar Village, Dublin 6 T. 0035387 2905402

Tweet Tweed by nickysragtales featuring MILLY

My namesake Harris Tweed couldn’t have been happier that tweed was back in fashion. All the key designers have incorporated it into their collections and it seems to fit well with the current recessionary trend for longevity and durability. Happy that is until one Abdelbaset al Megrahi was released from his Scottish prison back to the welcoming arms of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya. Harris Tweed Hebrides is produced in Scotland and the company have now felt the need to remove all references to Scotland from their promotional material least they suffer a backlash from the angered Americans. The company is due to show it’s collection in New York next month. I wish them the best of luck.

As a very new blogger It somehow hadn’t occurred to me that there was a whole wonderful blogging community out there and last Saturday I came face to face with fellow Irish Fashion bloggers for the first time. Our constant human need to make connections and networks was fully satisfied on Saturday. Organised by Annmarie O’Connor of i blog fashion fame.

The venue was Pacino’s on Suffolk Street Dublin. It’s a stones throw from Grafton Street and two minutes walk from my showrooms but I have to confess I had never been before. It’s a family run retro Restaurant with a cool cellar bar where between a great breakfast of eggs Florentine and lunch we were taught the art of Mojito making! It’s a hard life this blogging thing eh?

Pacino's Suffolk Street Dublin

Goodie bags were provided by Clarins and I was delighted that one of the pressies was an eyebrow kit which feeds right into my obsession with those fuzzy face frames.

You could be forgiven for thinking that all we nattered about was fashion but far from it with one gorgeous blogger whispering her reason for passing on the marvellous Mojito’s was that she was pregnant.

I’m now at home surrounded by bling and a collectors bib given to us by Julie from the ISPCC. Glue gun to the ready I will post the final results when the campaign kicks off. So roll on the next months gathering and thanks again Annmarie!