Accessories are a plenty with world leading brand Coach arriving to Ireland in a store within a store for the first time.  Bags are stunning and the mens totes and shoulder bags are perfect for either sex.  I adore the reversable Totes in particular.  A fabulous bag by Radley caught my eye and Vivienne Westwood doesn’t disappoint  either.

Radley

Vivienne Westwood

Dress and Jacket LK Bennett, Dress Tara Jarmon

Heidi Higgins

Coach

Coach

Sculptural Accessories Designer Una Burke  who works with leather is in situ  in Joyce this Spring/Summer with her beautifully constructed pieces of wearable art.  Una Burke is a 2010 MA graduate of the London College of Fashion having spent time working with (probably the best Miliner in the world), Philip Treacy .

As if to agree with me these images from the Louise Kennedy photo shoot at Dublin Airports T2 arrived into my in- box this afternoon.  Louise Kennedy has been doing fabulous statement dressing for yonks.  She knows how to cleverly use key pieces and this season is no exception.  Colour blocking and more than a passing reference to the 70′s and Louise Kennedy has come up with exactly the sort of clothes that sharpen my appetite.

STOCKISTS:

Ø  Louise Kennedy, 56 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 – 01 6620056

Ø  Brown Thomas, 88-95 Grafton Street, Dublin 2 – 01 6056666

Ø  Louise Kennedy, No 9 West Halkin Street, London, SW1X 8JL, United Kingdom – 0044 207 235 0911

www.louisekennedy.com

I’m mad busy in work at the moment and have hardly stepped out of the showroom for days but when I bumped into Ruth ni Loinsigh yesterday I promised I would pop around the corner to her new space on Drury Street, Dublin.   Om Diva is by Ruth’s own admission  styled in homage to her own bedroom (age 15)  It has that carnival appeal that puts you instantly into a good mood.   The old space around the corner in the Georges Arcade was a very special one but wasn’t big enough to house everything Ruth has planned.    This is not just a retail space though, Atelier 27 is a truly fantastic business model where everything works in complete harmony.  There is an Incubation space and retail design studio in the process of being set up over three floors where young fashion graduates will be able to manufacture and then sell their designs.  The  very popular Sip and Stitch classes are being expanded into a fully blown sewing school  and will offer a variety of courses which will be taught by some of the in- house designers and will go from beginner level to advanced highly technical tailoring and dressmaking skills.

Of course the shop is as delectable as ever with it’s  mix of colourful, quirky and vintage clothes along with accessories with that ‘must have’ appeal and all at very reasonable prices.

The edited collections on show yesterday included Ghost (which seems to be cheaper than the last time I looked at this label), Heather which is laid back LA and for the first time one of my favorites Irish Designer Heidi Higgins with beautifully simple timeless classics and London label Lungta De Fancy loved by the celebs and great for artfully draped pieces combined with elegant layers.  Hobbs was looking stronger than last season and Jaeger is going from strength to strength and completely gets the whole good value simple and elegent theme with the main Jaeger and Boutique By Jaeger collections.   Strong colours feature with a palette of orange red and pink with purples and blues in contrast with the neutrals making a return for next Summer with lots of white underpinning the entire season.

So here are some of the pieces that I picked as my favorites

Gerard Darel €215

Gerard Darel €225

Heather Cardigan €130

Heather Tunic €80

My Summer Shoe Choice €95+Peep toe €85

Hobbs Dress €265

Ghost Dress €125

Ghost Maxi €255

Blue Hobbs dress with Jaeger Silk print shift

Arnotts Spring Summer was strong on great value and I was really impressed by the price points through all the collections.  Bags and shoes are as strong as ever with great lingerie which includes the fabulous Pleasure State, Princess Tam Tam and Yummie Tummie.   Lots of carefully bought collections across all areas which is what a great store should offer.  Arnotts has it all in spades…  I’m baking ny Christmas Pudding and thinking of Christmas day and Summer all in one……moment!

Irish designers ‘Kate&Ava’ will open a Christmas ‘pop-up’ shop in The Powerscourt
Townhouse shopping centre in Dublin on Wednesday 1st December.
Open throughout December, the shop will stock a wide range of pieces
from the Kate&Ava Autumn Winter 2010 collection, an exclusive
selection of the duo’s much loved party dresses, as well as occasion
wear from Tyrrell and Brennan, great knitwear from Heather Finn and
Gertrude Sampson, and tops from Helen James. Prices will range from
€150-€320. With silk scarves and accessories from €30 there will also
be an exciting selection of gift ideas.

One of Kate and Ava's gorgeous dresses on sale

What could be better than buying beautiful Christmas Cards and giving to the ISPCC at the same time.  Head into Brown Thomas where they have some stunningly beautiful designer cards by some of the top designers.

Brown Thomas has worked closely with its top designer brands to produce a range of world exclusive designer Christmas cards featuring drawings from Victoria Beckham, Roberto Cavalli, Manolo Blahnik and Lulu Guinness, alongside images from Lanvin and Tiffany & Co. Purchase a set of three cards for €10 in Brown Thomas Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway and all proceeds will go to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).

One of the must see movies of 2011 is going to be Black Swan and it’s set to be one of the most stylish movies of the year by all reports.  Clothes were designed by the Mulleavy sisters better known as Rodarte.  Rodarte is one of the most popular of all the catwalk shows at New York Fashion week and has a huge star studded following which includes Natalie Portman one of the main stars of the movie.

‘It was Portman, who stars as prima ballerina Nina Sayers in the film, that introduced the Mulleavy sisters to Aronofsky, a meeting which led to a commission to create 40 theatrical costumes. Most appear onstage in performances of Swan Lake, but the duo also went on to design much of the knitwear worn throughout the film, from leg and arm-warmers, to wrap-over cardigans and leotards’ (The Telegraph).

All Toni & Guy salons and the Metro Spa will be open from 11am to 6pm for appointments as normal on the day, and all customers will receive a €20 giftcard to use towards their next appointment.

There are eight Toni & Guy salons across Dublin as well as in Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Waterford, Kildare and Belfast.

Temple Gate Hotel  Ennis, is celebrating Irish Shoe designer Nina Divito’s success and the hotel’s success of being awarded “Best Place to Eat in Clare” by giving away a pair of Nina’s shoes, “The Eddie”, during November.  The attention to detail is amazing especially in “The Eddie” shoe which has a has a rose vine detail on the heel that is very simple yet eye-catching

To be in with a chance to win these shoes, worth nearly €1,000 and just in time for Christmas (!), dine in Legends Restaurant in November and enjoy a Nina Divito inspired 3 course dinner for a mere €28.50.  In keeping with the Italian theme, dinner enjoy a glass of Prosecco with our compliments!  To book contact the Temple Gate Hotel on 065 682 3300

Women go on sale at Tel Aviv shopping center

Window display at Dizengoff Center shows real women with price tags in provocative installation aiming to battle sex trafficking.

By City Mouse Online and Matan Abramovitch Tags: prostitution human trafficking Israel news

Shoppers strolling through Dizengoff Center mall in Tel Aviv on Tuesday were confronted with a shocking widow display of women for sale, with price tags attached to them.

Upon closer inspection, it became obvious that the display was part of an installation by the Working Group Against the Trafficking of Women, part of a widespread campaign.

	Women in a mall window display as part of an installation to provoke passersby to realize the tragedy of trafficking of women.
	Photo by: Eyal Nebo

Seven unkempt young women stood in front of shoppers passing back and forth under a sign that read “Women for sale according to personal taste.” Some of the women were made up to appear as if they had been beaten, and all had price tags that listed details such as age, weight, dimensions, and country of birth.

The stated purpose of the installation is to solicit a large amount of signatures to submit to the Minister of Justice, in order to put forth a private member’s bill by Kadima MK Orit Zuaretz to criminalize johns who solicit sexual services. Members of the Working Group believe that a law like this could eradicate the phenomenon of trafficking in women.

“The victims of trafficking don’t get to rest during the day, so we don’t either,” explained lawyer Uri Keidar, one of the organization’s founders. “Actually, what we see here happens all the time all over the country, and here in the mall you simply cannot ignore the reality in front of your face.”

(This Article was taken from H’aretz Daily newspaper Israel)

Nina Divito was very recently involved with Arthritis Ireland helping to get the message across that 1 in 5 people in Ireland are affected at some stage by Arthritis and it’s not just the elderly that are affected.  As someone who has problems with my hands and feet,  I think this is a really worthy cause, especially since there is an organisation that offers so much help and support to Arthritis sufferers.