Navy is the serious alternative to black this Winter and I know from the sales of Falke 70 and 100 denier navy tights that this is a trend that has taken a firm hold. With its military and school background wearing top to toe navy is not such a strange idea. Perfect for a strong work wear look it smacks of power which given the uncertain times we live in is not a bad idea. Pair a beautiful navy or strong blue pussy bow blouse with a pencil skirt and crombie masculine style coat. Team a pair of navy trousers with a shirt and a pair of brogues. Accessorise with pearls and a vintage navy handbag which are to be found at any of the second hand stores and you will be ready for the most gruelling of business meetings.
My Jaeger London Camel coat arrived in a box to the showroom during the week. Camel is the big story this Winter and this one ticks all the boxes for me. Sometimes though Camel against the skin is just too draining and so I reached for one of the bright wool Electronic Sheep samples in the showroom and the whole look is fab. I’m walking around with a label now dangling from the scarf as it’s a sample and will just have to have at least two or three for myself as they are so cosy and do a great brightening job for day time. The gorgeous silk scarves from Susannagh Grogan are simply a beautiful evening or special occasion option. The wonderful thing about both of the scarf companies is that they are Irish and right now I’m supporting great Irish design though come to think of it just shopping and keeping those tills ringing is supporting the Irish economy too!
Electronic Sheep is available in Bow in the Powerscourt Town HouseDublin, Clerys Dublin, County Boutique, Ennis, Fabucci in Naas and many other leading boutiques as well as online. Susannagh Grogan is available from Heidi Higgins Portlaoise, Boutique Belle, Ashford and leading boutiques as well as on- line. Jaeger London is available from Arnotts Dublin, Serena Sandymount, Mc Elhinney Ballbofey and House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols Dublin
I don’t know where to begin with this post but it suddenly came to me while I was watching the ads on telly whilst waiting for Vincent Brown to begin his nightly attack on whatever poor sucker sits nearest to him. Last night it was a truly awful man representing the Catholic Church who bore the full brunt of Vincents scathing and relentless quizzing. I must say it was quite satisfying really. Anyway back to the ad breaks of which there are far too many and one that caught my eye for a blanket thingy with arms which is now on sale in Dunnes stores. I was fascinated and started thinking about this dam recession again and how we wont’ be able to afford the heating bills and will be forced to wear fleece blankets that we climb into in order to keep the heat in.
As I write this we are in the middle of an unusually warm spell but sure as eggs are eggs it will get seriously cold. Cold enough to either put the thermostat on a permanent high or pile on the clothes indoors. I can’t forget last Winter when going outside to buy a pint of milk was a major expedition of Shakleton proportions and I found myself uttering the words “I may be sometime” when in fact the shop is normally a five minute walk away.
So here’s the story and what is on offer should you decide to either go for the Slanket ( a big blanket with arms) that you climb into but would have difficulty just popping up from your couch to make a cup of hot chocolate. Or the Snuggle suit, which is really a large fleece babygro for adults and demands that you step in and zip up. Not ideal clothing for opening the door to the Pizza delivery man. By the way all the companies selling these like hot cakes at the moment and one of them, The All In One Company even makes bespoke versions in whatever you choose. Camouflage, rabbits ears, spots or stripes are proving very popular I’m told and while I think they could be very cute on children the thoughts of a grown adult is quite frankly grotesque and seriously cringe inducing.
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All In One
Slanket
Snuggle Suit from House of Bath
Where did that word come from? I used to call it Sheepskin but if you want to get into semantics it means the sheepskin from a once shorn sheep, in other words a two year old sheep. If you are like me and prefer to live in a denial bubble of live animal V clothes on my back debate then maybe just ignore the whole description thing. Main thing to note is that it’s a very strong trend for Winter (which apart from the cosy clothes ) I am not looking forward to if last years pathetic one is anything to go by.
These are my picks of the Shearling craze. Good thing to note. You can do it cheaply if it’s just a fashion thing but it maybe something you want to invest in as there is long life in those really great authentic jackets.
After years of convincing myself that red lipstick and me were destined never to have a happy love affair and several shades of red lipsticks in various brands I finally found the one. I have never looked at Dior before but Rouge Dior 999 was applied to my lips in Brown Thomas in Galway last week as I prepared to hold a Falke style event. A true tomato red with no blue or pink tones it suits my fair skin and unlike lots of reds is not ageing. In a creamy satin finish it doesn’t dry on the lips and stays put for a really long time. Very classy indeed.
The fantastic Irish Imelda May ( to listen to her just click on the icon above) rocked Electric Picnic and sits well with the theme of the moment which is red. I’m predicting that the LRD (Little Red Dress) will be a must have for this coming Winter. There is a shade of red to suit everyone and it will certainly cheer things up a little in the cold dark days ahead.
There is only one rule in fashion it is that every fashion rule at some point is made to be broken. This Autumn/Winter it’s the wearing of socks. What has, up to now been considered a total faux pas is now de rigeur. It’s open season for socks. Worn with open shoes, over tights, over other socks and with slim trousers tucked into socks. Seen on the catwalks of designers Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Celine & Alexander Wang to name a few. Worn short, knee high, over the knee and thigh high. Worn with bare legs, over hosiery knee highs, worn with sheer or opaque tights. Whatever you’re having yourself mam! Not an easy look to wear and one which can make less than perfect legs look, well yes, less than perfect! If you want to rock this trend without going full on you can show a little sock peeping over a shoe or boot. Light grey sock works well with beige and camel colours and dark grey works with chocolate shades of browns for that country look. Wear black socks over skin tone tights or black opaques with the new (old) calf length skirts.
I will be holding a Falke Hosiery Style workshop in Brown Thomas Galway 2nd Sept, Limerick 3rd Sept, Dublin 4th Sept and Cork 25th September. For further information check out the Brown Thomas website Diary of events
Vintage, has, it seems always been around and I for one, adore it. Problem is finding really good vintage pieces worthy of precious wardrobe space is a challenge which sometimes feels insurmountable. Vintage clothing, like everything else only truly works if it is of the best quality. There are rails and rails of vintage rubbish at over inflated prices easily available and the odd find in charity shops but this website has the best that I have come across. Atelier-Mayer.com is a feast for the eyes (and perhaps the flashing of the plastic). The descriptions of each piece are painstaking, which hopefully avoids possible fit mistakes and in vintage you have to be very careful, those women often had waists in true Barbie proportions with underwear that pulled them in so tight it’s a wonder they were able to draw breath at all. The outfits above, with the exception of the shoes are all from Atelier-mayer.com (I’m superstitious about second hand shoes)
Leather is the best transitional fabric to take you from Summer to Autumn and from Winter to Spring. That’s double wear so really good value using a wear to cost ratio. Muubaa is on everyones radar as a really good value leather brand that’s really rocking the trend. Sunday Times Style magazine had Muubaa as one the best kept secrets and every star has been photographed wearing them from Cheryl Cole to Halle Berry.
I’ve been really lucky because I have all the samples in my showroom, they came to me almost as a gift from heaven, I exaggerate, they came from the Muubaa team reading my blog. I kid you not! They arrived in last week and I am wearing a different one every day! Muubaa (or Cowsound,sheepsound) leather is super soft and really comfy to wear. Coming to Ireland’s best boutiques soon.
This is the time of year when we are still wearing our Summer clothes but with an eye on Autumn. The fashion forward amongst us already shopping for their Winter updates. So what are the trends? and more importantly are there any that you may already have in your wardrobes. One trend seen on the catwalks which translates easily onto the streets and which will be easy to wear is the button up shirt. This is not a continuation of last years Boyfriend Blazer/shirt/ Jeans combo. It’s more demure and ladylike though not with out a certain sexiness. There are many different collars to choose from but the most important rule is that they must be done right up. Tux collars, Contrasting coloured, embellished ones, Peter Pan collars, standard and cutaway are just some of the possibilities and you probably already have at least one of them in your wardrobe.
Pair with leather pieces, ie skirt or jacket or work it into the military look. Add knee high/over the knee socks or simple wear with a pair of high waisted proper wide trousers which will be my preferred look. Use a narrow ribbon in velvet tied in a bow to ddd to the look. One thing though, no men’s ties this time around, it’s not androgynous.
Celine 2010
Dries Van Noten 2010
So, should I be heaving a sigh of relief that Carla Bruni wears tan tights? That several other big names wear them too, that the bare legged look is just a bare faced lie? Truth is that we are always faking it, that’s what we do every time we put on make up, shimmy into our Yummie Tummie cami, slap on the fake tan, wax and pluck hairs that sprout from everywhere but our heads! This is what women have been doing centuries, enhancing ourselves , so wearing a 10 denier pair of Falke Shelina toe-less tights which covers and adds a slight sheen to our pins which is something women (in the know) having been doing for years. Now that the skin coloured tights hit the pages of Grazia this week the secret is definitely out and a good thing too.
Grazia magazine from this weeks issue
