Ah Debenhams, you pearl of North-side shopping goodness. How I so easily forget thee. Two things made me head over there this morning; 1. the size 16 mannequins the company have begun to use this week, which have received copious press coverage and 2. The ridiculously low price-point of the H! by Henry Holland range, which I found so hard to believe. So off I trotted heading straight for the first floor and the H! collection.
Well it’s not subtle that’s for sure, it’s a massive range of pink and purple neon. From cycling shorts and cropped tees, to denim and leather gillets; from floral dresses to checked bikinis, topped off with pretty good accessories.
I always find that the accessories in high street / designer collaborations leave a lot to be desired. The shoes and totes in particular in this collection are definitely worth a try.
I ended up trying on a really lovely, not too bright and garish romper / playsuit (€54) which I have to admit I can’t believe I actually really liked.
I wasn’t hesitant because of the style or anything, I was purely hesitant because it was a playsuit. Quite frankly, they usually look awful on me. If you haven’t got a perfectly proportioned torso then a well-fitting playsuit, or jumpsuit for that matter, is about as easy to find as a golden fleece. A lot of high street stores compensate the fact that we are not generically sized, by adding a gathered / elasticated waistband. All this usually ends up creating, is a lovely lumpy-looking hip area and a crushing sense of defeat. As I said, not in this case and I think it’s because there is a really fitted section right around the middle (where the print becomes smaller) and makes the whole thing feel more like a dress. Plus the shorts part of the suit is, how shall I put it, quite loose. There is one peril of trying on playsuits that every girl knows about!
Trying this on reminded me of an absolutely gorgeous playsuit that I saw in the window of Maven Boutique on Georges Boutique last week. The romper in question made from ivory silk by New York designer Samantha Pleet and is a bit out of my usual price-range at €280; but with my newly discovered confidence in discovering the right playsuit, I headed over there.
The layers are gorgeous and really unusual, it’s old Hollywood meets Faye Dunaway-glamour meets NYC cool. Amazing. Plus the House of Harlow necklace goes with it perfectly, even the jewellery knows I need it! What’s more, that’s 2 out of 2 or a 100% record in trying on jumpsuits. Niiice. A good day’s window shopping I would say.
I went into town this morning, in my Hunter Wellies. Because it was sleeting, there was no other way around keeping my feet dry I’m afraid. They did indeed keep me dry but I’m going to have to find some sheepskin socks or something, to wear inside because my toes were numb, numb, numb.
Anyway, I took a short-cut through Trinity College at lunchtime and was greeted by the sound of a beautiful Chopin Piano recital. The DU Music Society are taking part in a 12hr piano marathon in aid of Oxfam. It was a lovely surprise and sounded incredible.
But with numb toes and no sign of a let-up in the snow / sleet / snow weather pattern, I decided there was no choice but to get home and get warm. I ended up looking at the Financial Times, How To Spend It Magazine on-line. Specifically the fashion section’s Key Looks for Spring 2010.
I immediately loved the pieces in this shot, especially the French knicker-style shorts. They’re pretty, the nude colour is about as on-trend as you can get and they make a great change from the usual denim cut-offs that come out every year. I’m just no sure how I’d feel about wearing something that is so blatantly meant to be worn as underwear.
I have a Basque/corset or two and have zero problem wearing them as ‘outerwear’, but knickers on the outside? Sure isn’t that Superman territory? Either way, I think they might just be the perfect festival / sunny afternoon item. So I had a bit of a look elsewhere on-line and found some alternatives that might just be less of an issue to wear.
On the other hand, if the thought of wearing underwear as outerwear is just a bit wrong, there is another way of wearing shorts this spring/summer that steers away from the usual denim; leather shorts are everywhere.
L-R: Leather short €75 Oasis; Horace leather short £154 Farfetch; Black leather shorts H! by Henry Holland £25 (yes apparently that price is correct) Debenhams.
Boy am I glad I left posting these photos until today. What absolutely rubbish weather, these pics should bring a spot of sunshine to the page… Thankfully after getting caught in a previous down-pour on Thursday night, the weather turned into spring glory on Friday. Cue, photo-op, in nice weather.
I found the amazing skirt in Urban Renewal in Urban Outfitters, Temple Bar last week, reduced from €40-something to €22. Their Urban Renewal stuff is recycled / reconstructed vintage and has its own mini section on the top floor. The blouse is thrifted, (officially my new favourite word) and kind of clashes with the skirt but in a good way I think.
Choosing shoes was a bit tricky. Ankle boots, looked dreadful and black shoes were too dark. These ones, I ended up wearing, are blue and gold with a wooden heel and felt a lot less wintry than anything else I tried.
Thought you might get a bit of a laugh from these photos from the talk last Thursday evening. I just found them on the Nokia Ireland Facebook page. I don’t think I’ve ever looked so terrified! There are loads of great pictures on there of some ridiculously chilled and stylish people too. I will warn you however, they won’t offer as much humour as these two photos will; don’t say I didn’t warn you! x
I have been very lucky to be involved with this years Nokia Young Fashion Designer Award. I took part in a talk last night at the exhibition in Powerscourt Townhouse, organised by Spy. I chatted about what it’s like to be a blogger, how I got started and answered a heap of great questions from fellow Dublin bloggers and people who are interested in starting their own blog. It made me realise that although it is still quite an underground phenomenon in Ireland, blogging is on the increase here. The US and European countries like Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany are really at the forefront of the blogging world and the prospect that Ireland is getting involved is really exciting.
It was a really amazing experience, nerve-racking naturally, but getting out and meeting real, rather than virtual people was so refreshing. Not that on-line contact isn’t really rewarding, but it was great to have an excuse to get dressed up and make and effort. Every blogger knows the comfort typing away at home, slurping tea and wearing your dressing gown. (For warmth, you understand…)
The people I spoke to had various queries about writing and running blogs; mostly about building followers and which platform to use. I was really lucky to have chosen WordPress; of course all platforms have their pro’s and cons but I just felt straight at home with this one. The wordpress forums are amazing and an invaluable source of support and information. There are some really knowledgeable people who post on there and I know I wouldn’t have been able to get the blog just as I like it if it wasn’t for the advice I was given so generously on there.
They also wanted to know how bloggers get inspiration. In my experience I just post about things that I really love, because it’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to. I think it’s that, that makes blogs different to magazines; they don’t rely on sales and therefore any content is completely the authors choice. I know the ones I really love are so appealing because the author has a certain ‘voice’ which makes them individual.
Speaking of blogging about what you like, I’m a sucker for a fashion designer’s moodboard and this year’s NYFDA finalists’ were incredible. They show just how talented the designers are; having an idea for a dress / design is one thing, executing it well, is something altogether more impressive.
Just a little note. The well publicised and globally desired Nicholas Kirkwood, Alice in Wonderland shoes will be in Brown Thomas as of this weekend. I’m going in just to try them on, why not? As bonkers as it might be to have these at the end of my pins, I would love to actually wear them.
Because we only really have one stand-alone designer boutique on Grafton Street, whenever the new season runway collection drops at Tommy Hilfiger I try to get a peek. I went in yesterday for just that reason and found a collection that was all about nautical styling and candy-pink tailoring.
I really liked the ‘Gisella ‘silk vest / tank tops in Navy, white and pale pink with gold trim. Amazingly they are €119, which is an incredible price for a top that you could happily wear forever.
That’s not the only frugal fashion in-store, while I was there I got talking to one of the sales girls, (as happens when you start taking photos in a clothes shop). She was telling me about this dress:
She told me that because of the massive response the dress got when the collection was shown in New York Fashion week last year, the company decided to make it more accessible. After a few tweaks and dropping the price by around €300, they incorporated the dress into their regular womenswear collection. I think it’s a great idea, plus they actually have the newly reduced-in-price dress in the Grafton Street store. It’s priced at €180 so I tried it on. It’s on a very rare occasion that I am able to try on a dress from a current runway collection with the possibility that I could buy it afterwards.
To buffer the startling differences that result from both myself and a supermodel wearing the same dress I shall post a picture of it hanging awkwardly on the hanger in-store between the too:
I should have put shoes on to take the pic but I had my ever trusty boots on and it really wasn’t the best combination.
About a two years ago, I was absolutely mad for a pair of Sass & Bide Black Rats Leggings. Could I find any? Could I ‘eck… but while searching cyber-space, I found my-wardrobe.com.au, an Australian shopping website. They had them, which made sense I guess seeing as Oz is home to the Sass & Bide ladies. I ordered them. 5 days later all the way from Down Under they arrived at my door, beautifully wrapped and ready to wear. I then found out that there was a my-wardrobe.com based in the UK as well.
Since I wrote about them, I wanted a LowLuv by Erin Wasson armour ring. A lot. Last Sunday, sitting at home dreading Monday, as you do, I decided to perk myself up by having a bit of a shop on-line. The next thing I knew (because buying on-line is that subtle) I’d ordered a ring and fab House of Harlow necklace. Anyway, they arrived this morning (Wed) by DHL and I’m over the moon. I’d also forgotten that when I ordered, I decided to get them gift wrapped too (it was free I’m not that self-indulgent!) but it made it feel like it was my birthday!
I’m not really a huge on-line shopper, I’m always massively impressed with people who look great in things bought on the net. I love the trying-on -of-things, part of shopping, so that may be why I usually only buy in-store. It turns out I should buy on-line more often though because I love both of these.
The ring is great, it fits really well on my right middle and left index fingers (weirdly), the hinge in the middle of the ring moves really smoothly and I’m delighted I went with the silver version. The necklace is really pretty, the middle of the ‘sunbursts’ is buttery-soft leather and the outside is lots of little diamantés. The mix of leather and sparkles means that I’ll be able to wear with jeans or dress it up.
The two came to about £147 and there was a special offer for free shipping to Ireland that week so I saved £8 there too.
Designer, Debi walker graduated from York College with a degree in fashion, before being accepted into Central St. Martins, London to do a Post Graduate in pattern cutting. Her first job in fashion was in tailoring before she took part in the first season of Project Catwalk, hosted by Liz Hurley. Judges and mentors included, Ben de Lisi,Julian McDonald and Lorraine Candy. Debi made it to the final with two other contestants and showed her own collection at London Fashion Week 2005. Since then she has designed for Liz Hurley’s swimwear range, Miss Selfridge and is now working for Asos. She’s making her first ever trip to Dublin this week to help judge the 20 finalists designs at the Nokia Young Fashion Designer Awards. She took a moment to answer a few questions from this very appreciative blogger.
Whisty: Hey Debi, thanks for taking the time to chat! Can you tell us about landing your first job in fashion, working for a London tailor?
Debi Walker: Donal Campbell was the name of the shop; it’s really high-end; it’s like Saville Row but for women basically. He sold to “ladies of London”, high society women; Winston Churchill’s granddaughter was one of his customers. When I look back now I think, “Yeah, I learnt so much working with him. He was 70-odd years old so he literally knew everything and everything had to be perfect and precise. It’s completely different being at college and then actually going to work for somebody like that; learning the technology behind really classic, simple designs.
W: You then took part in season 1 of project catwalk, I watched it recently on YouTube and you seemed to handle it all really well.
DW: I look back now and I cringe. What was funny at the time was the amount of people who would write on websites, “Oh she’s being really rude!” Lots of people would write good things but lots of people would write bad things. My brother would call me and say, “Oh you’ve got to read this one”.
W: But you made it to the final 3 meaning you were able to show at London Fashion Week,. That must have been incredible?
DW: That was brilliant. Having a collection shown at London Fashion Week was a really good experience. It was the very first Project Catwalk so I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.
W: Afterwards you started working in retail and most recently you designed a collection for Asos?
DW: Asos Africa just launched 3 weeks ago and practically sold out on its first day. So that was really good, it’s really exciting when you put all that hard work in. The director [of Asos] came up to me and said, “We’re going to have to take it off the site.” I was like, “Oh my God… why?” He said it’s nearly sold out; it’s really good when someone says that. We’re currently working on the second Africa hit at the moment. Hopefully that will launch in July we’re doing the production and everything out in Africa at the minute.
W: So it’s kind of like your first collection since showing at LFW?
Yeah kind of; I mean it’s the Asos label, for Asos and I’m part of a big team and we all have an input into things.
NYFDA
W: So the tables will be turned and you’ll be doing the judging at NYFDA have you any idea what to expect?
DW: I’ve tried not to think about it too much because I think you need to go into things with an open mind and just wait and see what designs people come up with. People forget the blood sweat and tears that goes into creating a design. I know firsthand what it’s like to put a design together and how much work goes into it.
W: Will you find it hard to be a judge?
DW: I know what it’s like being judged, I think you’ve still got to be quite encouraging. Whether it’s something you like or you don’t, everyone has different opinions on things and I think that’s what you’ve got to remember. You might think something’s amazing but there might be another judge there that prefers something else.
W: Have you been allowed any sneak peeks?
DW: I haven’t no. We get shown everything on the day (Wed 24th March) and have a chat with each of the designers about their designs and how they’ve gone about things. I’ve been told a rough outline of what it is. I think until I get there I just don’t know what it is that I’m going to see, to be honest.
W: Do you think basing a design on Nokia’s OVI.com it sounds like quite a tricky challenge?
DW: I do yeah, but in a way it’s good because I know what it’s like to have a difficult challenge set for you and a really weird brief. With Project Catwalk, one of our first challenges was to go shopping in B&Q and put a dress together.
W: God… I must’ve missed that one, it sounds horrendous!
DW: Yeah I was. They didn’t tell us where we were going, they just took us to B&Q and we had a £50 budget and literally 10 minutes to run around with our trolleys. We piled them up with what we could buy with that budget and then made a dress out of it at the end which was a bit random.
W: So what you just grabbed some chicken wire and tarpaulin?
DW: Ha-ha, yeah and I went straight for the shower curtains which was a really bad idea actually, it really didn’t stitch very well.
W: But surely your knowledge of pattern cutting must have come in very handy?
DW: Well I thought that at the time, but actually no.
W: There are 20 NYFDA finalists, which sounds like quite a lot of designs to judge, how will you decide what to look for?
DW: I think that now I’ve been working in retail for a few years I think I’ll be looking for something that’s quite commercial as well. I think it’s easier to do something creative than something really wearable. I think it’ll be about that balance really. About something that is innovative and creative but still wearable. I don’t really know what to expect.
W: I know last year was just really good fun, is that important?
DW: Yeah, I think it’ll be nice to see that again because you get so caught up with being commercial it will be quite nice to see young designers just being really creative again. It will be nice to see that.
W: Before you go, have you got any tips for the contestants?
DW: Be truthful, be confident in your designs and don’t be too bolshy!
The Nokia Young Fashion Designer Award exhibition takes place from Thursday March 25th to Sunday March 28th at Powerscourt Townhouse, D2. See the Facebook page for more details. All images are of the most recent Asos Africa collection.
I have recently re-discovered my love of Tweed. I think it’s a culmination of things, a love of vintage fashion, a love of beautifully made clothes, watching Atonement last week and seeing the costumes used in that. Or possibly it’s just from watching the coverage of the Cheltenham Festival. I mean tweed and horses live hand-in-hand.
Anyway, this jacket circa 1940, was made from Scottish Tweed by Barnett-Hutton. Some Tweed can be quite masculine but this jacket has really pretty shades of lilac, pink and pale green in it and has three little, worn, leather-covered buttons. I have to be a bit careful wearing it, which I find really hard to do so I wear it as little as possible. You can see that it was really well looked after before I got my hands on it.
Because the jacket is quite busy, I put it with plain pieces; a silk blouse a plain hat and peep-toe flats. It was looking a bit old-fashioned and prim so to give it a bit of edge I pulled on a plain fitted skirt and a 70′s multi-chain necklace. All outfit details on Herapparel.wordpress.com.
Ah Debenhams, you pearl of North-side shopping goodness. How I so easily forget thee. Two things made me head over there this morning; 1. the size 16 mannequins the company have begun to use this week, which have received copious press coverage and 2. The ridiculously low price-point of the H! by Henry Holland range, which I found so hard to believe. So off I trotted heading straight for the first floor and the H! collection.
The layers are gorgeous and really unusual, it’s old Hollywood meets Faye Dunaway-glamour meets NYC cool. Amazing. Plus the House of Harlow necklace goes with it perfectly, even the jewellery knows I need it! What’s more, that’s 2 out of 2 or a 100% record in trying on jumpsuits. Niiice. A good day’s window shopping I would say.
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