Want that straight-up or on a chain?

Chères Readers,

Ça va?

I have a confession. I am head over heels with this new jewellery range from NYC. Alison Hessert is the creative genius behind Mixology NYC and has created, among other fabulous things, chains incorporating old-school decanter labels.

Whiskey, Brandy, Gin and Absinthe (et al) in olden days and posh country mansions, aren’t served in the bottles  they come in at the off licence. They are poured into crystal decanters, and so you know your gin from your Vodka, pretty little silver labels are hung around them.

It seems, that Alison Hessert has decided that said labels would look better hanging ’round the necks of stylish young ladies instead and I agree. I love ‘em they’re frikkin hot, and I want them all! Gin for Monday, Whiskey for Wednesday, Brandy on Friday etc..

Xx

Win £400 Every Hour Today on My-Wardrobe.com

Dear Readers,

How’s things?

I just got an email from My-Wardrobe.com: To celebrate their 4th Birthday, they are holding a ‘party’ on their Facebook fan page. Every hour between 9-5, Wednesday April 28th, they are going to be giving away £400 to be spent on their website. What they want you to do is post on their wall and tell them how and why you would spend the money.

They say, “If you win you can spend the £400 however you like but your post has got to catch our eye, so the more inventive and creative the better”.

Sounds like a bit of a bargain to me, you can enter as many times as you like in the 8 hours too apparently. I’ve bought a couple of things from there, it’s pretty much a on-line designer boutique.

Become a fan of my-wardrobe on Facebook, choose things that you would spend the money on at My-Wardrobe.com and post it on the Facebook fan page between 9 and 5.

Bohno he didn’t – He did! he scored a Paris Vogue Cover

Chères Readers,

Ça va?

Happy Monday.

Yes, at first it seemed Ireland’s biggest rock star had persuaded the Roitfeld to put him on the cover… Then I heard that Penelope Cruz was guest editor for Vogue Paris this month.

There are also three covers;

Bono and Cruz,

Cruz and Streep

and the big one with, Penelope Cruz, Naomi Watts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and… Kate Winslet, yes that blonde bottom left, that’s Kate Winslet.

Panic not, Vogue Paris hasn’t lost all style cred, the covers are massive promo for (Product) RED. Everyone, on the main cover at least, are wearing Gap (Product) RED Tees. I think it’s safe to say that Cruz has just written (RED) on her shoulder with a marker pen in the one with Meryl Streep. (Maybe that’s why Meryl looks a bit awkward, or is it cause Cruz is ‘naked’ and snuggling up to her…?). Anyway, yay Charity.

Xx

Crochet. Not to be confused with Croquet.

Dear Readers,

Where did the sun go? How does it know that it’s Saturday; more of us are off work and so want to be out in the sun that we’ve been longing for through the office window all week. How does it know not to come out and spoil us? One of life’s little mysteries…

Anyway, I was on a bit of a mission today to buy some crochet, you know that kind of needlework that Doilies are made of. Not that I was looking for doilies, I was looking for dresses or a waistcoat. I’ve been keen on the idea for a couple of weeks but since the sun came out the need to buy some to perfect my summer wardrobe has become much bigger. If I can’t find any vintage these are a few pieces I’d happily settle for instead:

Topshop Dresses

L-R: Asos Crochet and chain waistcoat, £25, Oasis Crochet Waistcoat, £25; Sass & Bide Crochet cotton vest, €471.79 at Net-a-porter.com

River Island Cardi – Not Strictly crochet but because the knit has such a big / loose weave it kind of has the right vibe.

Tim Ryan

Other Inspiration:

Diane Von Furstenberg : (Apparently this is crochet lace).

Sasha Pivovarova by Facehunter

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Editorial: Knitwear? Pretty though.

Xx

All “inspiration” images via google.

Like Fancy Dress at A Jumble Sale

OR… Is that your bed or your wardrobe.

Dear Readers,

I spent the afternoon with fabulous Dublin blogger, Arsheen of Fashion Filosophy. Who’s working on a new project, an on-line ezine, called Day Dreamer. She asked me to take part in a really cool styling idea. Myself and two other fashion-loving Dubliners have been given a randomly selected bag of clothes with the task of styling ourselves from the contents.

I tipped every piece out onto the floor and had a rummage through the lot. The scene was quite reminiscent of my bedroom floor / bed after a week of deciding which outfits to wear. I nearly always get to the point on a Sunday or Monday evening where I actually have to search to find the duvet to get into bed under all the outfits I’ve tried on. By this time in the week my room looks like the bed of the spare room at an 80′s dinner party. Except instead of being covered in posh coats, it’s covered in all my clothes. Tuesday is tidy the room, wash the clothes and hang up what I haven’t worn yet, day.

Looking through all the pieces Arsheen bought round was literally like fancy dress at my own private jumble sale. I’ve been sworn to secrecy as to what the final look was like until the mag is launched next month but I had the best laugh trying to style myself and then pose for photos. I can’t wait to see the final pieces.

Xx

Subculture: Fashion and Music

Chères Readers

I’m off out dancing this evening, it’s a long time coming and I cannot wait! So excited! In the meantime I’ve been thinking about subcultures, especially after posting about the pyjama girls the other day. I’m just posting these to represent a couple of the most well-known music-based subcultures of the last 60 years.

Teddy Boys, Mods, Punks and Skins.

Xx

A Sunny Weekend In Dublin

Chères Readers

It was a fantastic, hectic, busy, lazy weekend. I shan’t bore you with the details, most of it was nothing to do with fashion, it was all about Dublin though. I’m just going to post a few words that made up one of the best weekends I’ve had in ages.

The Liffey Boardwalk, The Morrison Hotel

White Wine, Tanqueray

Cigarettes, Baths

McDonalds Cheeseburgers

New Friends

Old Friends

Reading Outside, Wild Horses

A new moon

The Seaside, Yachts

Talking, Laughing

Rocknroll

Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix

Flip flops and Dirty Feet

Taxi drivers

Lazy Sunday Mornings

Hugs, Photos, The Royal Marine Hotel

Vintage Festival

Buses

Boys, smiles

Ryan, Gavin, Stephen, DS and Emily.

More photos and all outfit details on HerApparel as usual.

Xx

Pyjama Girls

Chères Readers,

Happy Friday!

I know the title of the blog is Dublin Fashion, but really it’s style that features here most. I think of fashion as that depicted and decided by magazines, designers and expensive runway shows.  Style is what you and I decide on, what we choose to wear everyday, the way we put pieces together and how we dress ourselves.

Style can also be a rebellion against the expensive, the dictatorial and the ‘norm’. It is why we are inspired by candid or ‘real’ photographs of famous people as much, if not more-so, than we are of their editorial / press shots.

Rebelling against the norm in every sense has long been the remit of the teenager. Although seemingly, any style stance seems to have gone hand-in-hand with music of the time. Last night at the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar the Pyjama Girls was screened for the first time. Selling out it’s first few shows, the docu-movie follows “a group of teenage girls from the Basin Street flats near St James’ Hospital” Dublin. A group of teenage girls who wear pyjamas outside. Apparently a recent phenomenon, I was speaking to a friend and avid Dubs fan this afternoon, she told me that even as far back as the late ’80′s  she witnessed the ‘trend’ every time she walked to Croker on match day.

The trend has seemingly only come into the public conscience in the last few years and it’s definitely a Dublin / Irish thing; I was talking to a couple of mates in the UK about it recently, just to see if the wearing of PJ’s anywhere other than bed, was popular there too. The answer was a resounding, no. So as much as the trend might not appeal to all and according to the documentary makers, has received a ‘negative response’, I love it. Although it may not be (obviously) tied to music as many similar teenage trends have been over the decades it is what it is; a statement. As much as the girls who are wearing their PJ’s to do their shopping, or hang out with their mates say it’s just comfy, it’s also saying a heck of a lot about who they are. And that is never a bad thing.

Image via Herald.ie

Style Icon: Vanessa Paradis – French Fancy

Chères Readers,

Two things:

1. Seeing as the weather has returned to cold and has plummeted back down to 3 degrees or something; along with

2. The fact that all flights across the country are grounded and there is no hope of flying off somewhere hot.

I’ve plonked myself next the fire to catch up on some magazine reading. Among other things, French Vogue, L’Officiel etc.. I was reading Teen Vogue. As well as stuff inside (honest), I caught the back cover Ad; the new Chanel Coco Rouge with Vanessa Paradis. I know the ads have been out a while and there really is nothing new to say but it just reminded me of how amazing she is:

Plus it sparked my first ever memory of Chanel. Vanessa Paradis dressed as a bird (of Paradise I presume) on a swing in a birdcage. Pure magic. This ad she did for Coco Chanel perfume is 18 years old! I’m genuinely shocked.  I used to have a copy of this photo on the wall in my bedroom when I was in school.

With cheekbones like that it’s no wonder Chanel are still using her in their ad campaigns. I’ve posted a few more of my fave pics: Chanel:

Pretty Editorial

Positively Fierce Editorial, I absolutely love this photograph.

Xx

Chain, Chain, Chain

Chères Readers,

What a day. The temptation to skive off and people watch on the Green was almost too much to bear. But you know how much I love a nosey ’round the shops…

As you might well know, you lovely fashiony types, when Erin Wasson launched her Low Luv jewellery a couple of season ago, according to NY mag there was a bit of hoo-ha over whether or not the designs were hers or Bliss Lau’s. Meh, whatevs all I know is that both collections are super and all this malarkey only served to promote ‘em both.

I was in love with them though, and at $1,000 t’was never going to happen. But oh, how I love you H&M (Henry Street), I wandered in there perfectly aimlessly today for the first time in a while and lo, look what they did!

I think it’s actually supposed to be worn the other way around. In fact it is, but you know what? I like it this way. The other way looks great but when I sat down I sort of sat on the bottom chain (I’ve a short torso) and it made getting up from the table at lunch quite the affair! I very near strangled myself. So it shall be, forever worn back-to-front. Ah what’s the harm in mixing things up a little?!

Xx