I want a Slice of Tweedy Pie

Hey All,

I’m having my second Tweed crush of the year. (see the first here).

I’ve always been a bit of a fan of the stuff but looking around the high street yesterday I fell hard for all the edgy tweed jackets I saw. Every one from Tommy Hilfiger to New Look, seems to have their own version in different shades and really modern cuts.

I always think of country gents when I think of tweed; you know, the flat-cap wearing, handle-bar moustache growing, Hooray-Henry types. However this seasons Tweed has been updated and made much more versatile.

I can actually imagine these jackets being worn with leather trousers and slouchy tops. I took a few snaps of the ones I saw and the others I found on-line:

Tommy Hilfiger

Penneys / Primark

Penneys / Primark

Dunnes Stores

Zara – I did actually take a photo of this jacket in store, but it was so blurry, if I’d posted it you would’ve felt drunk looking at it!)

Next

New Look (Actually one of my favourites, and on sale at the moment).

Topshop

Topshop

If you need any more inspiration; apparently there are ‘Tweed Runs’ in the UK and US. People who have a passion for Tweed, all get together, dress in their favourite fabric, cycle around London, LA, Boston, DC… etc.. Mad, but jolly fun I’d wager, what what.

Image via Tweedrun.com

Image via dapperdandash.wordpress.com

And if that wasn’t inspiration enough, here’s a few snaps of rather stylish ladies in Tweed to tempt you instead:

Alexa Chung – Image via Arguewitheveryone

Off Duty Models – Image via altamiranyc

Kate Moss – Image via – posh24

Whisty

Xx

 

Oh Manolo – You never fail to woo

Hey All,

You may or may not know that I like to bug shoe-boutique assistants by trying-on very beautiful shoes for the benefit of this blog. Last night, while late-night-shopping, OR early evening wining and dining, meant that it was time to try the boots of the season on. After looking at the Brown Thomas Christmas windows (wadda you mean you haven’t seen ‘em yet!) quite a lot, over the last week or so, I’ve completely fallen for the Manolo Blahnik white fur boots. Oh Lordy, I want them bad; if nothing else, they look so flippin warm.

I think I actually prefer them in black, rather than white. The ones I tried on were two sizes, too big, they only have one pair in store you see. You have to order them if you want them because they are  all hand-made (by Santa’s elves???). You pay around €85o, your boots get commissioned and hand-made, and then you collect them in a week or so. Ah you so would. Dare you!

Whisty

Xx

Weak but not daft… Goddies Bagged, in a sensible way.

Hey All,

You know what? In my entire wardrobe, I only have one cardigan (by DVF) that fits me perfectly. I don’t actually remember another one since leaving my school uniform behind, that fitted nearly half as well.

1. The top of the sleeves are always too tight, even if I go a size bigger than usual.

2. There is always a gap between at least two buttons; if not more.

3. If its fitted then its always too tight around the middle.

4. If its loose, then either the front or the back seems to slouch down, leaving the other side exposing parts of me that a cardi is positively supposed to cover-up.

5. Women’s cardies are embellished. I don’t want sparkly buttons, or frilly cuffs, or badges, or lace. I just want a plain, well-fitted cardigan, something similar to what my Granddad used to wear. Though preferably without the pipe-ash and maybe in a softer wool.

It seems that my prayers were answered in the shape of Lanvin for H&M Menswear. I looked again at the collection on-line last night. Just to remind myself of the frilly, shiny party dresses that were going to be fought over this morning. Lovely and all that, just not my bag. There wasn’t a specific piece that made me want to queue in the cold for hours. I admit I was rather partial to the white tux jacket, but for that price I would rather find one that no-one else had.

I also didn’t fancy looking like Lanvin for H&M for the rest of the season; and have people come up to me with a sense of knowing in their eyes. Giving me that pitying look as they pat my one-shouldered, ruffled, red satin party dress.  Followed by a slow shake of the head as they enquire, “was it worth it?” *Cringe*.

Apparently people were queueing all night at  both Sth. King Street and Dundrum for a slice of this made-in-China, Lavin pie. I, on the other hand, wandered in at 10am; asked the important-looking woman with a clipboard; “Is there a queue for Menswear”. To which she replied, “no”. To which I replied, “lovely”.

Swooping in, I picked this up in grey and navy-blue (size small); walked to the changing rooms and chatted briefly with a rather charming Scotsman who gave me a tag. I tried both colours on, decided on the grey, checked that it wasn’t made of Polyester, (Merino wool actually), went to the cashier, paid (€59.99) and left. Smug? Nah, not at all, I still broke under the pressure of buy-it-before-it-sells-out marketing. Happy? It’s the best fitting cardigan I’ve ever bought, whadda you think?

Whisty Xx

A Style Post – Sid Vicious Inspired

Hey All.

It’s been a great week, blogging every day (or thereabouts). Some posts were more of a challenge than others, Thursday’s vintage post for example took a lot of time; I wanted to make sure I had as much information as possible. The last post of the week however, took no research, I just pulled on a pair of trousers – i.e. it’s a simple style post.

I finally succumbed to the wintry weather earlier this week and pulled out my winter coat. I was heading out for a walk and decided to go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I love that part of Dublin, it’s so old and historic and beautiful on once side.  But I also love the other side of the N81 as well, around D8, with its cobbled streets and abandoned buildings.

I’m not usually one for 80′s style but when I saw this leopard-print (with a twist) shirt in Age Action, there is no way I could resist.

Coat, Only

Vintage shirt, Once Removed Vintage

Leather Tie, Vintage

Studded Leather Belt, Thrifted

Faux Leather Trousers, Bershka

Boots, KG bu Kurt Geiger

Bag, River Island

More photos and all outfit details at HerApparel.

Xx

A Good Vintage (a list) The Big Blogging Week – post #5 of 6

Hey All,

I had a bit of an idea yesterday (Thursday) morning. On Monday, I wrote list of blogs I promised to post this week, and vintage one of them. I deliberately left the subject fairly ambiguous on purpose and what I propose is to create a list of as many Irish based vintage, boutiques / shops / on-line stores that I know of. Having everything all in one place will definitely help me out when I’m thinking of where to shop for something old and beautiful.

Firstly, it’s probably a good idea to determine what the term vintage means. If we go with the Wikipedia description, because I reckon it best represents my idea of what the term means, it states:

“Generally speaking, clothing which was produced before the 1920s is referred to as antique clothing and clothing from the 1920s to 1980s is considered vintage. Retro, short for retrospective, usually refers to clothing that imitates the style of a previous era”.

(NB: Anything newer than 80′s is second-hand clothing).

Shops / Boutiques / Concessions

Hayworth Vintage –  Arnotts Henry St. D1

Awear Vintage – Awear Henry St. D1

Wild Child Originals – 26 Drury St. D2

Eager Beaver – Crown Alley, Temple Bar, D2

Lucy’s Lounge – 11 Fownes st. Temple Bar, D2

Mercury Goes retrograde – 19c Drawbridge St. Cork

Dirty Fabulous – 21 Wicklow St. D2

The Goddess Room – Meridian Point, Greystones, Co. Wicklow

The Harlequin – 13 Castle Market, D2

Green with Envy – 302 Rathmines Rd Lower, Rathmines, D6

Om Diva – 21-22 Georges St. Arcade, Sth Great Georges St. D2

Jenny Vander – 50 Drury St. D2

Monto – Parnell St. D1

Flip – Fownes St. Temple Bar, D2

V for Vintage – 12, Crown Alley, D2

Swop Shop – Crow St, Bazaar, 7 Crow St. Temple Bar, D2

Horse & June – 22 Drury St. D2

9 Crow Street – 9 Crow St. Temple Bar, D2

 

Markets / Fairs / Temporary Vendors

Dublin Flea Market – The Co-op On Newmarket Sq. D8 – Last Sunday of every month

The Crafty Market – Shebeen Chic, Georges St. D2 – 1st & 3rd Sunday of every month

The Grand Social Ha’Penny Flea – The Grand Social 35 Lower Liffey St. D1 – Every Saturday 12-5

The Loft Market – Powerscourt Townhouse, Sth. Great Georges St. D2 – Every Friday – Sunday 12-6

The George Bernard Shaw Toe Jam – 11 / 12 Sth. Richmond St. D2 – Schedule Varies

Vintage Fairs Ireland – Locations Vary – Schedule Varies

 

On-Line Boutiques

Perk Up Vintage

Vintage Trig

Epoch Vintage

Dandelion Daydreamer

EDIT: The lovely ladies at PerkUp Vintage want to give all Whisty reader a 25% discount when you shop on line at www.perkupvintage.com: Enter the code Xmas10 at checkout!

These are the ones that I have spent the day remembering / researching and ‘liking’ on Facebook. (Most of these companies have pages).

If there are any that I have missed (and I’m certain there will be), please post links in the comments below and I shall add them to the list!

Xx

Christmas Windows – The Big Blogging Week – post #4 of 6

Hey All,

Firstly, I have to admit that sales give me the heebie-jeebies. The thought of all those sad, ripped, make-up-stained, weird-coloured clothes, hanging limply on stock-room rails, makes me shudder. January, makes me never want to  shop again.  Today, however, I was completely suckered into the Debenhams pre-Christmas sale. (up to 25% off everything between now and Sunday). Everything in this sale is still on proper rails, nothing is stained and all the sizes are there. The only thing that suggests that there is a sale, are smallish tags showing 20%, 25% etc. off, hanging above everything.

I’m a total sucker for heels and to cut a long story short. I bought these:

Butterfly by Matthew Williamson €54 now €43.20 I don’t usually go for satin (?) shoes but I quite liked the vintage-70;s feel of the grosgrain detailing.

I actually originally went into town to look at all the Christmas windows. I know there’s already been a bit of coverage on the mythical Brown Thomas windows but I thought it’s only fair to do all three Irish department store in Dublin. I did the same last year, this year I’m going to leave it up to you to decide what you think about them all.

Brown Thomas

Clery & Co.

Arnotts

I recognise that dress… Hayworth Vintage included in the Christmas window. Props.

Xx

 

60′s eye make up – The Big Blogging Week – post #3 of 6

Hey All,

It’s taken a while, a whole lot of black eye-liner and about three pairs of false eyelashes but I have just about managed to get the hang of 60′s eye make-up. I’ve loved the over-the-top cartooniness of it ever since I first saw pictures of Twiggy in an old copy of Vogue. Both her and the enigmatic Peggy Moffitt had the 60′s eye make-up down to a fine art (models did their own make-up in those days by all accounts) and between them, they epitomised the fashion make-up of the era.

Peggy Moffitt

Twiggy

*************************************************************************************

All above images via Google / Flickr.

Eh… and now my effort:

(I don’t do myself any favours on this blog do I, posting photographs of famous era-defining models by famous era-defining photographers and then a few snap shots of me. Ah well, I had fun doing it so I guess that’s all that matters).

How I achieved the look OR, exactly how much eye make up it took to get my eyes to look this big:

Steps 1-3:

Step 1. Cover the eyelids right up to the brow / brow bone in white / off white eyeshadow. Step 2. Draw a line, just above the crease on your eyelid in a lighter shade of eye-liner / eye-shadow; just to make sure you know where the arch will sit. Step 3. Go over the arch line with a kohl pencil.

Steps 3-4:

Step 4: Blend some grey eye-shadow at the outer edges under the arch, to soften it slightly. Step 5. Liquid eyeliner above the eyelashes (the thicker this line is, the better). Step 6. More eye-liner, if you have gel liner then it works brilliantly under the bottom lashes (don’t join up any of the individual black lines, you should end up with three separate lines at the end) Gel is also great for paint on the ‘false’ lashes underneath the eye. (I just went with three on either side in the outer corners, Twiggy did hers all the way along).

Step 7. Put white liner along the inside of your lower eyelid and let it bleed a little out from the corners of your eye. Step 8. False lashes, I used Naturalash as they are quite thick, cover all your lashes in mascara, especially the lower ones.

Designer Emma Manley – The Big Blogging Week – post #1a of 6

Hey All,

I have set myself a bit of a challenge this week. I’ve had a bunch of things that I have really been wanting to post and a bunch of reasons that I haven’t done so. Reasons that don’t really relate to blogging in the slightest. As a blogger it can be hard to remember that a blog is essentially a diary, a list (or log) of things that a certain person does / sees / says over a non-specified duration.

Over and above anything else that a blogger may experience when posting, the most rewarding thing is receiving comments. Or so my experiences show me anyway. I’ve got to the point where I write posts that  I think you  lovely readers may enjoy looking at  (and possibly reading too) and therefore will be inspired to comment on. I have however, also forgotten that the blog is supposed to be a log of stuff that I do etc. (see above).

So even if what I post this week gets no comments, I’m going to keep it honest and post the things that inspire me, impress me, make me want to write full stop. Kinda of taking back the blog and indulging myself this week. I promise will try very hard, to do the following:

Post at least once a day Monday 15th – Friday 19th. (no scheduling allowed).

Post a personal style post -

Post about an Irish Designer – EDIT: Complete Nov. 15th

Post about the high street – EDIT: Complete Nov. 15th & Complete Nov. 18th

Post about vintage -

Something random to keep me on my toes… – EDIT: Complete Nov. 16th

To start off and as a tonic to the recent hubbub surrounding the opening of a couple of international high street stores, I’m posting about Irish designer, Emma Manley.

I went into Bow Boutique for the first time about two months ago. (yes, yes I know, it makes no sense to me either) There were two specific collections that I was blown away by and they couldn’t have been more different from each other. The ethereal beauty of Eilis Boyle and Emma Manley‘s structured, Urban cool.

Because of the way that the boutique is laid out, I was completely unaware of my new-found obsessions. I was absent-mindedly chatting a couple of fabulous ladies who run the store while I was crushing-on the clothes. It wasn’t until on eof them mentioned that fact that pretty much every piece I said “Oh wow” or “This is amazing” or “*Gasp* this is amazing” or “I want this” etc. was an Emma Manley piece.

Alas the funds will not allow even a bog-standard, fast-fashiony-type high street piece at the moment, let alone a designer piece. But I was happy in the knowledge that I now have a new place to clothes-perve. Then last week I saw the new Emma Manley SS11 look book. And I was smitten so I thought I’d share some of the photographs.

Think I need these Jodhpurs in my wardrobe…

Or this studded vest.

Or these Jodhpurs.

Sheer joy, a leather and silk chiffon blouse.

The collection is utterly contemporary and urban; feminine and sporty; the fabrics are wool, jersey, chiffon and pig-skin leather; the inspiration for the collection came from Bauhaus Art. Emma says of the collection that “The Manley aesthetic is quite romantic so for me the big challenge was making something beautiful using tough fabrics, hard shapes and strong lines. I introduced terribly feminine fabrics to balance out the pig-skin. Essentially I softened my inspiration and hardened my garments basic structure“.

Credits:

Photographer // Deirdre O’ Toole – Photographers Assistant // Simon Keenan

Hair // Ciaran Cannon at Shampoo Hair Design – Make Up // Rachel Taglienti

Models // January Russell, Jayne Wild (Morgan the Agency) & Hannah Ring

Xx

Shop Forever 21, Dublin & Buy on-line

Hey all,

Yes, this may well be another F21 post…But before you roll your eyes skyward / stamp your feet because you don’t live in Dublin and couldn’t care less that another massive store has just opened in the city… hold up! The website is now live and for €6 you can have your F21 shopping delivered to your home. Now that is flippin’ great news.

So, if you didn’t get the chance to brave the hoards, visit the new shop the Jervis Centre yet then here’s a few snaps. Great if you fancy a bit of a browse and don’t fancy buggy-bashed ankles and elbowed ribs. Or, as in the case of a couple of friends I’ve spoken to, you have gone along and actually couldn’t see anything because of aforementioned elbows.

There are three floors, it is massive, I noticed at least three entrances. As well as all the usual Forever 21 lines like Heritage 1981 (I Heart H-81). Twelve by Twelve,  21Men and Forever 21 Girls. There will also be an exclusive-to-Dublin collection that won’t be available anywhere else.

Rumour has it that the mark-up on prices will about 21-25% higher than in $ but I had a sneak peek at some of the prices over the weekend and I was pleasantly surprised.

Xx

 

Charity Shops and Vintage Clothing

Hey All,

Happy Forever 21 Friday!!

This is a really quick post just to mention an new vintage display that went up in the windows of Age Action on Camden St. this week. Whenever I mention vintage pieces that I’ve found in charity shops in Dublin people often say things like, “Oh that was lucky“, or “I never seem to find anything like that“.Well here’s proof that vintage can be bought in charity shops… for now.

With rumours rife that there is a high-street clothing store buying up a lot of the vintage in the charity shops around Dublin to sell in their own store, it is good to see that some charity shops still have vintage. If the rumours are true, then everyone will loose out. But for now there is still some vintage to be found; these pieces range from the 1950′s – 1980′s and the prices are fantastic. The 50′s prom dress for example is €50.

L-R: 1960′s floral dress, 70′s blazer and red trousers, 70′s floral dress, 70′s mint green short dress, 80′s shirt and trousers.

1950′s prom dress, blazer and skirt.

Window displays will be going up on a Friday evening and all pieces will be on sale the following Saturday.

Xx