A Style Post: Irish Fashion Awards – The final Choice

Hey All,

You may or may not have seen the coverage on last week’s Irish Fashion Awards. Bloggers, The Licentiate, S-oh-S-ew, Style Isle and myself attended the event in support of two winning bloggers; People’s choice category: Glamrocks,  and Judges category: What She Wears.

As with many observers of the awards; be they nominees, attendees or those with a curious interest, I didn’t really know what to expect. Of course I was excited by the prospect of an event that would raise the profile of people in the Irish fashion industry. The list of nominees seemed to reflect a more alternative take on Irish fashion. Hairdressers, stylists, new designers and bloggers among other categories were each given their well-deserved props.

The MC on the night said that the people being celebrated were those who made other people, including those in the public eye, look good. Granted, stylists, make-up artists and hairdressers do indeed make us all look great, but there was more to the awards than that.

Working in fashion is a hard-fought career; one that if you don’t put your heart and soul into is likely doomed to fail. Working long hours for little or no pay is par for the course, a fact that sees many give up when their chosen path into fashion isn’t the glamorous, ‘dream job’ they imagined. These awards were a nod to the people who have struggled on through periods of no financial gains (and in some cases are still struggling – see bloggers) and have still managed to achieved success in their chosen field.

It gave credit to those people who through talent, determination and a little bit of luck are able to push the boundaries of Irish Fashion; by thinking outside the box and showing others the way forward through their creativity and genuine love of fashion. It is hard to fight against the mainstream, and having read comments about the awards, before and after the event, damn near impossible. So to all those who won, were nominated and showed their support on the night, I take my hat off to you. It is definitely not easy.

All outfit details at HerApparel.

Yours,

Whisty Xx

Guest Blogging Over at Chez Hermia

Hey all,

There is a little story on the perils of me shopping for a suitable frock for my friend’s wedding over at A Chick Named Hermia today. A guest post as it were, because The Herms is off gadding about Paris, the lucky blogger! It’s not the usual type of Hermia post so I’m sure her readers will be a bit, meh about it but whatevs, I’ve got a wicked new dress (or two).

Click Image if you fancy reading the full post.

Xx

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

Media Talk Photos

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

From Mood Board to Fashion Show Winner

… OR, chatting to other bloggers

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.

Runner up:

Butterfly Effect by Matthew Karp

From the sketch to the final piece:

Runner Up:

Encased by Niamh Rafferty

From the sketch to the final piece:

Winner:

Knotted by Emmy Slattery

From the sketch to the final piece:From the sketch to the final piece: