The Tide has Turned at Quicksilver.

My mini project of ‘shopping’, well window shopping, in stores that I would never normally go into has been extended. Today, therefore I decided to venture into Quicksilver in St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. As far as I was concerned, (these pre-judgemental confessions are becoming a little embarrassing) Quicksilver was great if you need a new Roxy school bag, have a blonde, bronzed boyf to buy surfer stuff for, or you need a some kind of seasonal apparel. Flip flops, hoodies, snow wear etc are the usual suspects. Naturally Quicksilver do, do all these things, (bronzed boyf aside) but I found out today that they do quite a bit more too. Huzzah!

For starters, Quicksilver have had a women’s wear range for a year now, the latest collection available, is their second A/W and third collection in total. I had no idea, I thought that Roxy was the female version of Quicksilver and that was that. But I got chatting to the staff who explained a bit more about how the collections work. Apparently, the main Roxy ranges are aimed at the (roughly) 18-24 year-old market and there are also babies and kids collections; Quicksilver is aimed at men and therefore there was a gap in the market for women over the age of 24.

Thus Quicksilver Women was developed to fill that gap, as a more fashion-forward take on the surf / snow clothing lines. If you already knew this then you will know that the collection is still firmly in the casual end of the market but there are design elements and detailing that make the pieces a bit different. For example, there are no logo’s of note, Tees are made from loose, soft fabrics with bold designs instead; this slouchy white Tee with the eye print and pocket detail is a must-have. (€39). This super-slouchy, black crochet top is something that I’m seriously tempted by, I want to team it with some distressed jeans and wear it off one shoulder with a plain black ‘wifebeater’ underneath. (€65).

NB: I added a promo pic (top) from Quicksilver because these pics really do not do the collection justice.

I definitely understand how Roxy appeals to a younger market, but there are certain elements that I think have a wider appeal. Namely their Roxy 09 Holiday collection, which is arriving in store in the next week or so. There were a few pieces on a rail which I grabbed a couple of snaps of; these distressed jeans, (€69), this fabulous plaid shirt with great button detailing on the back to make it more fitted and feminine, (€55) and this great plaid dress with sparkly metal detailing running through the fabric. Did I mention I love surprises, especially ones that expand my shopping circuit, affordable and stylish I’ll actually be buying from here from now on!

Get layerd up in Plaid for Autumn

So it’s Autumn, hooray! I love this time of year, especially October, and here is why:

1. Low, bright sunshine, today is no exception

2. The trees are all golden and orange and yellow

3. Layers rock

4. It’s chilly enough to wear tights so no more unsightly fake tan streaks

5. Halloween

Speaking of layers, I’ve jumped on the glamour / grunge bandwagon for the time being. You know, the trend that has revamped the mid-90′s music-inspired way of dressing with some added luxe elements; think, wearing plaid shirts teamed with sequins and smokey eye make-up while listening to Nirvana. Some stores / magazines have combined the two elements by calling it ‘Glunge‘, which is a horrible word but you get the idea.

With this in mind I found the perfect plaid shirt (€35) in River Island on Saturday, I wanted to buy one that was slightly over-sized so I can wear it in different ways, either in the true grunge way on top of all the other things I wear or cinched in at the waist with a skinny belt. I chose green, which surprised me, I was thinking I would go for red before I shopped, but the fabulous sales assistant in River Island on Grafton Street, helped me out and showed me the green one which I loved immediately! I teamed it with some sheer tights, my trusty buckled ankle boots, a short skirt and messy hair, see here.