Pleats are elitist. Fact. Their geometric rigour is designed to highlight and shame anything that doesn’t comply with their rigorous lines. As our girl Shakira put it, ‘The hips don’t lie,’ especially in the presence of a sharp knife fold. Ouch.
Maybe it’s the 70s child in me, always looking to her older sisters with their Dorothy Hamill centre-parted hair flicks and andro-hippie cool. Perhaps it’s a more ingrained rebellion against the prescriptive levity of the season. In any case, I prefer to channel ice-cream shades in a tailored suit and turtleneck – with an ice-cream and some shades. (See what I did there?)
Whether it’s a keepsake or an old reliable with an incomparable cost-per-wear ratio, the things that have us dialling 999 are those which we determine the true value of our wardrobe. The prospect of loss has a unique way of concentrating the mind which comes in handy when you find yourself moaning, ‘I have nothing to wear.’ Simply shout FIRE and you’ll soon find out what you really value.
I love flamingoes. They don’t give a sh*t. It’s not so much that they think who the hell they are; they KNOW who the hell they are. Heads shaped like a toilet S-bend, gangly limbs, backward-bending knees – it doesn’t matter. Every bird worth her wingspan just sees pink – flamboyant, Miami-drenched pink. […]
It’s a well-documented fact that I’ve got a small wardrobe. Really, I do. The problem? No one seems to believe me. This can be a prove a sticky wicket in my line of work, especially as a minimalist stylist. Comments range from the curious, “How do you manage to always wear something different?” to the […]
The beauty of winter is its unwavering reliability. Each year, fads find their way onto the fashion radar but fall off just as quickly. Not so much when it comes to stalwart prints like the humble check. Whether heritage-inspired houndstooth, rebellious tartan or geometrically-clean box checks, their continued presence is reassuring in on an otherwise […]
There’s something deliciously deviant about stealing time for a swift half on a weekday afternoon. This made my Artful Dodger homage feel all the more appropriate. Granted, sitting outside in a bright rust ensemble doesn’t exactly lend itself to playing truant but it’s worth getting caught rapid. Putting an outfit like this indoors would be like putting Baby in a corner – totally uncool and punishable by the ghost of Johnny Castle. So, what exactly makes this outfit worthy of wardrobe hero status? Easy – corduroy.
If there was ever a good reason to twirl around the streets of Stoneybatter like a whirling dervish, it’s got to be this dress. Kindly gifted to me from the folks at Kahlo & Apfel boutique, this vintage lurex beauty has all the hallmarks of a solid gúna – cap sleeves, empire line silhouette and a killer colourway that makes the florals look more modern than mincing.
Now here’s another floral pattern I can get down with. This kimono jacket is from my pal Joanne Hynes’ most recent Dunnes Stores collection. Victorian gothic roses marching single file in electric yellow and blue across a satin landscape is my cup of semantically irreverent tea. Unabashed yet oh-so- pretty. What’s more, ‘it’s got legs’ as we say in the industry. In other words, there are multiple ways to wear it. I could harp on about how to do day in jeans and a t-shirt but where would the craic be in that? You know I’m a sucker for a polo neck and head-to- toe colour so it only seemed fair that we combine the two for this here look.
I’m not a floral kind of gal unless, of course, it’s winter. Being a hardy perennial more so than a darling bud, I feel aligned to the mercurial temperament of the darker months. That’s why this nocturnal 70s dress gives me all the feels. Purchased from a Canadian frockbroker on Etsy.co.uk, it’s the rare day that I’m not seen wearing it. It goes without saying that I’ve been trying to find new ways to pull the old switcheroo, if only to offset those ‘really, again?’ stares. Fun fact: it was real feel -3 degrees on the day of this shoot which made it the perfect opportunity for…you guessed it…layering! Remember my basic layering 101 in the culottes blog post? Well, consider this the intermediate course where I bend the rules – just a tad.