It’s not often (correction: ever) I get asked to model in a catwalk show, let alone for one of Ireland’s most beloved designers – Joanne Hynes. I’ve been a fan, customer and colleague of Joanne’s for the past 10 years and am one of many who did the happy dance when she launched her eponymous line for Dunnes Stores. Speaking of which…
Minimalist cousin to H&M – Arket – is fast becoming a by-word in eco-friendly basics. Using recycled polyester, organic cotton, and planet-conscious ice crêpe, Arket delivers on closet classics like suits (see mine here!), separates and 2-in-1 jackets that segue between the seasons. The bad news? London, Berlin, Stockholm, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Munich are currently the only benefactors of an […]
Ignorance is not bliss – not in a happy closet. It creates a disconnect between what we buy and what we admit to having bought. OUT OF SIGHT may be OUT OF MIND but it also leaves you OUT OF POCKET… It’s time to take stock of your clothing collateral and confront the underlying behaviour that got you here in the first place.
Everyone loves a bargain but, when it comes to buying designer handbags if the price is too good to be true (€3,500 marked down to €350), that’s generally because it is. The time spent on scouring the internet for deals could be better spent buying from the designer or a reputable department store. Although most designer brands have their own authentication processes, there are certain criteria that apply when buying serious arm candy. Here’s how not to fall foul of the phonies.
Sometimes a shopping mission isn’t always accomplished. Mirrors mislead us, crowds blind us and our internal GPS leaves us stranded somewhere between our intended target and our best intentions. The following exercise borrows from the body scan method that is used in meditation. The idea is to feel how your clothes are fitting by plugging […]
Photo: Karly Santiago Mindfulness and fashion aren’t the most obvious twosome. One commits to being aware of the present moment; the other commits to a pair of Charlotte Olympia calf hair wedges before the rent is due but their paradoxical pairing is key to creating a happy closet. Why? By becoming more conscious of what […]
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution: It’s not the first thing that springs to mind when indulging in retail therapy. That said, the survival of the fittest is the precise lodestone which underpins our shopping choices, making us buy things we don’t need – or even want. Need a visual: Open your kitchen cupboard and count the […]
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. […]
I was asked at a recent BEO event about the basics every happy closet should have. My answer? There is no answer. Prescriptive fashion epithets like 10 Things Every Woman Should Own have no place in a happy closet. Each hanging space is unique to its personal fears, joys, hopes and experiences. The real […]
How much do you spend on clothes? More to the point, how do you spend money on clothes? Our wardrobes, over time, are one of the bigger investments we’ll make; yet also one of the least profitable and more troublesome to manage. Fast fashion and a flooded market have led shoppers to expect more for […]