This is Not Usually How I Dress for the Cork Weather but It Works

The turtleneck was a good call. Standing atop of Shandon Hill on a windy February day warrants layers and, had I thought of it, those nifty heat patches from Dealz. Still and all, it wasn’t raining…yet. As photoshoots go, this was my first for the Irish Examiner on the other side of the camera in Cork. Having recently moved from Dublin, I went from blow-in to blown-out of it as our #BTS shots on Instagram hilariously demonstrate. Never let it be said though that fashion and function can’t peacefully coexist. This 1970s quilted coat from Miss Daisy Blue (check out those buttons!) is one of those ‘dressed and done’ bad boys that instantly upgrade the simplest of separates like my matching COS turtleneck and Lennon Courtney trousers.

As this was a front cover, I thought let’s go balls to the wall and pull out the big guns. I’m rather sentimental when it comes to my jewellery so I went archival for this look. The beaded choker (a necklace wrapped twice, actually) is from Florence – a bit of self-gifting on a trip I took in 2005. The turquoise behemoth is Bhutanese – a gift from my dear friend Neil who had it blessed by a rather contrary monk who had just emerged from a 6-month meditation. Good timing, Neil. 😉

The rings have been a mainstay on my ring finger for over ten years: the obsidian Pilgrim ring was a leaving gift from work colleagues and the gold band is my father’s, engraved with the wedding date to my mother. Y’all know those trusty Dries Van Noten shoes which celebrate their 10-year anniversary in my wardrobe. As for the wind machine? Credit that to Mother Nature, girl!