Flowers and bows and pleats, oh my

Kind of having a love affair with River Island right now. It's hard not to when you're surprised by such genuinely beautiful pieces, like this dress.
I saw it in the flesh (fabric?) today, and let me just say, this picture really doesn't do it justice. I'm in love.

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Office Flats

A quick jaunt into Office the other day left me frothing at the mouth about all these delicious flats. Coming into winter and with the threat of more snow than last year (which, for Ireland, is a LOT) I know i'll be needing some sensible and griptastic flats.
Ok, what I really need are snowboots, but I'm not gonna wear those really, am I?
Really, I'm just making excuses as to why I should buy one pair of each of these:

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The fashion week odes to decades past - London, New York and Milan (so far)

I've finally gotten around to checking out most of the London,New York and what's started of Milan Fashion Weeks. A trend which hasn't gone unnoticed amongst a lot of the big names is the kitsch throwbacks to some of fashion's favourite decades, namely the 20's, 40's, 50's & 60's.
This was probably summed up the most with Prada's latest offering, with 50's style coats and cartoonish racing cars emblazoned across them. Cute? Undoubtedly. And the shapes are just beautiful and womanly. Would I pay the big money for a racing-car emblazoned coat, though? Probably not. (eh, not that I have that sort of money, I should point out) But I can't wait to see what the high street will give us, inspired by Prada.

I also liked the very ladylike pleats seen at Prada - which is a good thing, as many people have invested in pleats, be it maxi skirts or midi skirts, so it's good to see that they're not going anywhere for a while. 

Also seen was plenty of prints - graphic, tribal, flowers. Fabrics were sheer and loose with dashes of leather thrown in here & there. Lots of laser cut fabrics brought the designs up to date and lace thrown in here & there gave a certain vintage feel. Altogether a very feminine season with some fun and fresh twists. 

Clockwise from Top Left: Versace, Diane Von Furstenberg, Erdem, Rebecca Minkoff, Jason Wu, Giles

Metallics were also present in a lot of the collections. From straight out silver and golds, to sheer fabrics embellished with shimmery, metallic strands.

From L-R: Sass & Bide, Marc Jacobs, Giles

There were some tribal influences noted, none moreso than in Sass & Bide and Michael Kors collections. Kors going for a full on safari feel and Sass & Bide more in their high-necked accessories juxtaposed against graphic prints. 

Michael Kors and Sass & Bide

Some of the colour trends for S/S are bright, but not too in-your-face-neon. Oranges, yellows and reds were seen in abundance. Colourblocking was also still apparent as a trend that's not going anywhere for a while.

These bright colours were offset by some of the prettier, pastel colours shown in collections by names such as House of Holland, as well as the aforementioned Prada. 

Derek Lam, Preen, Roksanda Ilincic & House of Holland

Sportswear was another trend noted in a few collections, including old spicey, Victoria Beckham, Alexander Wang with his racing car driver influenced pieces and another personal favourite of mine, Charlotte Ronson.

Victoria Beckham, Marc Jacobs & Charlotte Ronson

 During these fashion  week shows it's hard not to spot red carpet ready dresses as they sashay down the runway. Marchesa and Temperley are eternal favourites of celebrities and models alike, and S/S is no diffferent. 

Prabal Garung, Jason Wu, Marchesa & Temperley

One of my favourite collections, personally, was Jason Wu. His pieces are wearable and have appeal to every woman, shapes and fabrics are flattering and in this collection there wasn't a piece that I wouldn't wear. Cynthia Rowley also had a fairly faultless collection, in my eyes, as well as 3.1 Philip Lim - I seem to be a NYFW gal at heart.  Here's a few of the most wearable outfits that I could see myself recreating. 

Clockwise from to Left : Cynthia  Rowley, Jason Wu, Prabal Garung, Sass & Bide, Proenza Schouler, Leandra Medine AKA The Man Repeller in Rebecca Minkoff and Theysken's Theory

Now tell me, what have been your favourites so far?

images via style.com

Chrissie Hynde - my 'pleather' icon

Plastic leather. One of my favourite odes to a rock-chick is leather, or in this case, pleather. If you can be bothered to battle with the sweat or bring a bottle of talc out with you then I salute you. If not, pleather's your man.
One of my most beloved style icons is Chrissie Hynde, from The Pretenders. I love her messy hair, shaggy fringe, smudged eyeliner and leather and denim. Chrissie, herself a vegetarian, would most likely never wear real leather so this is an ode to her.

There's lots of pleather (stop staying pleather!) on the high street at the moment. With denim and stretch-jersey mixes, to just plain out stretchy pleather pants. Worn with heels and some sequins for a night-time look or with a shabby tshirt and converse for a daytime grungey rock look, they're versatile and oh-so cool. 

River Island

Zara (coated trousers)

Topshop

I'm going straight for the River Island ones come payday. And I will live in them. 

A post in which I ramble incessantly about how little I know about 'fashion'

As someone with a fulltime job and a social life outside of both the job & this blog, I often find it overwhelming with the amount of 'fashion week's' that there are. There's S/S, A/W, resort, ready to wear, couture. The list might one day be endless.

To that end, and having had the last 2 weeks off & spending quality time with the family, I'm only just now getting a chance to look properly at the New York Fashion Week for s/s 2012 from a few weeks ago. London Fashion is only just coming to a close, and whilst i've caught bits here & there, I think i'll give it another week to fully digest all the shows and cast a critical eye over them.

Ah...who am I kidding? I'm no critic. I never have, and probably never will, spout myself to be some sort of fashion guru, predicting trends or forecasting the coming season's must-have pieces. However, the more I come to understand about fashion, by reading blogs and magazines, by watching fashion shows, and by making acquaintances within the industry, the more it becomes apparent to me that trends, style and fashion are all very  different things.

Fashion, the industry, is a wide and all-encompassing umbrella for everything fashion-related.
Trends are what the magazine editors, stylists and bloggers pick up as key pieces from what the designers put on the runway to showcase their work for the coming season.
And style, style is much more personal. You can be influenced by the fashion industry, you can know about trends, but ultimately it is up to you whether you choose to incorporate those trends into your own personal style.

Style V Trend is something i'm constantly battling with. Do I like something because i've been told to like it, or do I genuinely like it for what it is?
And so, when I look at the collections for the coming seasons, I might identify running trends between designers and collections, be it a colour, a shape, a hemline, a fabric, a heel height. And if I do, great. But that doesn't make me a critic.

So to that end, whilst I hope to be able to pass an interested and eager to learn eye over collections, I don't claim to be able to give insightful or particularly balanced commentary, other than, simply, "I like this because..." or " I don't like this because...".

I guess this is some sort of weird disclaimer so if/when I start posting pictures of the emerging 'trends' that I see or pieces that I'm crushing on, that ya'll don't think i'm just blowing hot air out of my backside!

My plan is to spend a few days looking through the entire NYFW collections and post my favourite and most-likely to interprate pieces for my personal style.
I'll hopefully then do the same with the LFW and then, to be a bit more relevant to now, and because the days are quickly getting colder, i'm going to revisit the A/W 2011 collections and pick out the items I fell in love with a few months ago & where I can find me some highstreet versions!
Though I do fear i'll fall into my usual winter wardrobe-trap of skinny jeans, boots and oversized jumpers!

Thank God jumpers are on TREND this winter ;)

Ambushed

Ok, I think we can all agree that I can do with some work on my photography skills. Problem is, i'm  rather lazy and i'm easily frustrated by technology. But, if I'm serious about this blogging lark, I really need to improve the quality of my pictures.
And so, I will endeavor to provide you with better pictures from here on in. After this shoddy one, that is.

Top & 'pleather' pleated skirt - Primark | Boots - Topshop

I caved in & bought the Ambush boots. Having been obsessed with Acne Pistol's since FOREVER and the Ambush selling out in every colour and form the day they get stocked in Topshop, I nearly fell over myself when I saw them on the shelf yesterday. Determined not to miss out and convincing myself all the way to the till that this would be my last chance to own them, I threw caution to the wind, and my bank manager, and splashed out. I only went in to check out the sale section. WHEN will I learn? But they're worth it, right?

The Great Rail Sale - THIS SUNDAY!

Warning: Dublin-centric post coming up.

This Sunday 25th sees The Great Rail Sale taking place in Dublin's Radisson Blu. With an emphasis on good, gently worn clothes, as opposed to any old second hand tat that you want to get rid of, there should be some serious bargains to be found.
There will be around 100 rail holders, each rail holding up to 60 items (rails are split between 2 people) and that's not including shoes, handbags and accessories.

Another aspect of the event that I really like is the 'Dress For Success' drive that will be taking place. Railholders and visitors alike are urged to bring along any office appropriate, gently  worn clothes to donate to Dress For Success - they provide clothing for disadvantaged women to attend interviews and further their careers. Dress For Success will provide large envelopes for the clothes and some paper should you wish to include a few motivational words for the recipient. I'm excited about giving to such a clever and inspired drive to further women's careers.

So, if you fancy bagging a bargain, or giving to Dress For Success, come along! Full details are on the poster below. I'll be there with a rail and a few items, including, probably (i.e. if they don't get snapped up on eBay first!), the Givenchy heels seen in the outfit post below. Hope to see you there!!

Striped

(excuse the stained mirror...it cost €8 in Dunnes Stores...)

Jeans - Citizens of Humanity | Top - Primark/Penneys | Shoes - Valentino

New style fave - Keira Knightley

I was never previously a big fan of Keira Knightley's style. But recent appearances in Toronto & at the Venice Film Festival have seen her turn out some huge style hits. Perhaps she has a new stylist? Whatever's going on, me likey.

In Mary Katrantzou at Venice Film Festival

(photo via mydaily)

In Valentino at Venice Film Festival

(photo via celebitchy)

In Elie Saab

(photo via coco's tea party)

In a Galaxy print dress (Christopher Kane?)

(photo via punkd images)

Are you a fan of Keira's style? Have there been any looks that have caught your eye? I hope this style bonanza stays for a while, it's almost taken the attention away from her perma-pout!

ANOTHER scheduled Outfit Post

I wore this for Friday drinks with some of my chums. This Zara tunic is quickly becoming my go-to when I need to throw something on without making a huge effort.  The quality isn't so great though, i've found, with the stitching catching easily and pulling and the light chiffon nearly ripping in places. At least it was on sale when I got it so I don't feel too ripped off....excuse the pun.

Tunic - Zara | Tights - M&S | Boots - Kurt Geiger | Detachable collar - ASOS

As an aside, navy & black? I love it! I know a lot of my friends would be turning in their graves just thinking of pairing navy & black together. Throw away the rules! What 'shouldn't' work (according to who?) just might work better than you think. Are there any style 'rules' that you love to break?

Outfit Post - *scheduled*

I hope anyone who's at the blogger extravaganza as part of Dublin Fashion Festival is having fun. I'm on my way to the other end of the country for a few days away with my family.
Here's what I wore today for a jaunt around town with one of my close pals.

Jeans - Topshop (sick of these yet?) | Breton top - Dunnes Stores | Pink Blazer - Zara | Canvas shoes - Toms | Watch - Marc Jacobs

Fashion's Night Out - Dublin

As you all probably know, on Thursday 8th September the fashion world went nuts for Vogue's Fashion's Night Out. Having previously heard of it happening in cities like New York and London I wondered what it was all about.

So I took myself and my housemate along for a little nose at what Dublin had to offer for this much talked about and MUCH publicised event. Seriously, even my boyfriend knew about it and he doesn't know much about much. 

I was unsure about what sort of 'events' would be happening and wondered what would differentiate it from a regular instore event. Ultimately, I decided that not much did. There was a bit of a buzz along Dublin's shopping mecca of Grafton Street, however  it was hard to tell if that was because Dublin Fashion Festival started on the same day. 

Our first port of call was to BT2. For those non-Irish readers amongst you (hi guys!), Brown Thomas is Ireland's foremost high-end fashion department store. It's where the celebs go shopping when they're in town and stock pretty much every designer you could  name off the top of your head. BT2 is it's younger, hipper sister, stocking labels such as Maje, Twenty8Twelve and boasting a denim bar with the best bumlifters this side of VB's own wardrobe. 

We were greeted at the door of BT2 by some lovely young men holding trays of cocktails...for free! Delish. Also doing the rounds were miniature Starbucks frappucinno's and mini cakes. Already onto a winner here. A DJ booth was being set up in amongst the jeans and an Instagram photo corner with rails of clothes and a pamper parlour were taking pride of place near the tills. We bypassed these to find out what was going on upstairs upon hearing voices over a microphone. 

A mini fashion show with stylist Courtney Smith was in full swing and featured some of the best brands available in BT2. 

Some of my favourite looks included:

Dress - MSGM @ BT2

Dress - Maje @ BT2

Geisha inspired playsuit - Twenty8Twelve @ BT2

Seeing these pieces just made me lament for my credit card so we quickly hot-trotted our way back downstairs. Upon arrival to the denim bar we were asked if we wanted to take part in an Instagram event where you got styled by one of BT2's lovely stylists and had your photo taken by streetstyle blogger Stephen Moloney of Stitches, Fabric and Soul. I declined out of nervousness, but I pushed my housemate into doing it and she looked great!

We guzzled the rest of our cocktails and made our way to the bigger Brown Thomas store down the street, expecting more of the same. Unfortunately we felt a little let down. There was a Fashion Cafe outstide on the street where you could sit and chat the night away with your friends, luckily it was a dry evening, a rare event in Ireland these days. At the door you were greeted by faux-Karl Lagerfeld and faux-Anna Wintour, a touch tacky, I personally felt. 

Inside there were competitions for a night in a hotel and a suitcase filled with skincare goodies. For entertainment there were drag queen & cabaret shows, as well as catwalks and plenty of styling, skincare & beauty advice should you want it. However, most counters required a payment so it really seemed little more than a busy late night shopping night. After a grumpy phonecall from my boyfriend and with a light wallet I decided to call it a night. My housemate stayed on for a while and did get a free magnetic nail polish demonstration and free manicure from Nails Inc. - not too shabby, I guess!

All in all, it was a fun way to waste an hour or two. BT2 nailed it with their instore event and I felt it was miles apart from the supposed main event down the way in Brown Thomas. For anyone that travelled any distance especially for it, I would feel a bit sorry for them that it may have been built up to be more than it was, but then again maybe others expected it to be an event where splashing the cash was required? I just can't help but feel a little let down when I look at the amazing events that were held in London & New York. Where was our Leighton Meester singing with an acoustic guitar, hmm? Oh well, I guess there's always next year. 

Did you go along to any of the events? I'd love to hear people's thoughts and those of anyone that went to events in other cities - please comment below. 

Have a good weekend ya'll.

Guess Who?

Ok, maybe to everyone else it's glaringly obvious who this is, but to me it came as a small shock. Small, not a HUGE shock.
Can you tell me who you think this is? No Googling now!!

Img via Fashion Copious