This is not a Christmas Tree. It is a picture of a Christmas Tree

Another lazy post i’m afraid. The pressures of online shopping, festive season drinks scheduling, advent calender opening and shock-horror actual work, is getting in the way from meaningful posting (an oxymoron in the world of fashion blogging?) Anyway first caught wind of this creative collaboration on dazedigital and then jess cartner-morley in the Guardian expressed her opinion on it – John Galliano’s Christmas Tree for Claridges. Claridges Hotel in London is one of the last bastions of all that is proper and elegant and seemly; John Galliano is the rambunctious buccaneer of the fashion industry. The world of afternoon tea met the whirlwind of savage fashion to create a Winter Wonderland. Galliano’s interpretation of a Christmas tree went up December 1st in the foyer at Claridges. The tree combines elements of the East and is cast in crystal and shimmering leaves to give the impression of a frozen tree.  Opinion is divided, but I think it’s a breath of fresh air.

Initial sketchings

The finished piece: A Christmas Tree Revised

Claridges: An experience in monochrome

The Crazy Coot himself

Hairy Mary

have been looking for some inspirational hair-do’s of late. i’m an all or nothin’ kinda gal – it’s all off or it’s all on and no in between. at the moment i’m in the ‘nothin’ frame of mind. this means no brushing, no styling, no grooming (i am washing though) – complete and utter indifference. this has resulted in matting and inadvertent dreadlocks, alongside every type of unwanted condition – dry, greasy, frizzy, fine, flyaway, lacklustre, heavy, straight, curly, blonde, red, dark – how is this even possible? well, the only conclusion is a dramatic reworking. i’m going from thatch to tress with a complete overhaul of the mane. trouble is: what to do? David Sims, Guido, and Joe McKenna check out the most hair-raising do’s of the season for V magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

i reckon i could surely rock one of these as long as i did it with enough aplomb? although it might be difficult nipping into the shop for a pint of milk.

Heart Attack and Vine

i’m not particularly fond of kitschy stuff. tacky – yes, ironic – definitely, and lamé – absolutely. but me and the kitschy have never been bosom buddies. i don’t like anything too brightly coloured, too plastic or too Japanese Harajuku…and yet i find myself strangely drawn to the heart-shaped handbag this year. maybe it’s the ultimate and inevitable conclusion to a woman wearing her heart on her sleeve, maybe it’s the fact that they come in every conceivable shape, size and design…or maybe I’ve just finally gone native. Kitschy Mc Ginn.

Luella

Luella

Peacocks

River Island

Topshop

If anything is likely to confirm or deny acceptable fashion status (you’re hired/ you’re fired in the fashion world), it’s coverage on LookBookNU. As you can see below, it’s quite literally a heart explosion across the site.

Wanderlust

Put your hands up in the air if you have been shamed and disgraced by a cold and draconian overlord in the Ryanair queue, demanding you pay extra for baggage. Standing over you, brandishing the metal luggage contraption, features frozen in pure hate (hate for you? hate for the uniform? hate for o’leary? hate for the luggage rack? who knows. it might be mild incontinence) barking at you that your bag is too big/too long/too colourful/too old-fashioned to board this Ryanair flight without crossing his palm with some sheckles. And as you stand there, with the anger ringing in your ears and the flush creeping over your features, desperately shuffling things around about your baggage, you concede defeat and pay the damn €40.

Put your hands in the air also if you have schlepped an archaic and grotty gym bag around with you only to face a daily barrage of problems? The handle snaps, your shampoo leaks into the gaping black hole of the bag; a bag devoid of handy separating functions to prevent this exact kind of accident? Your runners don’t fit and so you carry them separately – but one day you leave them at home (thus missing your spinning class), another day you leave them at the gym (thus worrying somebody might lift them. they are the latest pair of aerodynamic-superair-max-triax-hero with inbuilt bouncability and GPS tracking technology) In fact, you might say that this bag stands in the way of you and Rihanna’s physique.

Well fear no more, I have found the perfect remedy: LeSportsac. Every size, every colour, every discernible taste. In fact, where have you been all my life? They have handy little zippered sub-pockets to hold everything but the kitchen sink and have excellent strap support.
Ryanair – 0.
Style – 1.

Fashionable Literature

Not strictly a fashion-related post, but who cares? I love when Penguin release new versions of classics – I don’t care what anyone says; the new illustrations completely revive the genre. Whimsical, willfully absurdist and above all playful, the revamped packaging is sparky and stylish. The visual interpretations add a fresh and modern spin on well-worn (and well-loved) classic tales. A classic is for life, not just for coffee tables*. Available at Penguin.

why so sad emily?

jack nicolson in sculpted cheekbones shocker

insecticide at the dinner table

little women do mean girls

P+P: Reloaded for 3D

* But it does look good on the coffee table.

¡Qué chulo¡ (Guest Spot: Aideen)

I picked up this bad boy a month ago when I was still living in Barcelona. It looks like feathers eh? But what feathers? Before purchasing, my Spanish vocabulary was extended once more while learning all the different animals said feathers could have been plucked from. Eventually I was pretty sure I could settle on describing the jacket as being ‘plumas de faisan’  or pheasant feathers. (I love how fashion make me speak good.)

Anyway it turns out it’s a fake fur. (Piel sintética, in case you were wondering.) And I LOVE it. I bought it in Zara where there’s also a long coat version which would have been a smarter buy, but it looked strange on me. I don’t like how it’s cut around the collar and it doesn’t sit very well. Anyway this version is a bit more quirky. I like it best with bare arms underneath. In Barcelona it was perfect. All you needed was to put a long sleeved cardi underneath it and whip it off again when you got to the bar/nightclub. I wore it with high-waistd shiny leggings with an exposed zip from American Apparel and a bitchin bangle I picked up in Mango.

Now the problem is… it’s too big to go under a coat. So how the hell am I gonna wear it now that I’m back in soggy Ireland?

 

Mmmm feathery...

 

Holey Moley

So on a whim this morning while taking a stroll through town with a friend, I decided to go get the piercing in my ear stretched. No reason why, and really hadn’t  given it that much thought before, but what the heck – sure why not? Well it was relatively painless, just a real weird sensation, kind of tingly but not unpleasant. So this blunt needle was pushed through the hole and the jewellery was shoved in, great job all done! Had a sneaky glance in the mirror while the stretcher was cleaning all up, but shock horror, instead of the nice wood flesh tunnel that I had expected, there was a massive silver stud not unlike those worn by the hooded, trackie-brigade of boys trying to look cool… apparently it will have to stay like this for the next month until it’s healed enough to stretch some more. Ah well, sure my Adidas rip off’s (oh yes we all had a pair in the nineties), and my Nike Air Max are still lurking around the wardrobe somewhere, alright lads meet ya down the ‘nal with some dutchie aaiiiitt???

Stretchy-Stretchy

some observations

here is sarah demonstrating my NERD necklace with the aid of some borrowed spectacles. this image is highly significant for a number of reasons…

1. trendy glasses look cool. on EVERYONE. but what must they be so trendy? if they weren’t so trendy, i might wear a pair.

2. why would i want a pair of fake glasses? i paid nearly €3000 to have my eyes lasered. this doesn’t make sense.

3. why do people think that you can’t see them when you wear sunglasses? i walked past a couple today and was wearing my shades (because we get more sunshine in winter than in summer in ireland. FACT) and they were throwing the gogglers all over me! and in that guilty way – the way in which people look out furtively behind their shades in case others know what they’re up to … News Flash – I can see you – and your cardigan with the buttons done up the wrong way.

4. the composition of this pictures really signifies the convergence of dual modes of viewing in the postmodern age, where the voyeur is both active and passive, as seen through the eyes of the beholder. i am available for nonsensical waffling at dinner parties.

insightful

style crush: anna i heart you so

oh anna friel, my heart skips a beat whenever i see you with your perfectly painted red lips and your doll-like features. i swoon when i see you morph from 40’s pin up to i’m-with-the-band grunge, from sexy, red-light  femme fatale to fashion muse extraordinaire.  she is so extraordinarily beautiful in the most ordinary way. she swings all ways fashion-wise, with a prediliction to matching her style with her latest role (character acting much?) and does subtle sexy in a very powerful way. the woman can work a pair of dungarees and elevates the fresh-faced gym look to another level entirely. if she isn’t too busy, i’m going to ask her to play me in my biopic.

 

the subtler jessica rabbit?

working the wedding dress

cheryl cole sexypuss

and all the boys said 'oui'!

she just ran a marathon

giving kate a run for her money

high fashion edge in zoo magazine

edgy class

i don't approve per say, but fair play

swingin' it

she does a mean red lip

just sexy

Grease Lightening for the Eyes.

I think it’s time to reintroduce the power of the line. The eye-line. It’s so easy to revert to (make-up) type – mine is smouldering grey/black with lots of mascara; for others it’s the matte red lip, playful fake lashes, or a trusted brown palette. Well I personally am gonna shake some crazy right all over my face – starting with the Power-Line - observe Rihanna on the front of Weekend magazine…just a wink of cheeky pink under the bottom lashes and POW – sex on a pink stick. L.AM.B – make up range by Gwen Stefani, executed an electrifying bolt of neon yellow and brimstone red on a bare canvas for the Spring/Summer 2010 show. Perhaps the theme is really neon? Style magazine did a feature on gold last week – but this was no ordinary gold. Neon orange provided the backdrop for a gritty, golden veil – putting an edge into the usual razzle-dazzle.

Rihanna working a lick of pink

Neon smoulder

Danger Danger – High Voltage

Fire in the Disco!