The very extravagant Christmas list

If I can only have one thing ever again can it be this please? Its so big that I think I'd have to get rid of everything else in my room but thatd be ok with me. Catherine you could have my giant new wardrobe, take it in each for this please.
Look how happy the robot stereo is to be playing music, and why wouldn't he be?
Unfortunately I can't find anywhere to actually buy this so it's definitley one of those things only Santy can get for me.
Speaking of Santy I forgot to post this



While travelling through Russia this summer we came accross Santy on his summer holidays, turns out during the summer he losses a few pounds (perfect beach body an all that) and heads to Olkhon Island.

It's CHRISTMAAASS

I have two official markers that signify the beginning of Christmas, I have to see this add


and hear fairy tale of New York, last week while watching Eastenders with my brother it came on the radio in the cafe and so Christmas had begun.
I think me and Catherine are more excited this year then ever before I don't really know why, I don't have any money, can't buy any presents, its cold and I have lots of exams coming up but none of that matters I'm going to make my Christmas cake, start the mulled and get ready for everyone to come home over the holidays.
This is now my official christmas outfit, I say wear all the red, green, things you own.



One thing I do have to complain about is the stupid Brown Thomas window. When I was a young'n the best day if the year was when we got to take the afternoon off school, head into town to see the unveiling of the window, which was usually Alice and Wondreland themed, then we'd go to Captain Americas for din dins and to end the best day ever The Panto. Brown Thomas has lost its Christmas magic.

Top cinq

As i am constantly referring to clothes that i bought in Paris, i thought it would be nice to do a little piece on my five favourite places to shop. It's always difficult to find interesting places to shop when you're away and i think this is especially true of Paris where many of the best shops are hidden away.

1) Free 'P' Star

There are two of these in Paris and they're both in le Marais, the uber hip gay area. My favourite was Rue de la Verrerie because there was an awful lot more space. It's a vintage shop plain and simple, with a great selection of everything. One of the many wonderfull things about it is that it's open till 11pm during the week, just in case you realise you've absolutely nothing to wear just before you go out. Never once did i enter this place without buying something. It's ridiculously good value. They have a great €3 box that is nothing short of a treasure chest. My only warning is to avoid it at the weekend. These are not big shops and they will literally be packed with people trying things on in the middle of the floor. There is only one changing room, so dress appropriately.

Top €3 and skirt €5. Playsuit €3 and belt €5.

Free 'P' Star, 8 Rue Ste-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, 75004 and 11 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004, Paris.

2) Guerrisol

Now, as Free 'P' Star is a fairly conventional vintage shop, Guerrisol is not. They don't have charity shops per se in France so this is the next best thing. And, unlike Free 'P' Star, they are all on the outskerts of the city. They are very large warehouse style shops crammed with old clothes, shoes and bags. It's a very different experience from shopping elsewhere as many people shop here out of necessity as opposed to just wanting to find a fabulous bargain. I used to frequently run into the bum who begged outside the bakery up there, lovely guy. It is however the place to find the real bargains. Pair of lovely shoes for €1.50 and gorgeous shorts for €2, thanks very much.

Navy dress €2 and shoes €1.50. Shorts €2 and top €2.

Guerrisol, 31 avenue de Clichy and (my favourite one) 17 bis boulevard de Rochechouart, 75009, Paris.

3) Puces de Montreuil

French markets are famous and for good reason. I am conviced that this place is where vintage shop owners come to buy up all the amazing leather bags. It's not a particularly pretty market but it is well worth a visit if you have a bit of time. It's on the periphery of the city, as with all the large markets but it only takes about 20 minutes on the metro from the centre of the city. I would advise everyone to avoid the more famous Puces de St Ouen because it is just enormous and as with many of the markets, just a little too ghetto for my liking. Just remember, be prepared to haggle if you want a real bargain. I have an awful habit of getting very excited when i see something i like and destroy all chances of getting a bargain.

Both bags €8 each.

Skirt worn as dress €2 and tassle belt €3.

Puces de Montreuil, Port de Montreuil, 75020, Paris.

4) Troc en Stock

Now, this is serious stuff. Depot ventes are where wealthy Parisian women dispose of their clothes when the season is over. It's just like the old swap shops that used to be around Dublin, they leave the clothes in and take away a percentage of the profit when they're re-sold. Chanel pumps for €100, pristine condition Marni dress for a measly €200. If you just love designer clothes but do not have the budget for it then these are just perfect. Not to mention the fact that they are all over Paris, so there is plently for everyone. My favourite is Troc en Stock, which conveniently enough, i could see from my bedroom window.

Pjama dress with suede elbow patches €20 and hat €10 from Montreuil.

Troc en Stock, 6 Rue Clauzel, 75009, Paris.

5) Wochdom

I never actually bought anything here because it was a little out of my price range. That's not to say it's expensive but, i was a poor student after all. My favourite thing about this place is the layout. The clothes are organised by colour and hang on rails around the room. The shop is how i imagine my dream home - my bed surrounded by all my clothes neatly arranged around me. It is part of No Good Store on Rue des Martyrs which is a concept store/gallery. It threatened to close down while i was there but luckily is still going strong.

Wochdom, 72 rue Condorcet, 75009, Paris.

For even more great shops in Paris, look here.

Cat

More Bowties

I'm sorry the last bowtie post was far too short and left out so many of the lovely bowties that have been seen lately, its just that I saw the David Hart one thought it was gorgeous but had no time to write anything longer.
So the Bowties have been seen quite a bit in the spring/summer 09 shows.



For Sonia Rykiels 40th year in the biz a group of designers created pieces inspired by the legend, bow ties were featured heavily in the styling. There were some very cool bejewelled ones but I can't find pictures of them now.



Eley Kishimoto were also using them in their shows.



As was Luella.

















However there's only really one person that you can convincingly call Mr Bow Tie and that'd be Alexis Mabille. After leaving Dior he started his own unisex line and since has been creating the most wonderful bowties and he's been using them all over the shop.

I just don't think its very fair

I don't particularly like London, everyones seems to be in a constant rush, its too big and smelly and though it's held up as the mecca of street style I always find that everyone looks too similarly trendy. I quite like coming home to Dublin to find some people wandering around in their pyjamas while others look fabulous, variation being the spice of life an' all that. The only way I'll be back to London any time sson is for trip to the British Museum or maybe the Design Museum. However they do always seem to have great sample sales there, so if you're heading to London any time soon I'd advise going to this and picking up some of those legendary Eleykishimto prints.

Fix Up Look Sharp

Carles of Hipsterrunoff fame pointed out the emerging bow tie trend quite some time ago and quite recently the coolhunter reiterated the point and had me drooling all over this lovliness from David Hart

The price is very steep so I'm going to attempt to make and then tie my own. I don't forsee this going particularly well but I do want to look like a Scottish scholar so I'll try my damndest.

Comme On!!!

I apologise for the lateness of the very important Comme des Garcons report but Catherine had the photos and I've only just got them from her. Catherine was unable to make the launch so myself and the trusty Me and My Korg designer Anna Kealey made our way to Dundrum shopping centre at the ungodly time of half eight. When we arrived there were only five or so forty something year old ladies waiting at H&M, we were anticipating something a little more raucous. This was surely only a good thing as we'd get all we wanted so much easier, that is if they had actually stocked the pieces we were looking for. The shop was missing the round collar jacket, the matching skirt,the tux jacket, the red polka dot shirt and only had eight of the other short jacket, I was not so happy.

The sizing was also quite odd, I went a size smaller for all the shirts and then tried two sizes bigger for the dress and it still wouldn't fit, very strange altogether. Another thing that really annoyed me (perhaps a little irrationally) were the buttons, if I'm paying fifty quid for a shirt then I certainly want a lovely button on it (buttons are very important to me, my button box is one of my most prized possesions).

I'm sorry for that little rant, I did end up buying two of the polka dot shirts, one of which I hadn't seen on the website so I was pleasantly surprised. Of course my love of wearing too much of everything means I'll eventually wear both shirts together a liitle like this.

After raiding the ladies section Anna and myself buzzed it over to then mens section in search of lovely cardies and the like. Unexpectedly it was far bussier than upstairs, we were pushed out of the way by men running towards the trenches and there were frantic women on the phone to their husband or son 'WHAT SIZE ARE YOU? HERE YOU, YOU'RE SKINNY LIKE MY LAD, WHAT SIZE IS THAT COAT YOU'RE WEARING? 38? LUV WOULD A 38 DO? OK OK.'

The whole collection was a little underwhelming but we've all got a few more lovely shirts although our bank balances are considerably worse off.

This was what I was wearing the day after the big sale, unable to put off my new CDG purchases.

Shirt- CDG for H&M, Bowtie- hairclip from carboot sale made into a necklace, Polka dot belt- vintage, Skirt- Dunnes, Tights- M&S, Brogues- Topshop

Circus Chic

The Miu Miu window display at Rue Saint Honore. It just made me go "wow".
(Photo from Jak &Jill)

It also made me think of Picasso.

So when i got home to my lovely sewing machine i started working on this.

In Paris, speciality shops are all grouped together in the same place. So when you need some fabric the only place to go is Rue d'Orsel in Montmartre. This place is like heaven on earth, shop after shop just filled with fabric, and all the trimmings your heart could desire. Im fairly certain that i was wondering around open mouthed when i first discovered it.

It was there that i found the ultimate circus fabric. I had been wanting to pay homage to the Miu Miu harlequin inspired collection that i saw in the window of their on Rue Saint Honore. It was in a section dedicated to children's costumes with a great variety of harlequin prints for only €4 per metre. Id been humming and hawing about buying it for ages. I was quickly running out of room in my suitcase and i had already sent a package ahead of me but, when my last day finally came around i knew that id regret it when i got back to Dublin. So on my final day in Paris i spent my very last €4 on one metre of loveliness.

And this is how it turned out.



Red shoes from Bertie, whits tights from C&A, red shirt from Free'P'Star Paris, collar hand made.

Cat

One of a kind

So after my little rant about H&M yesterday, ive calmed down a bit since ive had the chance to play with my new blouse.

On a book hunting trip over to Bolton Street this afternoon i popped into a little shop called Ritzy Rags. This is a great charity shop. They had an amazing hounds tooth skirt suit that was very Chanel-esque for only €10 and a pretty good collection of fur coats and 80's jumpers. Unfortunately the skirt suit was about four sizes too big so i went for an adorable trapeze tartan jacket that i got for an unbelievable 70cent. Bargain! It's actually a child's coat but im a very small person(i claim im 5'2 but im pretty sure that's a lie).

All the stuff comes from France, ooh la la, with the proceeds going to Friends of the Elderly. Like Lil has said before we are big fans of old people - chic or not.

The point being that my new jacket looks fab with my wonderful Comme des Garcons frill blouse.

Left: Black H&M jeans, white Bershka shoes, black dickie bow borrowed from dad and white Comme des Garcons for H&M shirt. Right: With 70cent kids coat.

Cat

This is a disgrace

I woke up this morning very excited. Like many others I had organised my finances in order to pay for some lovely pieces from the Comme des Garcons for H&M collection that went on sale at 9am this morning. Due to important thesis commitments Lil volunteered to get the few things that i wanted. Now, 10:30 roles around and i get a phone call from Lil telling me that they didn't have the round neck jacket i wanted in Dundrum and to head down to South King Street when i got out of class. So off i went, practically running down the street hoping there would still be some left, but low and behold, there weren't any.

I asked the shop assistant just in case i had overlooked it. His response was, "oh, you mean this one", pointing to the poster. "No, the jacket with the round neck and matching skirt." To which he replied "Oh, no, we didn't get that in."

Now, this is the problem i have. Just because we are not London or Tokyo we don't get the full collection. What the hell is this about?

If im mistaken, id appreciate if anyone could put me back on track, but for the mean time, im really quite disappointed.

Cat

Cocktail Hour

Jewellery is probably my favourite accessory. It doesn't matter how plain the outfit it can always be dressed up with some jewels. I grew up with a mother who was equally as obsessed as i am but, because it was the 80's and everyone was broke it was mostly costume stuff.

It's great to see the bigger design houses making a move towards costume jewellery. It's funny because on the one hand you have Gucci who are phasing out their silver in order to make the brand more exclusive, and then on the other you have Yves Saint Laurent producing pieces for as little as €125.

Top: four claw citrine ring. Unfortunately Lil's ring is currently being sized so this will just give you an idea. Bottom: Yves Saint Laurent ring also comes with white or pale blue stones. Available at Brown Thomas for €125.

Then, of course there is the vintage stuff. Now, as mush as i love vintage jewellery there is always the risk that you are paying way over the odds. Lil bought the most wonderfull 18ct yellow gold citrine ring in the Powerscourt Shopping Centre just a few weeks ago, and i might add she got it at a very good price.

Things to look out for when buying vintage rings;

1) Check the stamp. This is pretty basic. All metals are stamped, with the most common ones being 925 for silver, 375 for 9ct gold and 750 for 18ct gold.

2) Check the stone. If you are spending a lot of money, know your stone. For example Lil bought a citrine ring. What's a citrine? If you don't know the stone you're buying then you will not be very capable of judging the quality. All natural stone's have something called inclusions. These are natural marks in the stone. The higher the quality of the stone, the less inclusions that will be visible to the naked eye.

3) Check the setting. The setting is what the stones are set into to attach them to the band. Claws are what hold the stone in place. Always make sure that none of the claws are damaged or that the stone is loose as this is costly to repair and could result in loosing the stone.

Cat

OAP's ar A OK

God I'm so sorry that title is awful, just awful.(Very Metro headline if the pension had been increased in the budget or summit.)

I'm not ashamed to say I often admire the style of old ladies that I see shuffling down the street, in particular one of my neighbours has the most amazing collection of hats, although I've never actually picked up the courage to ask any of them where they got their fabulous coat or beutiful silk scarf, I'm not cool enough to be seen to take fashion hints from old people just yet, instead I'll just rummage through charity shops and should actually probably take a trip to Guiney's.
Anyway, point is I hope to be a stylish old lady like this woman one day.

Too much?

There are two things I love very much one of these being very very shiny clothes I'm quite like a magpie in that respect, the other is putiing on loadsa clothes at once. If someone has kindly invited me to their home as a guest and then so foolishly left me alone in their bedroom they'll generally reaturn to find me wearing as many as their clothes as I can put on in the time they had left. Well earlier on when I was messin these two loves were combined. I started off by admiring my many shiny things.





Then I thought maybe a monochrome sparkly look would be cool, black beret, white top



After that it went too far, I put on everything, all of it. More is probably too much when it comes to sparkle.

Doin our bit

Election Chic

November 4th 2008 will go down as history as the day Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States. So to pay tribute to this great day we invented election chic.

I was having a tough time deciding what to wear when i received a text from Anna saying, "Ive themed my outfit today Obama wins America." I thought this was a bloody great idea. And decided to do the same. This is the "Obama wins America" outfit that i wore to college on Tuesday. Complete with Obama badge that i made from the blue and red Tesco envelope that came through the door that morning.

White loafers from Urban Outfitters, red tights from Penneys, white skirt hand made, blue top from Guerrisol(Paris), grey cardi from Zara and red belt stolen from my mam.

Cat

"The last six months ive been hiding behind a moustache"

This month is Movember, a time when men all over the country start growing moustaches to raise funds and awareness for men's health. Check out the website here. What an amazing idea. Not only are moustaches so hot right now but, it's for a good cause aswell.

Tom knew the deal back then, great tash and great checkered shirt, so trendy.
Ive been a fan of moustaches for quite some time. They're not just for boys you know.

You can also watch this very amusing video about Movember.

Cat

Speaking of Chanel

Clearly me and Catherine and channeling the same Chanel vibe (shit she already used that pun, oh well) because last night I went on a Chanel buzz myself. I made a handbag strap inspired necklace using a bit of chain that I got in Homebase (generally its used for hanging flower baskets*) and some spare black fabric I had left over after making a skirt.



My version isn't so much about the pearls as it is about wearing all the gold chains you and yer ma own.

*I wanted to make a wall flower type pun but its just not in me today, I'm not as punerrific as usual.

Channeling Chanel

I had my first real Chanel experience not too long ago and to be honest, it was amazing. I was on a hunt for my scent, after years of wearing whatever perfume came my way i decided to take charge of how i smell. MMK are quite the fan of Chanel, Anna is Chance, Lil is Number 5 and I, subsequently am Coco Mademoiselle. Id be lying if i said i wasn't swayed by the lovely bottle, or the iconic font but as the Chanel counter in Brown Thomas is equipped with a great big jar of coffee beans, theirs was the only perfume that i could actually smell properly, without the confusing mix of Missoni, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein. And so i became a Chanel girl.

But suddenly it just wasn't enough. I wanted the two-tone tights, the elaborate brooches, the 2.55, the perfect little pumps. I wanted to be just like the mannequin in the window. I already had the black bob and red lips down so off i went home to have a good sit down at my sewing machine to see what we could come up with. Et voila, as long as people can smell the perfume, no one need know that im a cheater.

Black dress from American Apparel, silver shoes from Nine West, bag and pearls from various charity shops.

To be worn with all of the pearl necklaces you own, a whole pile of sparkly brooches and a Chanel-esque bag from your local charity shop. For wonderfull fabrics, The Woolen Mills is a great place as they consistently have a nice collection of tweeds.

Cat