DIYing

I think this may actually be a first DIY I'm posting on the blog... exciting!

I upcycle my clothes quite regularly but a lot of the time changes are made to make something more wearable or fit better so it's not interesting enough to talk about. I thought I'll do a post about this little job I did few days ago as it's really easy and the final effect is actually pretty cool.

Military and jewelled clothing flooded the floors of HS stores. Although I'm loving both, I doubt I could get much wear out of them long term. I was loving the Zara shirt below but wasn't convinced about spending €50 on it. I headed for a charity shop instead and picked up Esprit military style blazer. Some jewels from Crown Jewels and.. voila!

* photos are kinda homemade too ;) 

 

Before

And results..

Inspired by Zara's shirt below

Out of sequins

This is a little taster and a link to an article I did for the lovely crowd at RTE's TwoTube.
Have a sparkly read ;)

'Seen all over runways over and over again, sequins are definitely here to stay (hurray!). It’s fantastic news for any girly girl. Sequined items can lift an outfit and they allow for lots of fun with your clothes. They are an obvious choice for a night out (your opportunity to pretend you finally made it to the red carpet)...'

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Sunnies

I never thought I would be that person with piles of sunglasses around. Especially since living in Dublin, I mean it's not like I actually need any! But here I am again, with another pair arriving in the post... I will put it down to being positive and making sure I am prepared when a scorching hot Irish summer arrives!

The glasses arrived really quickly and on a perfectly sunny morning (how did they do that?!). I was surprised to see that 2 free pouches were also supplied. One hard and one soft cover, I'm sure they will come handy (they're not the most stylish ones around but hey, they're needed).  I nearly disposed of a mysterious bag with small metal tools inside when my boy explained that this is a handy set of tools. For people who fix their glasses of course. I left it for him to play with..

All in all I thought the glasses looked better than online. It's a great shape and I am really happy with them. I am yet to try them out driving (a real test in my opinion, I seem to see less when driving, don't ask why and do not mention to Garda) but so far it's 8 out of 10 to Firmoo for both service and product!

Firmoo is now running a Free for New Buyer programme so you can pick a pair of glasses and only have to pay for the postage! Brilliant idea and you can check it out HERE.

Printastic

The Dutch always striked me as very inventive people :) I also think that they have great taste and on the 2 occasions I visited Holland, I loved to (totally inappropriately) stare into their apartments full of books and contemporary art.

I am not least surprised to hear that it's a Dutch company, Refinity, who invented the newest eco-fashion solution: fabric ink that can be washed out and re-applied. Although it's still early days, it seems like something that will really make sense if used on the right fabrics. It combines fashion's short trend span with fabrics' long life cycle (effectively extending the shelf life of the garment). It will allow the owner of the piece to update the print as trends change which is fantastic.

I look forward to hearing more about Refinity and their innovations and also getting my hands dirty with some ink - paisley print here I come!

  

Prints and samples by Refinity

Style Hunter

I was previously snapped by Ebay's Style Hunter and never got an opportunity to share it with you guys. They are a seriously stylish crowd so it was a privilege having my pics taken by them! If that wasn't enough, helpmystyle.ie headed by Darren Kennedy have now paired with Style Hunter in search of Ireland's savviest street stylers. Make sure to check them out, I predict lots of fab Irish style to come!

x

Shirt - thrifted

Sequined jacket - H&M

Trousers - Zara

Coat - Michael Kors

Bag - Zara

Runners - Converse

Necklace - Topshop

Summer wedding

One of the most difficult occasions to dress for, in my opinion, is a wedding. It's something I talked about last year already... See HERE and HERE.
Varying from super-casual, through summery, to really smart, it's often hard to get it right. Personally I'm not a 'wedding wear type of person'. I find it difficult to find balance between: not too much party-like, interesting, chic and cool/fashionable. Comfort is also hugely important to me as weddings do tend to be long and usually start with huge dinners which doesn't help!

Below is an outfit that I wore recently and I was very happy with. I got a few compliments from strangers which was really nice (let's be honest: all your friends and family have to say how great you look, random people don't). The pics were actually taken for myself to see if I'll go for it so I want to reassure you: hair, makeup and tan were looked after on the actual day of the wedding ;)

Dress - Orla Kiely

(belt replaced with a ribbon)

Heels - Marks & Spencer

Bag - Accessorize

Fascinator - ebay.ie

Bracelet - River Island necklace worn as a bracelet