Coming Soon...

Hoss Intropia's e-store! That girl on the drums? Florrie Arnold - unsigned artist and musical philanthropist who gives much of her music away to fans to download, play, share and post. We dig her style. Well, she is a Hoss girl!

CLICK HERE for a piece of the Hoss action and to be in with a chance to win a €1,000 shopping spree!

Private Shopping Event @ Kildare Village

To herald the arrival of spring, Kildare Village has partnered with The Gloss Magazine for a private shopping event which will take place from the 8th – 11th March 2012. Don’t miss this  invite-only opportunity to update your spring wardrobe with must have designer labels and receive an additional 20% on already reduced prices in designer outlet boutiques including Anya Hindmarch, Hobbs and LK Bennett. To receive your Private Shopping invitation, CLICK HERE or log on to www.kildarevillage.com and register your details which will entitle you to a host of stylish savings around the Village.

For details of opening hours and more information about Kildare Village visit www.KildareVillage.com. Make sure to become a fan on Facebook too for the latest updates http://www.facebook.com/kildarevillage or follow Kildare Village on Twitter @KildareVillage.

God Bless Dries Van Noten

It's not often I petition for the salvation of Belgian designers. I should really do it more often considering how  my wardrobe could well be mistaken for a shrine to the Antwerp Six. Anyhow, back to the issue of prayer. Yesterday was my nephew's confirmation and after returning from communion where I said 'Thanks' to the priest instead of 'Amen' (hey, it's been a while), I tried making my way across the packed pew. Given the sardines-in-a-can situtation, I mounted the knee rest in my Perspex Dries Van Noten heels incurring a minor speed wobble en route. I now understand why my mother refused to let me take gymnastics lessons as a kid. A six foot tall gall in four inch moulded plastic heels inching her way across a six inch-wide PVC coated beam; it was bound to end badly. So, yeah, I fell and I fell hard. Gripping onto the pew, I  made a bid to save myself from lurching forward onto my three neices and, in the process, managed to somehow twist backwards and collapse onto everyone's feet. My sister says I emerged rather gracefully into my seat. I say, thank the Lord we were in the back row. I don't think my pride could have handled the fall. Oh, back to my point, the shoes remained unscathed; not a scratch, not a nick. Hardcore Belgian design - God Bless it indeed. P.S. I'm prepared to overlook the reason I fell in the first place. It had nothing to do with the heels. Nope, not a thing.

Brown Thomas, French Fashion and Ireland AM

Missed Ireland AM this morning? CLICK HERE to catch up on the TV3 player and get your fix of French fashion  from Brown Thomas featuring brands like Sandro, Maje and The Kooples. Take a peek at some of the behind-the-scenes looks below:

Thalia:
Sandro sleeveless silk shirt €150
Sandro belted short €135
Shoes by Kurt Geiger

Karen:
Maje fluro top €95
Maje bouclé skirt €170
Shoes by Kurt Geiger

Aoife:
The Kooples printed scarf €110
The Kooples gorilla print tee €95
The Kooples black skinny jeans €125

From the Archives

I pulled this vintage coat out of Narnia my wardrobe to be dry-cleaned and was struck by its similarity to Marni's s/s `12 floral prints. I bought this about three years ago in a vintage shop on Aungier Street which has since closed down. Quite the find. Roll on sunshine!

This Is Not a Fashion Post

The post arrived this morning. Granted the post arrives most mornings but regardless of being single and semi-married to my work (I ditch on Sundays), the expectation of something paper cut-worthy  lingered. The reality however was not-so-romantic. As I descended the stairs this morning bundled in fleece, I found two sealed missives: one from Concern, the other from an anonymous Dublin source. Curious, I cast the window of Concern to one side and got to thumbing open that would-be-Valentine. The envelope bore sweet nothing but a stapled pair of Med 2 tax forms from my dentist for the three crowns he made me. I guess there's someone out there who treats me like a princess. Although my expectations for romance were relatively Hallmark-free, a morning spent trawling through 140 character Twitter gushes began to bring out my inner curmudgeon, that is until my most lovely thoughtful pal Andy sent me an unexpected Valentine's text. There's nothing like a great friend to make you feel 'hot as balls' (Andy's phrase; not mine) or 'hotter than the toe cleft of a sub-Saharan elephant (my friend Sue's phrase; not mine) but you get what mean. I'm feeling quite the fox right now (she swishes her brushy tail back and forth). Thanks Andy - a mega big virtual Valentine smooch to you. Mwah!!!! xxxx

The Ultimate Closet Clearout

The eBay purge to end all purges continues with two worn-only-once faux fur coats and an oldie but a goodie.

CLICK HERE to check out the highstreet goodies. 

FrouFrouu @ Fashion Week

I received a tweet today from WhatSheWears relating to a pic taken of me at LFW last season. It was a lovely surpirse to see the shot taken by Nadia of FrouFrouu fame. For the record it was in the Old Eurostar Terminal for the Louise Gray show (which rocked). For a look at more of Nadia's street style snaps, check out Topshop's Tumblr. CLICK HERE for more. And kudos if you can figure out Tumblr. Although, I've set up an account, I've yet to use it holding onto the belief that it could still be a glass filled with an intoxicating libation.

Photo by Nadia @ FrouFrouu.com

Emmanuelle Alt Does Wham!

This popped into my Facebook feed today from the boutique mavens at Havana, Donnybrook. Check out Emmanuelle Alt (French Vogue's rédactrice-en-chef) in this fantastique tongue-in-cheek video to celebrate the relaunch of Vogue.fr. Now who ever said fashion was humourless...

CHANEL - The Little Black Jacket

Karl Lagerfeld’s forthcoming book The Little Black Jacket: CHANEL's Classic Revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld pays tribute to the timelessness of CHANEL’s little black jacket through over a hundred photographs. Here the iconic garment is reinterpreted by some of fashion's contemporary icons: slipped on by singer, Vanessa Paradis, transformed into a headdress for actress, Sarah Jessica Parker, adapted to Alice Dellal’s neo-punk look - this fashion masterpiece translates seamlessly as a luxury must-have. The book will accompany the opening of an exhibition dedicated to it, which will run from 24th March until 15th April 2012 in Tokyo. The Little Black Jacket: CHANEL's Classic Revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld (Steidl, Göttingen, 2012) will be available from Barnes & Noble on 28th August, 2012. CLICK HERE to pre-order.

In Love With NYC @ Brown Thomas

For those of you who weren't shopping in Brown Thomas last Saturday, you wouldn't have witnessed their inaugural In Love With NYC fashion events; nor would you have gotten to catch me - native New Yorker - getting presenting looks from my favourite NYC labels like 3.1 Philip Lim, DVF and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Where were you? I feel so betrayed....

Luckily, I'm going to allow you to make it up to me. I'll be back for more In Love With NYC fashion workshops on Feb 11th and 18th in Brown Thomas, Dublin (1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm). You'll even get a complimentary glass of bubbly and a seat for your tired feet. How good is that? Good? It's downright a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Now geddouttahere and I'll see you all this weekend.

Diane Von Furstenberg

Marc by Marc Jacobs

eBay Spring Cleaning Sale

ANNNNNND....the closet cull continues with  vintage and designer goodies under the hammer.CLICK HERE for a piece of the action.

Jeans, Jeans, Jeans

I never was a jeans kind of gal. In fact, I categorically loathed the idea of buying, trying or prying myself my pear-shape into a pair. Too tight around the thigh, too pinched at the waist, too short in the leg - basically too much of a hassle. It seems the denim gods got wind of my mutiny and decided to show me the righteous path to selvage salvation with the help of Paige and MiH (Made in Heaven). Quite the angels of mercy these two gals.

First off, Paige. The go-to denim label started by former fit model Paige Adams-Geller uses semi-contoured waistband, forward sitting side seams and strategically placed pockets to help slim the hips and make pert that bum. My succour arrived in a pair of fir green Lou Lou skinny flare trousers. Apart from the fact that it might take an act of God in itself to pry these bad boys off my bod, I can honestly say they are one of the most flattering fits I've tried. Skinny to the knee with a well-proportioned kick flare, my legs look miles long and I feel like I'm on a perma-thin day.

Next, MiH. Quite the ethereal three letter acronym, MiH (Made in Heaven) takes its influence from the `70s and its nous from an illustrious denim family heritage. I started my MiH conversion last season with a pair of velvet Marrakesh skinny flares. For s/s `12, I've graduated onto a relaxed Oxford seersucker wash which I'll pair with an Italian cotton oversized shirt. Yum.

Depsite my ill-fated pre-Christmas campaign to rally the snow fairies, I'm somewhat relieved Ireland has escpaed the cold snap that has beset London. I can now proceed with my sophomore enterprise: summoning the sunshine!