Public Image

When i think of Clarks, i think of those great little devices they used to use to measure my feet whenever i needed a new pair of patent Mary Janes when i was little. But unfortunately i haven't owned a pair of those Mary Janes since my mom stopped buying all my clothes. Clarks was just one of those shops that seemed a bit old-fashioned and boring. That was until there image revamp in 2001. Nice (comfortable) shoes and a good advertising campaign have allowed the company to maintain there position, along with Reebok and Nike, as one of the biggest shoe brands in the world.

As i have recently started back in a job that requires me to stand for long periods of time, i needed a pair of shoes that were comfortable and pretty. And hey presto, for only €27.50 (reduced from €70) my lovely new Clarks Mary Janes. They really are the most comfortable shoes i have ever owned.

-Catherine

Bags of deliciousness

I received the Ben & Jerry's canvas bag in the post last week from the lovely Matt (thank you) and thought i would pop it up here for you all to see. The gorgeous Sarah McCall designed my particular bag but illustrator Chris Judge and photographer Richard Gilligan are also involved. The bags were designed for the launch of Ben and Jerry's new fair trade Chocolate Macadamia-yummers. They are available at BT2, Urban Outfitters and Circus store and gallery. You can also have a gander over on their facebook page here.

-Catherine

Fashion games

Every once in a while eBay send me an email with a lovely list of new items from my favourite sellers. And every time the email arrives i am amazed by the pieces offered by Playground Vintage. It is clear this girl has a very keen eye, as well as sewing ability because many of the items are great 80's prom dresses that have been adjusted to a more modern length. It's a little more pricey than what most people are used to on ebay, these dresses are at €23 and €29 respectively, but for what you're getting i think it's probably worth it.

-Catherine

Beauty Bargains? Yes please.

I was out in Liffey Valley the other day getting lenses for my lovely glasses and came across a great new shop that had just opened called Inglot. Apparently it is part of a cosmetics chain that has branches in Canada and Australia and has recently started to expand their business. I was so impressed by the range of colours, it's like being in MAC but actually being able to afford to buy more than just one eye shadow. I would highly recommend making the trip out to Liffey Valley just for this.

-Catherine

OMG

So super excited about this:



-Catherine

New Hair, Old Style

When it comes to women i admire, i was never quite able to separate great women from their great hairstyles, and that's why Mary Quant and Isabella Blow have always been style idols of mine. These are two women whose hairstyles i have been replicating for years, from Sassoon's cocoon style to a more classic bob.

Apparently Quant's cut was so precise that it took a simple shake of her head after a shower for the hair to fall into place.

Mary Quant and Vidal Sassoon

And the late Isabella Blow


Then there's me, and my first precision haircut. Photo taken by Dan Dennison way back in 2007.


And then the very poor quality webcam shot of today's new haircut.

The lovely Marina at Styleclub on South William Street cuts my hair and she is amazing.

-Catherine

Starck

I thought once I was done with college I'd have plenty of time for making clothes and telling you lovely people all about it. Clearly I was wrong, all my time of late has been spent trying to squeeze in all the time I can get with my friends before I head off for the summer, who knows when I'll see them again. Soon enough Catherine and me are going to have to say goodbye and probably won't be seeing each other again till Christmas (that may not seem like a lot of time to some people but we generally don't go more than a few days without seeing each other so it's going to be a bit of a shock).So recently we planned a brilliant day of reading the papers over a few pints in our new favourite pub,followed by cinema scoops ( I don't know how anyone has managed to watch angels and demons without being drunk. So anyway the Guardian kindly informed me that design legend Philippe Starck would soon be designing a range of clothes with the Scottish brand Ballantyne. He has designed clothes before, not too long ago with Adidas however this range will be a little different, this is not fashion, no ,no this is a range of responsible clothes that will outlast the fads of fashion. If there's one thing I love it's pretension something Mr Starck is not lacking. It seems it may take us a few years to understand his designs but eventually intelligent people will understand. I've only been able to find this picture, its quite difficult to comment on really, it looks like a hood thats just a little too pointy to me but Philippe Starck probably knows what he's talking about, he's not been wrong yet.