Little Gem: Cleo is too cute!

I did a post on a shoot produced by Irish stalwart of fashion, Cleo, in the nineties a few weeks ago. That focused more on the aesthetic and ideas behind the store but now I want to talk about the store as it functions today; what it looks like, what's in it, etc.

Based on Kildare Street in Dublin city centre, the store boasts a colourful window display and beautiful uncial script signage. Upon buzzing into the store, you're greeted and immediately confronted with a variety of toys, items of clothing and accessories made of traditional wools, tweeds, linen and more. The space is made up of two rooms, the one you enter into moving through an open doorway to a back room with more clothing, hats, scarves, I-Pad covers, cushions etc. Everything is Irish and handmade and the type of exquisite workmanship that will never fall apart and would find it difficult to age or date. 

My favourite pieces had to be these wool ties, the I-Pad and cushion covers and the little knitted mice dotted everywhere - so sweet! There's much more that's worth a peep and an investment but I'll leave y'all to pop into store and have a rifle through the racks for gems.

Going to pay a visit?

Knitlayers.

Even though it's getting warmer (wooop) it is still Ireland, after all. So, I'm not quite jumping the gun like that one guy you always see on the first sunny day of Spring who cracks out the shorts while we all shiver and judge him silently. This in-between period of warm but not hot is a great time for experimenting. Here I'm wearing a cardigan over a jumper for the cooler evening but the jumper is cropped and worn as a top by itself. The pants are a light material and also slightly cropped so they work for Spring as well. A lot of print is going on, especially for me, but I think it's still rather restrained due to the muted brownish-red, blue and black tones. On paper, that sounds disgusting but I rather like the result. The whole thing is quite playful - messing with lengths and mixing patterns.

Cardigan and Jumper - Zara - Pants - Urban Outfitters - Sneaker Wedges - Topshop - Earrings - Cos

I'm really loving this jumper. I can just imagine pairing it with a pencil skirt for summer nights out when it's chillier in the evening. 

PLUS: I'm pretty excited by how long my hair is now! It's been a work in progress for years and is the longest it's ever been. I never blow-dry it so the nice wave going on here is purely from plaiting it when it was slightly damp still and leaving that until it was dry.

The Lost Outfit Post.

I had forgotten that this even existed...an advent calender in the background and the amount of clothes stolen from my mother suggest it was while I was home for Christmas...christ, nearly a year on!

Knits.

There has to be some upside to it getting so damn cold. And here it is: knits. This year, in particular, is a good one for wrapping up. From statement jumpers, to body-hugging dresses, to oversized jumpers with pencil skirts (I LOVE), to patterns, to fuzzy - there's something for everyone. 

Or everything for me? Yes, please.

The best of the best (aka what I dream of):

All photos from Vogue.co.uk/Go Runway.

Friday the Thirteenth....

...and no real disaster befell me. Quite a nice day, in fact. Sure, I had to get up before ten in the morning (I know, I'm a lazy, terrible person) but it kinda went uphill from there. Shopped in Dublin and tramped all over the city with Mammy and my sister, had lunch out, got free money from Mammy, had cake and tea, bought more cake, helped Dad move and build furniture, had tea and cake again, scored one of Dad's old Aran jumpers, po-goed, go-carted, punned and hung out with my bro. To do all this in warmish, showery weather I went for my uber-reliable and practical Docs, a loose t-shirt dress in cream (which was lovely and airy when I got too warm), my trusty vintage cream blazer and thick-knit tights for warmth and rain protection - simplistic, functional, easy and chic and with a touch of Alexander Wang-esque sportiness. 

We are family.

Damn, am I pooped. Mornings have never been my friend and bad sleeping habits, and the fact that I've been finding it especially difficult to sleep recently, meant that getting up this morning was horrendous. The stormy skies overhead seemed a portend of pathetic fallacy but, as it turns out, a great day was had by all. My siblings, Mammy and I were scouting out suits and dresses, shoes etc for their debs. Awww, they're growing up so fast! We, as a clan, however, are notorious shoppers. Seriously, if there was one, we'd be on the Olympic team. 

I'm exhausted from the trekking! But, plus side to going with the fam is that there is no skimping on fine food, snacks, tea or taxis when I would have normally trudged through the rain. Got some awesome shorts in the Topshop sale (despite my ban on buying anything for myself) and had many a bant with the sibs. James and I like to try on hats together and below is one of the more fetching creations that he gave a whirl. We also made quite a stir on the Luas as we were all tired and slightly hysterical at that point - gotta love when you make Mammy snort with laughter. 

Practicality was word of the day as there was much walking and lots of rain but it was quite warm; ergo, layers, light knits and runners. I love this tee from Urban Outfitters despite a co-worker of my dad's saying, "It seems something has attacked you!" How droll. As the basis for the outfit it set up a palate of neutral tones - olives, browns, beige, denim and black - and gave me inspiration for a more urban twist on knits.  

Being a stylish little brother and making me proud!

Shorts worth breaking promises to myself for!