Look good, feel good I say. I can’t understand why people would not want to look their best at all times. On occasion I’ll ring up a gal pal and invite her out for a few after work cocktails only to be told that she can’t as she looks like a knacker and will not show her face around town.
“Have you had a stroke?” I’ll enquire, thinking that the only reason anyone would leave the house looking like a knacker is because they’ve taken leave of their senses.
OK, so it’s a figure of speech, but all the same I think you should be dressed up and ready to go anywhere at the drop of a, well, hat. I don’t understand all those celebrities who are pictured looking awful in tracksuit bottoms and oversize cardies. It’s not a good look and you really should know by now that the paps are out to get you. As for the phenomenon of wearing pyjamas to the shops / chipper / dole office here in Dublin, well don’t get me started. My time is precious enough without ranting on these pages about that fashion faux pas.
It’s nice to see that so many of the social set take pride in their appearance. Granted, some have the fashion sense of a blind person in TK Maxx, but thankfully they’re in the minority - and I guess they do provide the rest of us with good entertainment value, but I digress. It’s not easy dressing up all the time. Everyone scrutinising your outfit, accessories and hair – and that’s just the boys!
Thankfully there is always inspiration on the horizon. Nokia, those arbiters of style, recently announced the names of this years 12 finalists in the Nokia Young Designer of the Year competition. Moet & Chandon provided the fizz and Image Magazine.
The finalists were selected from design colleges across 32 counties, with eight of them chosen from the Limerick School of Art and Design and four from the National College of Art and Design – a great demonstration of the colleges’ commitment to fashion. The 8 LSAD students, chosen for their creativity and vision include; Sinead Lawlor from Co. Dublin, Aimée O'Beirne and Carol Hopkins both from Co. Kildare, Jane Horgan and Alanna Murphy from Co. Louth, Sarah Greer, a native of Co. Waterford, Fionnuala Donnelly from Co. Meath and Deirdre Brennan who hails from Co. Westmeath. The finalists selected from NCDA include Aislinn Sweeney from Co. Kerry, Paget Scott – McCarthy from Co. Cork, Jennifer Browne from Co. Dublin and Aoife Perry from Co. Kildare.
The panel consists of some of the leading figures in Irish and international fashion; Buying Director of Topshop, Caren Downie, Style Editor of Grazia magazine, Paula Reed, London based designer, Jonathon Saunders, young Irish fashion designer Leigh Tucker and accessories designer, Pauric Sweeney.
The finalists are now tasked with bringing their designs to life on the catwalk at a glittering finale in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on Tuesday 27th March, where the overall winner will be crowned. Every year this show seems to get bigger and better (I remember fondly when it was an intimate event in Dundrum Town Centre car park) and it’s marvellous to see it prosper.
On the same evening Halina Ashdown Sheils and her crew at Advanced Cosmetic Surgery hosted a cocktail reception in Cocoon to celebrate the first screening of Inside & Out, a new 4 part makeover show on TV3. Nothing much new here in terms of originality, but the fact that it’s Irish, with Irish participants was enough to make me tune in. Cindy Caffola, Alan Amsby, PJ Gibbons, Sinead Ryan and Andrew Rudd were just some of the guests on the evening.
Three of the four candidates featured in the series were also there on the evening - Denise Hayes (the subject of the first programme) Deirdre Whelan and Carl Owens. And they looked pretty good to me.Ireland's first personal extreme makeover show, it’s a joint venture between TV3 and Edge Films and airs on TV3 each Wednesday at 8pm for the next four weeks (repeat on Sunday I think), with each programme following an individual over 12 weeks as they undergo a journey of self-discovery and transformation.
Speaking of transformations, Harcourt Street has been home to many nightclubs in it’s time, with many of them going through various incarnations. Krystle is one such place (and I’m afraid I don’t know what it was before, but that hardly matters). They recently launched their Thursday night club and if you’ve never been to Krystle then what are you waiting for?
It’s slick and stylish and has the most amazing outdoor smoking area in the city. Very Nikki Beach (without the pool, natch). Some of the heads I spotted there on Thursday night were Thomas Black of You’re A Star, Triona McCarthy, Helen O’Dwyer and Rosanna Davison.
Dress up and get down!
