Friday 31 January 2014

Clothes Encounter: My week in style!

I cannot believe how quickly February has flown in! I have had a manic but really brilliant week. It began with my styling for Diva Next Door hitting the papers. I styled all of the finalists for a calendar shoot in the Wright Venue.
Winner Hannah featured in the Irish Sun & The Sunday World newspapers. Congratulations to Hannah and well done to all the other gorgeous ladies! The velvet leotard Hannah is wearing is from The V.I.P Room. Hair is by Newcastle Hair & Beauty MUA by the lovely folks at Make up 4 Ever Dublin. I was assisted by Ciara O'Doherty and the girls were shot by Alex Hutchinson Photography.
I styled TV3’s Anna Daly on Tuesday for a sexy and glamorous cover shoot for the Sunday World that will feature as a ‘Valentines Special’. There was a really great team involved. Top Fashion photographer Evan Doherty was assisted by Eoin Kelly, my styling assistant was Amanda Barlow, Amy O’ Neill from Make up 4 Ever did the MUA assisted by Chloe Gaskin. Ruth Robertson from Peter Mark was the hair stylist. Many of you know Anna Daly as the beautiful blonde presenter on Ireland AM - she was a really versatile model and oozed old Hollywood glamour. The shoot was very romantic with soft make up and loose teased hair. For the first look I went for a cute River Island ice cream blouse and candy pink leather skirt combo with black Buffalo heels and leather gloves. I will post on my 'Lipstick Gossip' Facebook when the Sunday World Magazine spread hits the shelves.
From there on in I took a more dramatic approach. The heels I used I pulled from Buffalo on Exchequer St. They have a gorgeous collection of minimalist shoes in black, nude and earth tones. They are the kind of shoes you can rock from day to night - kind of conservative to party chic.
I pulled a selection of dresses from Starla Dress Rental on South William St. To say they have a fairytale collection wouldn’t even cut it. From a paradise print fitted floral midi, to a black number with a plunging neckline and thigh split they had Oscar worthy dresses that I used for the SWM shoot.
My favourite Starla gown that we used is a Badgley Mischka Gold Sequinned full length number. It is long sleeved & backless. It is €170 to hire from Starla. I knotted pearls and had them draping down Anna’s back.
The following day I had a shoot with Assets model Jodie Wood and photographer Johnny Mc Millan. 
http://instagram.com/p/jyoI8oKRU_/
The make up artist for the shoot was Paula Callan who is ridiculously talented, her instagram is flooded with her mesmerising make up demos from the make up artistry ‘Callanberry’ courses herself and her fellow celebrity MUA Derrick Carberry run. To find out more information about the courses click here. 

Check out Jodies make up on the day.
http://instagram.com/p/jy9cToAesm/
I styled Jodie in very preppy Spring/ Summer 2014 attire. I wanted the vibe to be fun, young and appealing. Jodie has very striking blue eyes and tanned skin which photographs like a dream!
http://instagram.com/p/jy8VIvD9H-/
My favourite look from the shoot was a tuxedo jumpsuit from online retail giant iClothing. It was low cut and tapered and tailored in a way that hugged her size 6 frame without looking too fitted. iClothing have a lot of bargains this season to take you from catwalk to street style at an affordable price. You can check out my ‘Behind the scenes’ instagram video below of Jodie striking a pose for a few frames in the jumpsuit. I also styled Jodie in a burgundy wide brimmed fedora hat from River Island with a peter pan collared dress, the dress reminded me of the sixties, it was Twiggy-esque but not try hard. Another standout from the shoot for me were the fitted iClothing black chinos as well as a stunning muted mint iClothing shift dress. For a dressy look I styled Jodie in a textured monochrome patterned River Island skort with a leather trim teamed with a high neck white blouse and sharp black blazer both from River Island.



Panto princess Michelle Mc Grath was also shooting with Johnny Mc Millan. I styled her in a navy river island trouser and loose off the shoulder tee combo. She has been a busy lady performing twice a day for the Gaiety panto but that has not slowed her down in the modelling stakes.
After my day of shooting I darted home to get ready for the highlight of my week - the Massimo Dutti opening on Grafton Street. I knew from the second I received my invite in the post this event was unmissable. For my make up I went for a dark eye with eylure curled lashes and a hot pink lip. I love Lancome long wear foundation as it is great coverage but comes in really nice pale tones as I don’t often wear fake tan.
http://instagram.com/p/jz2PvYKRaG/
A lovely surprise to come back to was my Glossybox which had arrived so I had some goodies to try to beautify myself with! Big thanks to Glossybox PR for my monthly goodies. The 'Puffy the eye bag slayer' by Anatomicals was a particular saviour as I was feeling and looking a bit tired.
http://instagram.com/p/juMbhDKRTw/
 I had personalised a pair of shoes especially for the #Massimoduttigraftonstreet event. I was feeling very inspired by the Carrie Diaries so I whipped out some bright nail polishes the night before and trickled them on a pair of €10 Penneys neon pointy shoes.
http://instagram.com/p/jz2PvYKRaG/
I teamed my DIY shoes with a black H&M skirt with pink lip marks on it. I wore a matching black long sleeved cropped lips jumper covered by a 'Finders Keepers' jacket from Brown Thomas I snapped up on the sales. The jacket has rose gold zip detailing and leather sleeves but the torso section is a faded black and white floral print. To say I fell ‘in lust at first sight’ wouldn’t even cover it. I feel a million dollars in it.
It is so great that Massimo Dutti have opened such a massive flagship store at No. 65-66 Grafton Street, one of the most commercial and iconic streets of Dublin. The store, with over 1,000 square metres of retail space, is one of the chains largest European stores to date. Located over three floors the new store will house a wide range of menswear, womenswear, and footwear. I arrived excitedly to a beautifully lit up store with a buzzing atmosphere. I began to explore a glass of champagne in hand...
The Massimo Dutti menswear is so slick. Their suits, shirts and even coats have a beautiful cut and a luxuriant feel. But the best part is the quality - that is what even the man who has no intuition or notions of fashion and trends can both appreciate and favour. It isn’t about overdressing, there are also understated items that make for great gifts and purchases that cater for a varied budget. Even this menswear ensemble is very inspiring.
The womenswear is very pared back with a lot of neutrals and floaty fabrics. My favourite Massimo Dutti item from womenswear was this simple white dress. I love the leather bags and purses. I was kindly gifted a beautiful brown leather purse in my gift bag at the event. Florist Thierry Boutemy created a fabulous indoor moor that looked like it should be in a fashion spread. Michelin chef Kevin Thornton was whipping up a selection of gourmet canapes the likes of which I had never even seen, let alone tasted. I devoured a quail egg on an ice cube stuffed with caviar. I was feeling brave.
The event had all the best and brightest from the fashion industry. Kennedy PR really know how to throw an opening with style. Massimo Dutti on Grafton Street is the talk of the town. I was delighted to see a lot of friends at the event and also to meet new people. I had such a fantastic night.

This week I was approached to be the first 'Style Queen' for the new online venture of The Irish Daily Mail namely evoke.ie. A full length pic of my outfit every day for the month of February will feature with a link to my blog talking about what I'm wearing and what I'm up to. I am both flattered and super excited as it is a great medium for me to post a lot of outfit posts showcasing my own personal style as opposed to just my press and portfolio fashion styling. I am visiting NYC in a week so I will be embracing and keeping you all updated with fashion and trends hitting the streets there at the minute both here and through evoke.ie

Yesterday I was asked by Stellar Magazine would I like to model for a street style segment in their next issue which I am delighted about too. I have a great feeling about this month - I am turning 24 towards the end of February so I am kicking off my birthday month in style :)

I hope you enjoyed my post!


Until next time,

xo 








Monday 20 January 2014

River Island Spring Summer 2014.

River Island has a bold daring line for Spring/Summer 2014. The attire varies from chic preppy daywear to bold prints and slimming silhouettes to take you from day to night. The range encompasses clean minimalist smart tailoring, a dash of sports luxe, candy & sorbet colours, fluffy, leathery and PVC textures, sheer staples, tribal bohemian festival wear, moody metallics, clashing prints, floral jumpsuits, statement accessories, chunky watches and oversized bags.  I love the feathery candy coloured clutches and the strappy t bar sandals. For men there is sharp tailoring. A highlight for me is toying with the formality of the contemporary cobalt suits with slick shirts and male accessories.

I really enjoyed the press day in the River Island flagship store on Grafton St, Dublin. I feel deeply in lust with everything! Every year 'River Island' diversifies and moves with the times. It stays current but it still affordable which is what makes their fashions so sought after by the masses. There was an edible honeycomb beach at the River Island press preview! The event was so fun and funky. The talented fashion illustrator Holly Shortall was at hand doing watercolour illustrations from polaroids of attendees. How ridiculously cool. I cannot wait to see mine.
It was a great mixer for all of Ireland's fashion folk who come to see, touch and drool over what River Island has in this season.
Check out some of my star buys below which will be hitting a store near you:



Until next time,
xo


Monday 13 January 2014

Celebrities as Disney real life disney characters!

I thought I would share a bit of magic with all of you who read my blog..
Rachel Weisz as Snow White
Alec Baldwin as the 'man in the mirror' & Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen from Snow White.
 Jeff Bridges & Penelope Cruz as the transformed 'Beauty & the Beast'
Taylor Swift as Rapunzel
Whoopi Goldberg as the Genie
Jessica Chastain as Princess Merida from 'Brave'.
Julianne Moore as 'Ariel'.
Tina Fey as 'Tinkerbell'
Queen Latifah as 'Ursula'
Scarlett Johansson as 'Cinderella'
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens as Sleeping beauty & her prince
Jessica Biel as Pocahontas
 Julie Andrews as the fairy from Pinocchio and Abigail Breslin as Little Miss Sunshine
Beyonce as Alice, Lyle Lovett as the March Hare and Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter from 'Alice in Wonderland'
David Beckham as Prince Philip
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Anna Smith as second pirate 
Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan & Gisele Bundchen as Wendy
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony as Aladdin and Jasmine
Russell Brand as Captain Hook
Jack Black, Will Ferrell & Jason Segel as the three ghosts

And last but not least Roger Federer as King Arthur.

Who was your favourite?

These magical Disney shots are the work of living legend and visionary photographer Annie Leibovitz.

xo L