Steal v Splurge
Unisex it up in this satin-trimmed blazer for €2,650 from Tom Ford or caress your wallet in the Benetton velvet jacket for €119. DMcM
Irish scarf maker making her mark
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Irish scarf makers are growing apace but one who is quickly making her mark is Ciara Silke in Galway, a textile graduate of NCAD, with her collections of bold, graphic scarves in silk twill designed in Ireland, but sourced and made in Italy.
She will be taking part in Showcase next month and for the first time in Scoop in London in February. This 90x90cm scarf called Swamp Rose in berry, hot pink and black is from her new collection already on sale online and has a print of scattered roses with a polka dot border.
It’s tied and knotted in the following way: fold into a triangle, keep folding in into itself until a long thin diagonal is formed. Then place it on the head starting from the back, work it forward and then tuck into a knot. Good luck!
Visit www.ciarasilke.com DMcQ
These conflict-free diamonds are forever; make a girl your new best friend starting at €350 at www.stelladot.eu. DMcM
Une Echarpe Une Vie graces Brown Thomas
Two friends, Rajni Singh Carney and Christine Tiffany Cool working in very different fields – Singh Carney in the hospitality industry and Cool in the United Nations – have created, from their shared ethos and ideas about female empowerment, a luxury sustainable scarf brand called Une Echarpe Une Vie (One Scarf, One Life).
Their extremely beautiful scarves are handwoven by skilled female artisans in the Philippines and Laos and a number are currently on sale in Marvel Room in Brown Thomas and from their website.
It takes two women to make one scarf on backstrap looms and the designs are their own, Singh Carney and Cool simply tweaking the colours and the sizes to suit western taste.
Singh Carney, the daughter of an agronomist, has lived all over the world but is now based in Donegal married to Irish man Sean Carney who manages Lough Eske in Donegal. The scarves cost from €215-€270 depending on length and style. Visit www.uneecharpeunevie.com. DMcQ
Beautiful Boodles earrings
These exquisite, colourful and Christmassy earrings are from the Prism collection by Boodles and take their inspiration directly from the Parisian artist Sonia Delaunay, in particular her 1914 abstract painting Electric Prisms.
They incorporate bold colour combinations – red and green – with geometric diamond settings. The drop earrings feature lime green peridots and fiery pink pear-cut rubellites set in 18 carat white gold with diamonds and cost €12,000. Dream on. DMcQ
Style secret
"Buy the size that suits you, not the size that fits you. Don't get hung up on a dress size; there is no regulations for dimensions on the UK or Irish high street. Ask yourself does it flatter your shape in your usual size or should you buy up or down the scale . . .cut out the tags if necessary." – Laura Jordan, owner of Irish style consultancy firm StyleSavvy
