CAPE TOWN
With the Horse Show in full swing, one fashion stand many will check out today and tomorrow at the RDS is Ballyboy Design, where Siobhán Quinn, a former management consultant from Abbeylara, has introduced a range of luxury Irish tweed capes with pure silk linings that cut quite a flamboyant air. There are three styles – the Burren, a traditional cape to be worn over jeans or an evening dress (€470); the Clifden, which is buttoned on the shoulder for informal wear and has individually sewn buttonholes (€480); and the Connemara, which is more generously proportioned and, according to Quinn, ideal for cool summer evenings or cold winter days. The tweed in blue, yellow or fuschia wools comes from John Hanly in Tipperary and the same shades are incorporated in the silk linings. All the capes are handmade in Ireland. For further details visit ballyboydesign.ie
STEAL VS SPLURGE
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It could be a shoo-in with these Keely brogues for €236 – 50 per cent off – from Church’s at Farfetch.com or have happy feet with these blue brogues for €42 from iclothing.com
CARRY IT
Irish designer Emma Manley has just launched a new collection of handbags and they are just dreamy. The Lana Bag in pink python for €230 is our favourite.
KIDS STUFF
Parents shopping with new babies should visit KID, an airy new Scandinavian-style lifestyle store on the top floor of the Powerscourt Shopping Centre, a collective of 10 independent Irish children’s wear and accessories brands. Rain & Conker, for example, has colourful zany bib bandanas and moccasins, Frank and Nora’s graphic print organic cotton babywear catches the eye while Plepleple from Cork makes appealing blankets and gift sets for newborns. KID also features a play area for kids, a baby feeding and a changing room
STYLE SECRET
“Great style is about balance. Classic cuts can support bold prints, a directional silhouette is more wearable in a restrained hue. Self-consciousness will diminish the impact of even the most fabulous outfit. Confidence is key.” – Marie Kelly, Fashion editor of Image and image.ie
TREAT YOUR SKIN
Martha Tiernan has just opened a cool new natural beauty and skin clinic in what was formerly the Peppercanister Gallery on Herbert Street. Decorated in a soothing shade of pale grey and white, it offers beauty treatments in a calm and relaxing environment with three treatment rooms and a Swedish-style wooden outhouse for spray tanning.
Treatments include facials, pedicures, manicures, Lycon specialist waxing (60 per cent less painful than normal waxing) and eyebrow tinting and shaping. No 3 also stocks the full organic skincare range by Phyt's, recommended for those undergoing chemotherapy. Open 9.15am-6pm Tuesdays and Fridays, 9am-5pm on Saturdays, with late- night opening on Wednesdays and Thursdays until 8pm. See no3herbertstreet.com or phone 01-5388333
