A selection of 'finds' for the wardrobe
DUE RESPECT The crypt in Christchurch was the rather incongruous choice of venue for the launch of dué, the new Per Una fashion label aimed - according to Matthew Hadley of Marks & Spencer - "at the body-conscious customer". It was the first fashion show in the cathedral. The models, flown in from London for the occasion, were not exactly skeletal, but had Barbie doll-like proportions with high hair and high heels to match. With micro minis, "powder puff" skirts, filmy camisole tops, "cowgirl" jeans and spotted cardigans, this was a lively collection aimed at the 15-20 age group, though the high back cuts on the shorts and tiny flippy skirts demand pin-up figures. Typical Per Una touches were the dippy hems here and there, and lots of denim. Prices from €12 for a basic jersey vest up to €55 for a cotton blazer, with most items hovering around €25. Dué from Per Una can be found in all Irish branches of M&S.
UNDER STATEMENT Next month, Susan Moylett celebrates 20 years in the fashion business. Her lingerie boutique Susan Hunter in the Westbury Mall opened in 1984, offering sensuous silks and satins and fine cotton underwear and sleepwear from France, Italy and the UK. Lacy camisoles that were underwear then are outerwear now, and everybody these days, she says, buys G-strings and thongs to wear with trousers. The best lingerie, in her opinion, is La Perla from Bologna. Moylett's little shop is the only place in the country where you can find, along with every kind of bra, kimono or bedjacket, a real hand-made corset from Hubert Barrere, who once worked for Chanel and Givenchy. It'll set you back around €1,000, but the shop also stocks the famous corsetry of Cadolle in Paris, those waist-clinchers much favoured by Kylie Minogue. They cost from €185 to €500 and do wonders for shape. Susan Hunter, Westbury Mall, Grafton Street, Dublin 01-6791271.
BAGS OF CHARM "People who love bags just can't stay away from them," says Orla Prendergast of Chamwari in Maynooth, stockists of Ipa Nima bags and accessories. Handmade in Vietnam in unusual materials with vintage-style embroidery and beading, the Ipa Nima range is the brainchild of a Christine Yu, a Hong Kong Chinese lawyer who went to Vietnam in 1995 and, without any formal design training, decided to create her own line of accessories. This particularly dramatic blue and white striped bag is in the shape of a shell and is made from silk, shell and beads. It comes in two sizes, the smaller one more like an evening bag. Another bag comes with elaborate embroidery and flower decoration in burnt orange and black with a long beaded fringe. Both cost €130 and can be found along with similarly decorative flip flops from Ipa Nima at €50 in Chamwari, Courthouse Square, Maynooth, Co Kildare 01-6292922.
