Spirit of Folk 2013

Spirit of Folk 2013: what a beautiful time! Dunderry Park in Co. Meath became a Mecca for all things folksie and hippe-esque last Saturday, 21st September. Travelling there with fellow bohemian girls certainly got us some strange glances on the bus there with one man even heard to remark: "They're hippie girls, son!" (which we were both humoured and delighted by) as we indeed took the folk-festival fashion-vibe to heart. 

Hippie girlos

This event called for laid back/chilled hippie clothes and we were only too happy to oblige. Tie-dye, floral patterns, wellies, flower power, scarves...we had it all. We were also blessed with a sunshine-filled day, therefore, the good vibes were indeed reflected in our summery clothes. 

Our friends in the band 'No Bread' felt slightly left out in the fashion ranks, therefore, took the matter into their own hands and adorned themselves in bohemian garb. We thought the end result was pretty groovy, even if we do say so ourselves! 

No Bread fashionistas

Along with enjoying the musical talents on show, we were able to experience various folksie activities such as storytelling, hoolahooping, bike jousting, and viewing/desperately yearning to purchase all of the handmade jewelry and clothes goods.

Hoolahooping workshop

festival flare and handmade hoodies

Festivals (or 'Feastivals') are an excuse to unleash your hidden facepaint/glitter ambitions. Hazel, Aoibheann, Cait and I enjoyed painting the boys' faces but also relished in the opportunity to show off our own festival faces (and backs!)

After the day of live music, we were treated to a tent disco! Familiar tunes were given the folk treatment and we all quite literally danced the night away in our wellies.                                    
                                                   

devil's in the detail

After camping the night and packing up the next morning, what better way to rap up the weekend than with bubbles! A fabulously folkie time was had and I look forward to next years feastival with great excitement. 

Peace & love.

Student Vintage

As we're coming back into the college year, I was asked by The University Times to write an article on student vintage and charity-shop-shopping!

Hope you enjoy it!

http://universitytimes.ie/?p=19226

Electric Picnic 2012 Revisited (mostly nostalgia with some festival tips!)

With the impending 10th Anniversary of Electric Picnic, I would like to take this opportunity to recall Aisling and I's adventure last year and offer any fun ideas or tips for those (lucky lucky) people going this year! 

Everybody's gotta have their tent! My advice would be to get a tent that you've either practiced putting up already or one you know is simple to assemble. During one rainy night before the festival, we tried and failed miserably to set up a lovely, spacious 6-person tent...it got the better of us and we switched to a much more manageable 2-person model. Also, it's a good idea to set up and find a space in the campsite as soon as you get there. Believe me, you may not be in any condition to navigate your way through tent instructions after spending the day at a festival! 

To quote one of my favourite musicals 'Hair', 'flow it, show it'...your hair styling skills that is...Experiment! On the first day, I washed mine in the morning and put it in two french plaits and held them in place on my head with a festival-favourite-flower-garland. As I had my hair up all of Day One, this meant I could take it out and let the waves be free! Day Three consisted of dry shampoo, lots and lots and lots and lots of dry shampoo and praying. But to be honest, basically everybody's in the same unwashed boat by the third day so just go with the crazy fro flow! 

Along with having amazing music arenas, EP also boasts a brilliant 'Body & Soul' area. Whether yoga or simply chilling the camp-fire is your thing, it's got something for everybody. After long nights of jumping around, screaming until your lungs give out or dancing to random reggae, this was mine and Aisling's haven after getting our morning smoothie. If you're looking for a little lying-down/recuperation-time, check out the chimes area! 

There's also a super-chilled stage filled throughout the day with emerging acts. 

Along with a must-have list that I will include at the end, here's some things Aisling and I did and would recommend to any EP-goers this year....

Ok now the fun part's over, here's some more practical items: 

1. Toilet paper and antibacterial gel/wipes. You will thank me. 

2. Tiger balm/deep heat. Dancing/camping can cause severely sore bodies. 

3. Painkillers - same reason as above. 

4. Earplugs - if you want any sleep at all. 

5. Suncream - even if there's nothing but rain forecast. 

6. Snacks - festival food can be expensive.

7. Drink - festival drink can be too. 

8. Warm clothes for cold nights. 

9. Bum bag/money holder - mind your stuff during the day. 

10. Old phone - they have charging phone areas there but they charge you and it works better to bring an old phone that you wouldn't care to lose. 

11. Torch - for those fun-finding-the-tent-in-the-dead-of-night-times. 

12. Some sort of marker for your tent - they all look the same otherwise.

13. Babywipes - your showers for the weekend. 

14. Toothbrush/mouthwash

15. GLITTER! 

Have fun, be safe, make new friends, get lost in the music, wander around with a friend for hours, eat some falafel! 

My Ha'Penny Flea Market Stall

On 20th July, I secured myself a stall in The Grand Social as part of the weekly Ha'Penny Flea Market. 

As I am known as somewhat of a garment-hoarder by my friends and family, this came as quite a shock to them after hearing of my impending entrepreneurial adventure. 

In the beginning, I found it difficult to pick out clothes to part with and sell but I soon got over this hesitation at the prospect of receiving actual money. 

Also, in a moment of creativity, I decided to make jewelry to display and sell as part of my stall. 

Helped by my loving mother to transport my goods into town, we set up my stall and got ready for the day ahead. With blisteringly hot weather, I sat and watched many a tourist go by and occasionally purchase an item from myself. 

Some lovely friends visited me in the den of vintage clothing, jewelry and general items of bohemia and cooled me down. 

Good day had by all! I'd definitely recommend any students out there to give a flea market stall a go when looking for a bit of extra cash and a fun experience. 

Longitude Festival Fashion

So my timeline is slightly messed up but I hope you shall all forgive me...I am back in the lovely (and shockingly sunny) Emerald lsle after holidaying in Boston for three amazing weeks, however, I'll give a snippet of my Americana style in a following post.

Myself and a MOAMH (shortening my blog name and trying to say it out loud is too much fun by the way) regular, Miss Lara Phillips, attended the Longitude music festival on Friday, 19th July. 

As a lover of all things hippie-ish and bohemian, I am, of course, a keen festival-fashion enthusiast. 

As we were going to be basking in the sunshine while travelling about and singing our little hearts out, shorts were the call of the day! Lara had a chic black tailored pair which contrasted interestingly with my Urban Oufitters distressed denim and embellished pair.

We both agreed that nobody should totally sacrifice their own personal style for the sake of looking 'festival-y'. The key is taking your own everyday look and translating it to a different environment.

I kept cool in my simple cream tank top and red lace undertop while Lara went for a striking stripped pattern.

Fedora hats became our new best friends. From being skeptical at first, I quickly began to feel myself enjoying the Fedora way of life. Keeping cool and looking cool: it's pretty much a win-win situation, you must agree.

Our accessories included Lara's great, patterned head scarf (courtesy of her Mom's wardrobe) and my collection of mismatched jewellery including a long feathery earring and bead bracelets.

The beautiful music and atmosphere also perfectly complimented our chilled out festival style.

Dublin Shakespeare Festival - Willy's Suitcase

During the period of 3rd-8th June, myself and a few friends took part in the Trinity College 'Dublin Shakespeare Festival 2013'.

Taking part in two shows was indeed tiring as it meant double the amount of rehearsals but it was also one of the best weeks of my life! (*cue emotional music) We're first year drama students and took our production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to primary schools during the week along with a few shows in Trinity.

Four of us (Alex Christle, Colm Summers, Conor Nolan and I) involved in the play also decided to adapt and perform a selection of scenes from Shakespeare's best loved plays. As this is primarily a fashion blog, I thought I would comment on our choice of costume for our outdoor scenes, collectively known as 'Willy's Suitcase'.

on location in St.Stephen's Green

Our concept was to have a set costume even though
we were changing characters with each scene. However, our suitcase of props allowed us to portray our character changes to the audience.
For example, Alex used a hat and waistcoat to signify that she was playing a girl pretending to be a boy (Shakespeare likes his cross-dressing).
One audience member commented that you could tell that we had done a module on 'Modernism' as our costumes evoked many elements of 'German Expressionism'...basically they're very dramatic!

the sexy crew 

 From our lovely headshots here to the left, you can also see our darkened eyes and cheekbones - again to heighten the expressions in our faces. We were going to be in outdoor sigths so we wanted to stand out from the crowd, so to speak!

 

Monochrome was the name of our fashion game.
Thanks mainly to Penneys for all our classic garments! Alex, Colm and Conor all wore black skinny jeans while I rocked a black leggings/skirt combo which Alex acquired for her 'female' roles too. The guys borrowed black bowler hats from myself which we all used as props in the show and wore white tank tops with black braces.

As the great man Shakespeare said himself 'Youth is wild' and we certainly had a colourful and wild time in our black and white garments!

Midsummers stylin' to follow...

Hazel's Clothes Stall Stylin'!

Hello dear friends! Excuse my absence, I was Shakespeare-ing it up...thespian posts to follow! 

A little while ago, a stylish friend of mine who goes by the name of Miss Hazel Scully decided to sell some of her threads at a stall in a flea market in Dark Horse Inn on George's Quay, Dublin. 

Myself and another stylin' friend Jack, paid the market and were delighted by the variety of different items and craftwork, and, of course, by Hazel's gorgeous collection!
                                                                                         

Hazel's wonderfully crafted sign.

The lady herself, holding the fort!   

Hazel being helped out by Aoibheann

The lovely Jack and myself admiring our spoils. 

After walking around the crowded market a few times, we kept returning to Hazel's stall as our sort of headquarters and I even bought a fabulous patterned 'Sisley' jacket of Ms Scully.
It's very much a stand-out item and I loved the mildy coarse texture of the fabric.

Jack and his love of sunglasses is well known around these parts. Therefore, luckily, he was successful in acquiring a groovy pair of floral sunnies that are perfect for the (hopefully) sunshine-y weather!

Another lovely seller had intricately crafted jewelry at her stall so I, naturally, being a crazy-accessory magnet, simply had to purchase a necklace!

Excuse the shoddy photos, but you can see how the shape of the necklace reminds me of a heart (*cue aww's) and being a statement piece, it would add interest to any simple outfit.


Summer tip: grab a friend and hit up a market! 

Kilkenny Roots Festival Fashion - Day Three

We awoke following our music and dance-filled night out, feeling not quite as spritely as the first morning, but  a good hearty breakfast soon solved our problems and we were excited for the day ahead. This Saturday, 4th May, was when most of the free gigs of the festival were taking place, therefore, we thought we'd make use of this fact and head out for the whole day.
After packing our lunch for our adventuring we headed out into the labyrinth otherwise known as Kilkenny city centre.

Alex, Marie and I opted for patterned dresses
to go along with the floaty, chilled vibes of the festival.
In contrast to their brightly coloured garments, my
dress' colour palette was rather muted so I paired it with some bright purple Aztec-patterned leggings and a big black belt (supplied by Alex...there seems to be a trend running here). All in all I believe I slightly resembled a pirate, a pirate who also wears tweed jackets...

A bit of Jack Daniels is a good fashion accessory sometimes...

As it was a festival, of course, glittery eye make-up was extremely necessary. This was only the beginning of green glinting eye flicks...

 After viewing some brilliant bands, having lunch on an old stone Druid's table, and visiting all the quirky pubs and venues has to offer, we walked away with some fantastic memories that we're not going to forget anytime soon.

Bitta Roots Festivals, be grand.

Kilkenny Roots Festival Fashion - Day Two

On 3rd May, we awoke to another sunkissed morning in Kilkenny. Fresh-faced and rearing to get going after the opening night of the festival, Alex, Aidan and I headed into the city centre.

Following a suggestion from my lovely friend Keira, Aidan and Alex led the way to 'Cafe Mocha'. Since the name seemed to dictate it, I ordered myself a nice mocha and enjoyed the quaint decor. 

Our next port of call was Castle Park. Armed with bread rolls, we braved the treacherous lands of the duck pond.

 For a day of adventuring in this laid-back city, I kept my style
pretty chilled.
My new distressed khaki jeans from Penneys were paired
with my golden (or rather blue) oldie Converse that are customised with purple fabric paint.
My multicoloured Om Diva cardigan and vintage Ralph Lauren jacket were worn over a flannel shirt supplied again by the lovely Alex. Perfect duck-feeding attire!

Becoming one with nature.....

Alex and Aidan with the duck army!












Marie and I discovered that cute little wanna-be-piggy dogs are the best accessories to have!

Later on I swapped my jeans for a black River Island skirt and purple leggings to dance the night away at another Ha Ha Tonka gig!

As the party continued to Morrisons, we caught up with Ha Ha Tonka. Their drummer Lennon even chilled out with us and we got invited back to chill with them and a few beers in their B&B. Transported by their tour bus no less.

  

Another crazy night in Kilkenny was had by all! 

Kilkenny Roots Festival Fashion - Day One

From the 2nd - 4th May, I attended the Kilkenny Rhythm and Roots Festival with my lovely friends Alex, Marie and Aidan.
As it was my first time out in this cute city, relaxed yet cool outfits were a must for this chilled event.

On our first night we hit up Cleeres pub to see the Missouri band 'Ha Ha Tonka' in a free gig. Being packed in like sardines couldn't even rain on our parade as their music was catchy yet soulful and fun! I wore my River Island pale pink dress with little zebras patterned on it over grey leggings with boots (provided by the generous Alex) and a multi-coloured cardigan for the chilly night air.

In keeping with the quirky nature of this music event, I decided to go a bit dip-dye-style on my locks, colouring the ends of my hair with purple and scruffing it up with texture spray. The overall look worked well and it was perfect for a laid-back night in the pub with some great tunes and people. Chatting to the band afterwards and being invited to their sold-out gig the next night was indeed a brilliant end to a wonderful night...however, it was just the opening gig and we had many more adventures to come...

Hat - Poetry Poetry - Booksie

Hat - Poetry Poetry - Booksie

Easter Time!

Easter time woo! More like mega chocolate fest...

Although, we may have had snow the last few days here in Dublin, I felt a certain springtime look was in order for this day! 

My sheer, patterned blouse is from Penneys. The purple, cream, and brown shades suit the day along with the aptly named 'Peter Pan' collar. As there promises to be many sweet goodies, the elastic waistband on my skirt is perfect! Looking sharp with room for chocolate...match made in heaven. 

There is a chill in the air following our snowy weather, therefore, I completed my outfit with grey wolly tights and brown wedge boots. 

My spring look is further continued with my cutesy yellow hair bow (totally not taken from a chocolate box...) and natural look make-up. 

 Happy Easter everyone!

So guys. It's been a while! Please accept my sincerest apologies...

A little thing called London Fashion Week went down around mid-February and I was there with my college Fashion Society. No biggie sure! ....I jest, it was spectacular!

Here's my post on the Trinity Fashion Society's blog about the overall experience:

http://trinityfashionsoc.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/london-fashion-week-trip-2013-the-overall-experience/

For such a super-stylin' occasion, a girl ,of course, needs to have some super-stylin' threads to walk the cobbled streets! 

This is just a breakdown of my outfits over the three days for y'all! 

Day 1: As this day was to consist of a lot of transport and walking around, the natural approach would have been to wear comfy clothes...not for this girl! Surprisingly, I decided to go for a rather chicer, more put-together look than I would normally go for. My top tip for travelling is layers, layers and more layers! From the bottom up I am wearing Penneys brogues, black tights, Penneys skirt, vintage red silk shirt, Forvever 21 short embellished jacket and my beloved Ralph Lauren jacket. 

Day 2: After walking around 'Somerset House' a.k.a. the Fashion Centre of My World, the second day was the time to rev up the style levels! My teddy-boy shoes are from New Look, wolly polka-dot tights from Penneys, vintage black-lace skirt with side split, vintage blue silk shirt, Forever 21 bright yellow jumper with the ole RL jacket yet again. Also, my hair and accessories took a bit of a 'Karma Chameleon' turn with my side-swept locks, small plaits and massive feather earring! 

Day 3: Yet again, my look became uncharacteristically chic. I like to think that my outfit was somewhat reminiscent of the recent Dior catwalk look (see below). My cute little slippers were a buy on the trip in Topshop (they have a MASSIVE shop on Oxford St) and a welcome change for my poor feet. Again, black tights were paired with a Penneys skirt, top and belt. I should've totally asked Penneys for sponsorship! My statement necklace hails from Pulse. 

More London Fashion Week posts to come!! x