Fash Mob »

• Mulberry (finally) launches the Del Rey

  May 15, 2012 @ 7:30 am | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  

  Back in February, we caught our first glimpse of Mulberry’s Del Rey bag, on none other than Mme Del Rey herself, sitting a mere two seats in front of me at the Mulberry A/W 2012 catwalk show. Well now the vintage-inspired bag has arrived, and is available now on Mulberry.com for a mere £795. I’m being a tad sarcastic with the “mere” there, but £795 is not the highest price Mulberry could have put on the bag, so I am ever-so-slightly pleasantly surprised.

  

  And you know what? Despite my initial reservations about the bag – I thought it slightly “meh”, as all of the best wordsmiths say, upon first glance – it has really grown on me and I feel as if the Del Rey bag could be my “gateway” bag. You know, the bag that finally ushers in my adulthood and takes me away from childish dressing and Converse on weekends.

  

  What do you think? Is the Del Rey a yay or a nay for you? And, while we’re at it . . .

  

  PS If you don’t already read Mulberry’s blog, you should; this is how a brand embraces social media.

• Lana del Rey spotted with Coach’s Bleecker weekend tote

  March 7, 2012 @ 12:30 pm | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  

  You may not know this, but Lana and I are practically besties since we sat practically next to one another at the Mulberry show. True story. Anyway, here she is looking really cool mostly because of her Coach tote bag – available at Arnotts right now for €635. Better cancel that  holiday, so.

  

• Louis Vuitton S/S 2012 accessories collection

  February 23, 2012 @ 7:30 am | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  

  Yesterday morning I headed along to the beautiful confines of the Merrion Hotel (I admit that, until that moment, I had only ever been in the Cellar bar, which is a lovely, intimate space – perfect for getting quite drunk in) to preview Louis Vuitton‘s S/S accessories collections, available in their boutique in Brown Thomas. Once their, their charming PRs talked about how Vuitton, as a heritage brand, rarely reinvents the wheel; instead, it reinterprets classic shapes and designs or launches old favourites in new, seasonal-appropriate colours.

  

  This is the Sofia Coppola bag, inspired by its namesake and in a beautiful crocodile skin for spring (front) and a pillarbox red as part of Louis Vuitton’s Cruise collection.

  

  And check out the men’s selection – in what I’m telling you is going to be the next black: charcoal grey. Just gorgeous – I also love that the strap on the large briefcase in the back is detachable. If I found myself anywhere near one of those I’d be commandeering that gorgeous canvas strap for use on all kinds of things!

  Click through for more pics from the S/S launch and tell me: are you a Louis Vuitton fan?

  (more…)

• Basso and Brooke A/W 2012 – the details

  February 20, 2012 @ 7:30 am | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  

  Serious architectural shoes by Finsk – I felt so sorry for the models in these shoes, but there wasn’t so much as a stumble!

  

  I also loved the socks with the shoes – this is a trend that is not going anywhere, either – although I haven’t quite managed to pull it off myself yet. I think it’s because my calves aren’t modelesque enough …

  

  Those covetable Cambridge Satchel Company lovelies …

  

  I seriously loved these ombré lips, too – so sexy yet not overtly so. Check out this tutorial – swap out for black eyeliner and a red lipstick and you’re set!

  

  Pics via Getty Images

• The most coveted bags of the new season

  February 3, 2012 @ 2:30 pm | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  There’s a reason I love shoes and bags so much and it’s a simple one: no matter how much I eat or how bloated I feel or how much I want to hide or expose my neckline, a bag will always fit. Get it in the right colourway, and it’ll go with almost everything, too.

  

  The gorgeous Annmarie O’Connor put together a video for Brown Thomas on the bags of the season, so I put together my own little collage with my personal faves. A sartorial head to head, if you will, except I don’t need to talk or, y’know, be seen. Hurrah!

  

  Do you have any bags on your hit-list? (Or shoes, for that matter?) I just read over on Beaut.ie that I get extra points on my Brown Thomas card for shopping for the three days before and after my birthday, as if I needed an excuse …

• Well thanks, Style magazine, I now want a Louis Vuitton bag

  January 26, 2012 @ 10:30 am | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  

  I’ve always thought of Louis Vuitton’s beige’n'brown monogram as the height of tack – but seeing it paired with Celine-esque florals has me watering at the mouth. Plus, who knew white trousers could be this far from Liz Hurley territory?!

  How about you? Do you love or hate the LV?

  Image via Fashion Philosophy

• Today’s Topshop lust-haves

  October 17, 2011 @ 8:30 am | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  Seeing as my situation now means I’ll no longer be doing the what I bought posts (yes, fine, these are financially DIRE straits), I’ll have to settle for doing the what I would buy . . . such as last week’s Marc by Marc lust-have! Today’s edition? Topshop only, and just two items, but man, are they gorgeous items.

  

  I was originally looking for a gorgeous dalmatian-print jacket I saw in the Guardian (I love the Guardian! It’s hilarious and very informative, although I do only read the features parts), but this snake-effect suede bomber is so up my alley it’s unreal. That said, who needs three leather jackets? No one, that’s who.

  

  On the other hand, everyone needs a leather tote with dalmatian trim! Don’t try to argue it like it ain’t true. It is true! I need it. Especially now I have a basket for my bicycle and don’t have to have a bag with a long shoulder strap! Then again, I tried to use the old “but I paid off my credit card” excuse to justify stealing the £120 for this bag from my future self . . . and thievery is never good.

  I am writing this post on Friday; ask me if I bought either of them and we’ll see how strong I remained over le weekend!

• Coach at Arnotts – have you checked it out yet?

  September 21, 2011 @ 2:30 pm | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  You can’t have missed the Coach hoarding outside Arnotts on Henry St; the buildup to the launch of Ireland’s first Coach store has been nothing short of epic, and the space itself is set to be the exact same, with 2,000 sq feet of ladies’ accessories and 500 sq feet for men (sorry, fellas!).

  

  It’s a brand that wasn’t on my radar until around two years ago when some of my favourite fashion bloggers began sporting the brand’s bags – step up, Karla’s Closet, for one – and now it’s one that I always check out when I’m in the States. I’m particularly enamored of their Kirstin handbag, especially in turquoise . . . delish!

  

  Gwyneth Paltrow has also been unveiled as the new face of Coach, and launched their flagship store in London on Bond St, which I plan on checking out tomorrow or Thursday before I skip off home to the Emerald Isle. I’ll also be doing a scout of the Arnotts store and will let you know what I think of the layout, because I know you’ll be on the edge of your seat waiting for that low-down.

  Peace out, homeslices.

• Today’s Mulberry must-have

  August 11, 2011 @ 3:30 pm | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  Isn’t there a new one every single day? At this rate Mulberry should offer some kind of subscription service, like when people used to be in CD clubs and get 10 new albums a month. I would blame this for many Irish families owning the Best of Boyzone, incidentally.

  

  Meet the Carter, the perfect size, the perfect leather, the perfect semi-chain handle . . .

  

  And then, the perfect mink leather. Be still my beating heart.

• Arnotts A/W 2011

  July 21, 2011 @ 3:00 pm | by Rosemary Mac Cabe

  Well the big news at the Arnotts A/W 2011 press day on Monday was that Coach is coming to Ireland in the form of a store within a store – its first in Europe – in the Henry St department store. I’ve been a big fan of Coach since my favourite US fashion bloggers started wearing Coach bags everywhere (off the top of my head, Jessica and Karla), and I took a detour to the Coach outlets in both of Las Vegas’s outlet malls when I was there, so this has really been music to my ears! So what can we expect?

  

  Really lovely buttery soft leather handbags in traditional heritage shapes with interesting hardware and very little branding (although, like Guess – which is making major steps – the branding is still there). The range launches mid-September – and keep an eye out for a particularly strong menswear offering. LOVE this suede tote.

  

  And lest you think Coach has the handbag market all snapped up, Fiorelli sneaks one in the back with this gorgeous mock hair handbag in a gorgeous deep red.

  

  I think this next bag is Fiorelli also, although I couldn’t be 100% . . .

  

  In any case, it’s lovely. No, I will never tire of leopard print.

  Handbags aside, A/W is looking lovely for Arnotts, and quite interesting. Alice Hannah woollen accessories are a really cute addition to the soft furnishings side of the accessories house and Pinko‘s white collection is a great injection of interesting shapes and textures.

  I’m also really excited about seeing what Anderson & Lauth have coming up the pipeline – their designers are ex Day Birger Et Mikkelsen, which makes for a blend of beautiful Scandinavian-influenced shapes and lush embellishment.

  And Arnotts’ Irish representation is really strong, with collections from Heidi Higgins, Peter O’Brien, Helen McAlinden, Fran & Jane, Susannagh Grogan (amazing scarves) and Paul Costello. This pleases me, because I know how difficult it is to make strides, especially as a designer in a very small pool, so it’s great to see an Irish company support Irish – as well as provide us with so many labels from across the pond / sea / channel etc etc.

  Thumbs up, I say, thumbs up.

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