Clothes line

Compiled by DEIRDRE McQUILLAN

Shine in autumn

Tweed is back this season and how it sparkles! This little black tweed dress is a cracker from FeeG at the Kilkenny Shops – yours for €254.95.

Preppy look comes to town

Fifty male models will fly into Dublin on October 26th for the grand opening of Abercrombie Fitch’s superstore on College Green. Under the watchful eye of Henry Grattan, a “line formation” of crowds is due to assemble outside at 11am, boosting business in the listed building formerly occupied by Habitat.

The brand is known for its T-shirts, preppy fleece-lined hoodies, distressed denim and Fierce fragrance. Irish fans hitherto only able to buy abroad or online will get their first sight of the darkened chandeliered interior, similar to others on Savile Row and elsewhere, and the shirtless models. The company’s racy Bruce Weber poster imagery has already set tongues wagging and its Hollister store in Dundrum, which opened last year, has attracted tweens by the busload. NB Take your flashlights.

Boutique of the week: Bow, Dublin 2

Tucked away in a corner on the ground floor of the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Bow is one of my favourite places. It’s full of personality, and I always get distracted by the beautiful clothes, vintage finds and unusual and desirable pieces of jewellery. For friends visiting Dublin for the first time, it’s top of the list as a visitor attraction. Founders Margaret O’Rourke, Wendy Crawford and Eilis Boyle (pictured) celebrate its third birthday this month with a competition on its Facebook page (bow-powerscourt) for a €300 shopping voucher. Current eye-catchers include zany pieces from cult label Electronic Sheep, new star-based jewellery from MoMuse and Eilis Boyle’s Moss range of cashmere knits (from €115 to €350). Look out for Wendy Crawford’s vintage finds arriving on Monday.

Bow, Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin 2, tel: 01-7071763

Hot Robot boosts Steele's profile

Hot Robot, Helen Steele’s vibrant new fashion collection, is steadily growing an international fan base. The wild, colourful, graffiti-style prints have been snapped up not only by Costume in Dublin, but in shops as far apart as South Korea, Dubai, Kuwait, Naples, Bilbao, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Moscow. New this season are her innovative Silverhill pure-down-filled puffa jackets made with a smart tech polyamide that is waterproof, windproof and breathable. Her recent spring/summer collection sold out in three weeks in South Korea after appearing on some of the Korean pop band f(x), whose video Electric Shock received 20 million Youtube hits. The jumpsuit in her current collection was created for Jessie J for her tour of Australia this spring.

Hats off to the ladies

Tune in to TnaG at 9.30pm tomorrow to see Maggie Breathnach’s charming half-hour fashion documentary on hats, Hataí. An arts programme producer for 10 years, she is a self-confessed hat-obsessive who spent her first wage packet on an outrageous patchwork floppy number that she still has. In her directing debut, Breathnach follows three sets of women at different stages in their lives and their relationships with head decor. Philip Treacy provides a languid commentary about how he became a milliner and explains the effect of the royal wedding on hat trends. The irrepressible female exuberance or creative chapeaux at the Galway Races is well documented, as is the tender relationship between mother and daughter as the latter’s wedding and emigration approach. Hataí will be repeated on Monday.