Fascinating Florica

CLOTHES LINES: This head-turning bridal (or special occasion) headpiece by Helen James, called Florica, was inspired by 15th- and 16th-century Italian portraiture, including Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine.

Handmade from the finest silk, silk chiffon and silk embroidery threads, in five different configurations, with names like "feather star", "magnolia" and "peony bouquet", they cost from €120 up to €420 and would certainly be a talking point at any wedding or event. They are stocked exclusively in Costume, 10-11 Castlemarket, Dublin 2 (only until Christmas) but can be ordered through the blog, floricadesign.blogspot.com. Helen James's work was included in The Bold and Beautifulat the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, which toured the US and Japan and is now part of the Institute's permanent collection.

A gift for givers

For those who are hopeless at choosing Christmas gifts, a new website, peoplelovepresents.com, set up by two Irish friends, Orlagh Collins and Kathryn Murphy, offers loads of ideas and recommendations, from instant snow at €7 to a diamond and ruby skull by Theo Fennell for €14,000. Their mix of useful and creative gifts is designed for any budget and is divided into recipient categories such as mother, brother, husband, wife, as well as occasions such as birthdays or weddings. When you've chosen an item, it directs you to the relevant website and there's also a last minute "fresh and fun" section with presents which can be delivered next day. Orlagh Collins spent more than a decade in the UK film industry working on movies such as T he Queen, Ali G Indahouseand Miss Henderson Presents, while Kathryn Murphy is an award-winning copywriter in an Irish advertising agency. Their website includes many Irish products and merchants.

A glimpse of Gladys

Gladys Perint Palmer, the fashion illustrator known for her wickedly funny but perceptive drawings of the fashion world, was honoured last week in London, at the Mayor Gallery in Cork Street which displayed her drawings (like that shown above from a Jean Paul Gaultier collection) from the autumn/winter haute couture in Paris last July. The exhibition was organised by William Ling of Fashion Illustration Gallery, and Palmer flew from California, where she now lives and works, to London for the event. She is well known for her book, Fashion People. Her third, called Fashion Bible: From Eve to Yveswill be published in the autumn by Madison Press Books. Another must for fashion lovers.