Clothes lines

Compiled by DEIRDRE McQUILLAN

Glimpse of sun

Spring may seem a long way away in these short, grey January days, but here’s a sunny taste of what lies ahead from Penneys. This sunshine-yellow, collarless coat for €25 will be in stores from the end of this month, as will the Peter Pan button-back top (€8). But it will be March before the slingback sandals (€19) and ’50s-style piqué skirt (€13) hit the rails to top off the look.

Gently does it

The Gentlewomanis a new biannual black-and-white women's magazine based in London and aimed at intelligent "modern women of purpose". Its current edition features question-and-answer interviews with interesting and successful women such as singer Anna Calvi, casting director Nina Gold, former French Vogueeditor Carine Roitfeld and Frieze Art Fair director Victoria Siddall. The focus is on how they look, think and dress, and they are all styled in different ways.

The issue also contains an in-depth interview with actor Olivia Williams, who is featured on the cover, above, along with articles on how to network, the vogue for sherry and even facial aerobics. The magazine, which went on UK newsstands in September, draws its fashion from the usual international brand names. It's not available yet in shops here, but you can order online at thegentlewoman.com

Prints charming

This fresh print is part of Prada’s new scarf collection for spring/summer. It’s called Limone, or lemon, and is from a series of repeat patterns based on fruit and flowers. Another series features sketches of Venice, Milan, Paris, Shanghai and London, while the final series depicts tiny figures engaged in dancing and golf. The silk scarves come in two sizes – 60cm x 60cm or 90cm x 90cm – and cost €240 and €300 respectively. The most dramatic image is that of a 1950s-style hot rod, all colour and flaring tail fins

Well heeled

An urge to make Madame walk on a bed of caged petals,” is how Christian Louboutin describes this sandal from his spring/summer 1996 collection. This item is made using hydrangea petals (Louboutin is a keen gardener), while in other Perspex heels he inserted nails and studs so that they look embedded in the foot.

The designer is known as much for his red soles as for pushing the boundaries of his craft, and this sandal is just one of many items from his 1986 to 2012 collections photographed for a lavish new book that celebrates his life, career and influences.

In March, a major retrospective will be dedicated to Louboutin at the Design Museum in London, which will include a section on his Fetish collaboration with film director David Lynch. Christian Louboutin is published by Rizzoli in New York and costs $150 (¤118). In the meantime, he and YSL are still at legal loggerheads over proprietary rights of those red soles.